TUSLA are to double the number of social workers in Clare this summer but service gaps are leading to children from the county being sent for placement in Donegal and Cork.
Over the coming weeks, Tusla, the Child and Family Agency will return to a full complement of assigned social workers to its children in care team in Clare, rising from three to six social workers.
As it stands, the Children in Care team in Clare which comprises of three individuals are responsible for 43 children in care. One social worker has a caseload of 18 children, with the other two catering for 14 and 11 children respectively. In addition, the Child Protection and Welfare team has 14 children in care in Clare allocated to social workers on that team”.
Clare TD, Joe Cooney (FG) has raised the matter in Dáil Éireann. He warned that serious underlying issues within Tusla’s services in the county remain unresolved. “The total number of social workers employed in the Clare Children in Care team since 2021 is 14, which clearly suggests a high turnover and lack of continuity of care for the children”.
Deputy Cooney said he has received troubling accounts from families and professionals engaging with Tusla services in Clare. “What I am hearing about the type and level of care being provided for some of the most vulnerable children in our society causes me great concern. I am happy to hear that the complement of social workers will rise from three to six in the coming weeks, but I remain deeply concerned about the turnover rate for social workers in Clare and the number of children who have no allocated social worker and are currently placed in foster or residential care.
Minister for Children, Disability and Equality, Norma Foley TD (FF) confirmed that there are 77 children currently on the waiting list for social care in Clare.
A lack of continuity is having a damaging effect on vulnerable children, Deputy Cooney flagged. “The low number of social workers and extremely high rates of staff burnout and staff turnover have resulted in severely traumatised children being handed from one social worker to another, with little or no continuity of care. I have heard of children being placed in special emergency arrangements through the out-of-hours service, which only operates from 6 p.m., and can result in children being sent to placements anywhere in the country, including Donegal or Cork”.
He also raised concerns about the suitability of emergency care providers, and the lack of support for foster families managing increasingly complex needs. “What I have heard really leads me to question whether the care being provided by the emergency care providers is appropriate to the needs of these children. I’ve also heard from foster families who are doing their best but are left without the necessary levels of support”.
“This increase is a positive step and I welcome it but it cannot be a temporary fix. Tusla must address the root causes of the staffing crisis, including high workloads, burnout, and retention. Without tackling these systemic issues, we risk seeing the same pattern repeat, to the detriment of vulnerable children who need stable, consistent support,” he added.
