Alternative care

Alternative care is when the State provides care for children and young people who cannot remain in the care of their parents.

The decision to place a child or young person in care may be either agreed:

• On a voluntary basis with the child or young person’s parents/guardians or,
• By order of the courts such as care orders, emergency care orders or special care orders.

When a child is in the care of Tusla, there are several ways it can be provided.

Children can be placed:

• In foster care
• With relatives
• In residential care

Children are accommodated through placement in foster care, placement with relatives, or residential care.

Whatever kind of care is chosen, Tusla must make sure parents and other relatives have reasonable access to the child or children.

Where possible, Tusla will place the child with foster parents.

When planning the care of the child, Tusla works with the parents and the child to create a care plan. The care plan must set out:

• The support to be provided to the child and the foster parents, and
• The arrangements for access to the child in foster care by parents or relatives.

A care plan is a requirment of the  Child Care (Placement of Children in Foster Care) Regulations 1995. 

Relative foster care is when a person such as a family member, family friend or neighbour becomes the foster parent of the child. Normally, a relative foster carer is a person with whom the child or the child’s family has had a relationship before the child’s admission to care. Relative foster carers go through an assessment and approval process in a similar way to general foster carers.

When Tusla cannot find a suitable relative, or a person known to the child, to provide relative care, Tusla will try to place a child in general foster care.

If there is a shortage of foster parents, children may be placed in residential care instead.

Residential care can be in:

• A home run by Tusla
• A registered children's residential centre
• A school or another suitable place of residenceResidential care can be in a home run by Tusla, a children's residential centre registered under the 1991 Act, a school or other suitable place of residence.

The reasons for a young person requiring admission to residential care are many and varied. They can include:

• There may be no suitable foster care placement available,
• A young person may have experienced foster care placement disruption
• Residential care may be considered as the most appropriate alternative care setting

The Child Care (Placement of Children in Residential Care) Regulations 1995 state the standards for residential centres which are registered with Tusla. The centres are subject to inspection by the Health Information and Quality Authority.

Children taken into care under special care orders or interim special care orders are placed in special care units. Special care is short-term and provides safe care in a therapeutic environment for children between 11 and 17 years with challenging and complex behaviours. The child is not taken into care due to criminal offences but for their own safety and welfare.

Tusla may provide and maintain special care units or make arrangements with voluntary bodies to provide and operate them. Children who are convicted of an offence may not be placed in special care units.

Family welfare conferences

A family welfare conferences may be organised for children at risk from their own behaviour.

A family welfare conference is where participants try to decide if the child needs special care or protection and, if so, to recommend to Tusla that it apply for a special care order.

A family welfare conference can be arranged when:

• Tusla is directed to arrange it by the Children Court, or
• Tusla is of the view that a child requires special care or protection which they are unlikely to receive unless a special care order is made

If not, the conference may make other recommendations to Tusla, including, for example, a recommendation that Tusla apply for a care order or a supervision order.

The conference decisions must be agreed by everyone at the meeting and, if it is not possible to get agreement, Tusla must make the decision.

People who can be at the family welfare conference are:

• The child
• The parents or guardians
• Any person appointed by the court to give the child a voice in care proceedings (called a guardian ad litem in legal terminology)
• Other relatives agreed by the co-ordinator after consulting the child and the parents
• Tusla officials
• Any other person who could make a positive contribution because of knowledge of the child or the family or because of particular expertise

When Tusla receives the conference recommendation, it may:

• Apply for a special care order or
• Apply for a supervision order or a care order or
• Provide any appropriate help or service for the child or their family

Family welfare conferences have legal privilege. This means that any information, statement or admission disclosed in the meeting cannot be used as evidence in court.

The Children Act 2001 provides for family welfare conferences.

Young people leaving care at the age of 18 are entitled to aftercare services. Aftercare services are for all young people that are between 16-21 years old that have spent 12 months in the care of the Tulsa or the HSE, between the ages 13-18. Aftercare services are available for people up to 23 years old if they are engaged in accredited training or education.

Read more on about young people leaving care and aftercare services.

EPIC

EPIC is an independent organisation that works with and for children and young people who are currently living in care, people in aftercare and with adults up to the 27 years old with care experience. EPIC offers an advocacy service to children and young people in state care, and young people aged 18-26 with care experience.

Child Law Project

The Child Care Law Reporting Project was launched in 2013.

It was established to:

• Provide information to the public on child care proceedings in the courts
• Conduct research
• Recommend how to deal with issues in the child care system identified by the research
• Promote confidence in the child care system

The Child Law Project reports on child care cases so that both professionals and members of the public can learn about how and why children are taken into care, and what happens then.