The HSE took 300 more children into care last year as compared to 2008. A report presented to a meeting of the HSE earlier this month shows there were 5,694 children in care at the end of November 2009, up from 5,396 in January 2009 – a 5.5 per cent increase.
According to The Irish Times, the report, prepared by the HSE, says its local health offices have attributed the increase to a number of factors including increased public awareness of child protection and welfare issues mainly through the media, which has resulted in increased reporting of cases; the economic downturn which it says is resulting in additional financial hardship for families and cutbacks to household budgets for childcare; and an increase in babies born to mothers addicted to drugs/alcohol in some areas.
It said these babies have been taken straight into care.
Furthermore it says there has been an increase in the number of babies of siblings already in care being also taken into care where there is no change in the home situation.
Most children in care are in foster care. Of the 5,694 children in care at the end of November last 3,422 were in foster care with families unrelated to them, 1,690 were in foster care with relatives, 388 were in residential care and 194 had other care arrangements.
The majority of the additional children taken into care last year were in the HSE south region where numbers of children in care increased by 134. An extra 85 were also taken into care in the HSE west area. However, overall the west has the lowest number of children in care, accounting for just 20 per cent of the national total.
Meanwhile the report reveals social worker shortages continue to be a problem. It says there has been a slight reduction in the number of foster carers who are supported by an allocated social worker between November 2008 and November 2009, down from 80.5 per cent to 79.6 per cent.
This means 86 foster carers who had an allocated social worker in 2008 lost them during 2009. Some of this reduction has been due to the non-replacement of social workers going on maternity leave.