Tusla to conduct risk assessment if mother of newborn found

Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, will conduct a risk assessment in the case of a newborn girl found in a plastic bag, should her mother be located and wish to take her back.

This procedure will examine what is best for the child’s welfare, although the immediate priority of the agency is to reunite mother and baby, sources have said.

If the mother is not identified, plans will be put in train to secure the child’s future wellbeing, up to and including adoption, the most likely outcome in such cases.

Fostering arrangements are already being explored.

“There is no hard and fast rule,” a source familiar with the procedure said.

“The best way to deal with this is through risk assessment. [Reunification] has to be ultimately the aim of the State.”

Because at this stage no parent is involved in the matter, the care of the child has automatically passed to Tusla, which would have been contacted by Tallaght Hospital officials after the baby was admitted last Friday.

For now, a court order is not necessary.

The infant, thought to have been born no more than three days before her discovery at an isolated road in Rathcoole, Co Dublin, remains in a stable condition in hospital.

Only if the mother is located will the question of custody arise.

“I would expect them at this stage to have an open mind. The preference is always for the child to be brought up by the mother, who has Constitutional rights,” the source said.

“The impression that exists is that [Tusla] will be rushed into court looking for a court order, but the reality is there isn’t a need for that at the moment.

“The fact that the child is now in a safe place doesn’t necessitate that. The question will ultimately be whether the case is made for a care order to be granted.”

Discretion

Under the 1991 Child Care Act, Tusla has considerable discretion when it comes to making a decision on the welfare of the child.

It may be that “proportional intervention” is decided upon, whereby the mother and child are brought back together over a period of time with considerable State supports in place.

If, on the other hand, the agency decides this is not in the best interest of the child, they can begin to implement statutory powers to seek custody. This is achieved through a district court application for a care order.

Option of adoption

If a care order is granted, Tusla may then pursue adoption as an option.

Dr Geoffrey Shannon, special rapporteur on child protection, declined to comment on the case at hand, but said there was generally a high threshold for the courts in granting care orders and a serious threat to the safety or wellbeing of the child in question would have to be demonstrated.

“The Child and Family Agency has a duty to reunite a child with its parent where such a course of action is consistent with the child’s welfare,” he said.

Under the 1991 Child Care Act, Dr Shannon explained, Tusla has discretion in terms of deciding the course of action in such cases, but its priority must always be to reunite mother and child where possible and when in the child’s best interests.

A spokeswoman for Tusla said the agency could not comment on individual cases.