THE State is spending almost €90 million a year to keep about 400 children in residential care, at an average cost of €4,294 per child per week.
In addition, a small number of children are sent overseas for treatment at an average cost to the taxpayer of €4,692 per child per week. Last year, the cost of sending nine young people out of the state for treatment to locations in Britain, and Nebraska in the USA, cost €2.2m, almost €250,000 per child.
Here at home, the average annual cost of keeping a child in care is more than €220,000.
The Health Service Executive (HSE) said placements out of state are required:
* Where children exhibit problematic behaviour, such as self-harming, deviant sexual behaviour or extreme oppositional behaviour.
* In cases where children require therapeutic intervention and care 24/7.
* In cases where children require psychological education treatment.
* In cases where services offering a disability or mental health component are not available in Ireland.
"Given that less than 1% of young people in care require these specialised placements, it would not be feasible to establish such services in Ireland," the HSE said. Overseas services used by the HSE include Fresh Start UK and Five Rivers UK, who also provide services here, as well other facilities in England, Northern Ireland, Wales, and Nebraska in the US.
The Irish Association of Social Workers (IASW) said while generally foster care was preferable to placing children in care homes, some children had needs so complex that foster families could not cater for them.
IASW president Ineke Durville said children had to be accommodated based on their needs, but that the number of children entering care could be reduced if adequate early intervention services were available.
"The emphasis needs to be on early intervention to prevent them coming into care in the first place, but the reality is most social care teams are running a crisis intervention service, rather than a proper social work service," Ms Durville said.
Ms Durville said the likelihood of children remaining in care for long periods was heightened by the fact that 16% of children in residential care did not have an allocated social worker.
Placing children in foster care is far more cost-effective than use of residential care homes. Foster carers receive a weekly payment of €325 per child under 12 years of age and €352 for those over 12 and the bulk of 5,676 children in care at the end of July 2009 are in foster care.
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
This appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Tuesday, September 29, 2009
