Teenagers in a State residential care centre went missing without authorisation over 300 times in just eight months and were using “illicit substances” on a regular basis, including in their bedrooms, a report has found.
Staff had “lost control” of the centre in the Dublin Mid-Leinster area and that they continued to struggle to manage challenging behaviours, an unannounced inspection by the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) found.
Hiqa’s inspectors had “serious concerns” for the safety and welfare of the young people due to the extensive use of illegal substances in the centre. Due to these significant risks identified during this inspection, they highlighted their concerns to the regional manager.
The centre, run by the child and family agency Tusla, accommodates up to five boys and girls between the ages of 13 and 17 who require medium to long-term residential care.
All four of the young people living in the centre at the time of the inspection were over the age of 16.
Since the previous inspection in April 2017 there had been 302 incidents of young people missing from care without authority. The inspectors found risks were not well managed at the centre.
Inspectors reviewed records for one young person for the two weeks prior to the inspection and found the teenager had been absent for 13 out of 14 nights.
During the two-day inspection, two of the young residents were absent from the centre without permission for a period of time. Staff informed inspectors that they were aware of where the young people were and had been in contact with them by phone.
But they also told inspectors that they could not always go looking for the young people due to the high number of missing-from-care episodes and staff having to remain with the other young people.
The acting centre manager and staff told inspectors that three of the four children in the centre were using illicit substances on a frequent basis, including in their bedrooms and on the centre property.
Inspectors Rachel McCarthy and Tom Flanagan found that there was a lack of control around smoking and substance abuse in the centre and staff were ineffective at managing the behaviour.
Hiqa found there had been a period of constant changes in management over the previous six months at the time of the inspection last December and, as a result, there were “no effective measures in place to bring about any change”.
The inspectors found, however, that child protection concerns were managed appropriately.
Nineteen child protection and welfare concerns had been raised in the previous 12 months. Eighteen were investigated and closed and one was still under investigation at the time of the inspection.
Tusla’s national service director for residential childcare services, Donal McCormack, said children’s residential centres were designed to be “as homely as possible” for those who lived there and staff endeavoured to provide “inclusive, friendly environments for the children and young people”.
Tusla was actively implementing action plans agreed with Hiqa to address the areas where improvement was required. Many actions were already complete.
Mr McCormack noted the inspection report had noted examples of positive practice, including that children got on well with staff, which was crucial to ensuring a positive environment for the children and young people.
All children and young people in this centre had up to date care plans and placement plans. They were also aware of their rights and had access to advocacy services, and all of them had a social worker.