Most live-in childcare staff unqualified

More than half of staff who work with children in residential care do not hold any relevant qualification despite official Government reports underlining the need for expert care.

A report to be published later this year will show that 56 per cent of people who work with children who have often suffered abuse and neglect, do not meet the recommended minimum levels of training.

The author of the study, Mr John Byrne, a lecturer in social care policy at the Waterford Institute of Technology, said the lack of appropriate support was contributing to a breakdown in care for some vulnerable children, many of whom have ended up homeless.

The flaws in the social care system have been documented by Focus Ireland, which found that two-thirds of young people leaving health board care experience homelessness within two years.

More than half of these individuals ended up leaving care because of a crisis, such as their placement breaking down or their walking out on the placement, according to research.

Mr Byrne said these figures were not surprising given the high levels of unqualified staff.

"Most damaged children present with violent behaviour. When the staff can't deal with that, the placement can break down and some children end up homeless," Mr Byrne said.

"As a result, the State ends up on the steps of the High Court and the only thing we can do is physically contain them, rather than addressing the reasons why the placement broke down in the first place."

Recommendations have been made to the Government in a series of reports dating back almost 35 years which emphasise the importance of training for social care workers in residential childcare.

The Kennedy Report (1970) said it was a "fallacy" to believe staff with appropriate skills could adequately care for emotionally unsettled and disturbed children.

Most recently, a report published in April this year by the Special Residential Services Board said there needed to be a core group of qualified staff if high support units were to be effective.

The Government says the training of social care workers is a priority and that funding for courses at third-level has increased from €369.37 million in 2002 to €372.9 million this year.

Mr Byrne, however, said it was clear that social care for children was "not a political priority" as a range of pledges to improve the system had not been acted on.
"The suggestion of someone performing a medical operation without proper qualifications is ludicrous. Yet in the area of social care for children, this is tolerated," he said.

The report, Social Care Representation in Ireland: A Social Care Worker's Perspective, will be published later this year in the Irish Journal of Applied Social Studies.

It calls for a number of measures to be taken, including mandatory minimum qualifications for social care workers.