“Every child I have been with on admission to emergency placements, whether it is foster care or residential, has told me they are scared,” says Claire Brogan, a practice manager with Barnardos.
Claire Brogan, a legal advocate for children in care, recalls a case where a child was in care for a year and two months but never in that time given a proper long-term residential placement.
Instead, he was moved between special emergency arrangements and a short-term emergency residential facility in the city centre, says Brogan, who works with Barnados.
Children from small towns around Ireland are regularly accommodated in emergency accommodation in Dublin’s inner-city, she says, and some are scared to go outside.
She recalls a 13-year-old boy from Meath. “He was terrified.”
“Every child I have been with on admission to emergency placements, whether it is foster care or residential, has told me they are scared,” says Brogan. “Without fail. This is quadrupled when leaving a child in an SEA [special emergency arrangement].”
This month, Tusla counted 57 children in unregulated special emergency arrangements, the ad hoc arrangements where staff, who are not always qualified social care workers, stay with children in hotels or rented houses.
In May, there were 29 others in “emergency/short-term residential placements where a long-term residential placement is still required” but were not SEAs, according to a response to a request under the Freedom of Information Act.
Brogan says the longest time she has seen a child spend in emergency accommodation was a year and nine months, she says. “Often our most high-risk young people are the ones who are experiencing this.”
A Tusla spokesperson said that there are multiple forms of emergency accommodation for children in care.
“While there continues to be challenges with capacity, it should be noted that existing provisions continue to grow across all residential provisions to support meeting the ongoing demand,” says the spokesperson.
The number of children on waiting lists for long-term residential placements grew from 170 in February to 208 in May.
“When a child is taken into the care of Tusla, every effort is made to place the child in a family setting, either within their extended family (Relative Foster Care) or in a Foster Care placement,” says the Tusla spokesperson.
But that isn’t always possible.
So, there were 57 kids in special emergency arrangements in July, says the spokesperson. In May, there were also 29 in emergency provision through the National Placement Team, she says – and there are other types of emergency accommodation in the care system.
“There are a variety of types of care placements which provide what can be termed emergency or short-term provision, such as Emergency Respite Services (ERS), interim or short-term care provided when a child or young person is admitted through Tusla’s Out of Hours Service (OOHS),” says the spokesperson. “Each of these placement types operate with varying maximum-stay limits ranging from several days to several months.”
The Tusla spokesperson didn’t confirm the overall number of children in the care of the state who are living in the various emergency accommodation settings she outlined.
She says that on the weekend ending Sunday 18 July, Tusla’s out-of-hours service placed three children in special emergency arrangements and five children in emergency fostering placements.
Emergency residential placements are generally better than the unregulated special emergency arrangements because they are run by qualified staff, says Brogan.
“Many charity-run emergency units and foster carers do their absolute best, but nonetheless, the children are anxious, scared, confused,” says Brogan. “Children feel disempowered and lost. I have seen responses to special emergency arrangements where children are very, very angry.”
Despite the best efforts of staff, none of these short-term placements are a home. And they are supposed to last a maximum of one to three months, says Brogan.
“The purpose and function is to respond to a child who is experiencing an emergency, but often children find themselves in these setups for much longer,” she says.
Guardians ad litem – who act as legal advocates for children – sometimes have to advocate for a child to remain in an emergency residential placement for longer because their only move-on option is to special emergency arrangements, where they will get less appropriate care, she says.
The emergency residential placements are usually run by charities and are different from special emergency arrangements, says Brogan. They are regulated settings with qualified staff who work hard to help the kids, she says, but they are not set up for long-term stays.
Brogan said that the children who are most at risk are more likely to be stuck in homeless situations for longer, because private companies that run children’s homes often don’t accept kids with mental health issues or complex needs.
“They have the pick of the bunch, unfortunately,” says Brogan. “Of course, it's easier if the kids are in school.”
But a spokesperson for Tusla said that is not the case. The majority of children requiring a high level of support are placed in existing private children’s homes, says the Tusla spokesperson.
“Children with varying high-level needs are placed within existing private provisions as well as in statutory and voluntary services,” she says. “It is not an accurate reflection to identify that private companies do not accept high-risk children.”
Brogan says that in her experience, many of the young people on the waiting list for special care placements – which is the highest security option for children in care who are at serious risk – are accommodated in emergency placements while they are waiting, she says.
A Tusla spokesperson said that as of Thursday 24 July, there is one child awaiting a special care placement.
“While awaiting admission, young people are supported in alternative care settings,” says the spokesperson. “They have an allocated key worker, an active care plan, and their care is actively coordinated by the Director of Services and Integration in collaboration with the six Regional Chief Officers.”
Tusla is committed to working with the courts and with parents to ensure the safety of young people awaiting placement in special care, while also addressing and mitigating potential risks, she says.
Tusla is committed to increasing its registered residential care placements and reducing its reliance on special emergency arrangements, she says.
Tusla tries to move children to fully regulated settings as soon as possible, says the spokesperson. “Internal processes are in place for approving, placing, and governing these arrangements to mitigate risk and promote the safety and well-being of young people,” she says.
Sometimes, the location of the emergency facilities also contributes to the children’s fear, says Brogan – as with those kids from outside of Dublin who are placed in the city centre.
“Moving children from country towns to the inner-city for emergency accommodation is standard practice these days,” says Brogan.
The 13-year-old boy from County Meath she recalled had no experience of city life and was shocked by the inner-city, she says.
Children from Dublin city can also be placed in remote locations very far away from anyone they know, she says.
Another problem with the emergency system is that it brings together groups of teenagers who might be better off not being friends, says Brogan.“We are introducing our most vulnerable kids to each other.”
“Emergency facilities should be stop-gaps for a night or two,” she says. “It shouldn’t be going on for months.”
Wayne Stanley, CEO of Empowering People in Care, says that he is worried by the increased number of children on waiting lists for residential placements, which went from 170 in February to 208 in May.
That indicates that Tusla is under increased pressure, says Stanley. The last time the agency came under severe pressure it started accommodating children in hotels and B&Bs, he says.
He understands that senior officials in Tusla want to move away from using emergency placements, but they won’t be able to do that while the number of children in need of placements grows.
“They could be forced to do more emergency provision,” says Stanley. “They have to stay ahead of this.”
It's impossible to strategise when you are constantly putting out fires, he says. “They’re constantly dealing with crisis. So more kids are falling through the cracks.”
But he says there is a possible solution: more money.
Government should give Tusla 120 percent of its current funding, he says, which should help the agency to roll-out a strategy to get out of the ongoing crisis.
“Additional funding would allow them to develop capacity,” he says.
There’s a system for Tusla to help reunite kids with family in other EU member states, but not in the UK.
“Having private, for-profit care goes against all you are trying to achieve for children in care,” says Terry Dignan, a spokesperson for charities that run children’s homes.
