Three judges dealing with children in care have raised concerns about a “crisis-management” approach by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, as problems mount in the care system.
District Court Judges John Campbell, Conor Fottrell and Miriam Walsh expressed particular concern that more than 230 children in care in two social work areas have no allocated social worker. They also highlighted the increasing use by Tusla of unregulated private special emergency arrangements (SEAs).
Private firms making money from the State placing children in unregulated care is “distasteful”, Judge Walsh said. “It’s making money from the misery of children.”
Speaking to The Irish Times, the three judges said the system was struggling for reasons including a lack of foster carers, social workers and appropriate placements for vulnerable and at-risk children.
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There is “definitely an element of crisis management going on”, Judge Fottrell said.
Asked about Tusla chief executive Kate Duggan’s recent statement that it does not “stand over” unregulated placements, Judge Campbell said the reality is the agency continues to use them and the courts have to deal with that.
“They are the agency responsible for child care, they don’t have a best-endeavours defence. They can’t shrug their shoulders. If they can’t do this work any longer, they should announce that to the world,” he said.
Instead of the State paying millions to private companies for unregulated SEAs, it might consider medium- to long-term planning which could involve building or identifying residential units, Judge Fottrell said.
“If the CFA was a commercial business, and there was demand for more foster places or more residential units, they would build them,” said Judge Campbell. “The agency does not appear to be able to do that, either because they are constrained by budgets or by other matters.”
The judges stressed they distinguish between the “corporate, faceless” Tusla with responsibility for decision-making and social workers working at the coalface of the system in sometimes “toxic” situations.
“There are very dedicated, hard working social workers who every day go above and beyond the call of duty,” said Judge Fottrell.
Interviewed at the child care courts in Dublin’s Bridewell, the judges said a child’s best interests, safety and welfare are the “paramount consideration” in care proceedings.
Some children in care situations are vulnerable to exploitation by criminals and sexual predators, they said. “We have had incidents of taxis calling to bring a girl from a residential unit and she disappears and comes back later in the night with money and is then anxious to see the GP the following day because of whatever happened to her,” Judge Campbell said. “Sometimes the agency, even gardaí, are not too concerned about it.”
“There was a time when this was almost unheard of but now it is becoming an issue, which is the tragedy of it all,” said Judge Walsh.
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