What is residential care?
Rights of children
What does Residential Care provide?
High Support
Special Care
Quality of care
HSE Monitoring Officer
Youth Homeless Data

What is residential care?

The HSE may provide residential care for children who can no longer be cared for by their family in their own home. This may also happen in the case of a children who have been abandoned or orphaned. Where parents are unable to cope due to illness or other problems they may agree to their children being taken into the care of the HSE. This is known as voluntary care. In these cases while the HSE has care of the children it must consider the parents' wishes as to how the care is provided. The HSE is obliged to maintain these children for as long as their welfare requires it. At present there are over 5,000 children in care in Ireland.

Residential care refers to care that can be provided in a home (for children in the care of the HSE) staffed by Care Staff. The home or centre is referred to as a children’s residential centre. Residential care may be provided in a HSE run children’s residential centres. Care may also be provided by voluntary organizations on a not for profit basis. In recent years, organizations also provide residential care for young people on a for profit basis.

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Rights of Children
The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is an international agreement on the rights of children. It was ratified by Ireland on 21^st September 1992. It contains the complete statement ever made on children’s rights as well as an internationally recognised framework of minimum standards necessary for the well being of a child to which every child and young person under 18 years is entitled to. The Government is obliged to ensure that the minimum standards set by the Convention are met. 41 different rights for children/young people are outlined in the document including the right for young people to be allowed an active role in decisions that affect their lives. 

The Child Care Act 1991 states the HSE “in so far as is practicable give due consideration, having regard to his age and understanding to the wishes of the child”. In 2000, the Government created a National Plan for children/young people called the the National Children’s Strategy. In April 2002, The Office of the Ombudsman for Children was set up by the Government to protect and promote children’s rights. This Office also investigates complaints regarding children’s rights. Click here to access the Ombudsman for Children website. www.oco.ie

The Office of the Minister for Children was set up in December 2005. It brings together part of the Department of Health and Children, with units from the Department of  Justice, Equality and Law Reform, and the Department of Education and Science. Click here to access the Office of the Minister for Children website www.omc.gov.ie

The Irish Association for Young People in Care (IAYPIC) was set up to give a voice to what young people are saying, promote the rights of children in care, provide information, support and advice to young people and to promote participation. Click here to access the Irish Association for Young People in Care website www.iaypic.ie/

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What does Residential Care provide?
The purpose of residential care is to provide a safe, nurturing environment for individual children and young people who cannot live at home or in an alternative family environment.  It aims to meet in a planned way the physical, educational, emotional, spiritual, health and social needs of each child. This may include

working with a young person’s Social Worker and other professionals to prepare a young person for a successful return home,

working with a young person’s Social Worker and other professionals to prepare a young person for a successful transition to an agreed placement of choice,

working with a young person’s Social Worker and other professionals to prepare a young person for a successful transition to independent / supported living.

All professionals who work with children in residential centres strive to ensure:

• that the welfare and best interests of resident young people are of paramount consideration in all aspects of the care provided
•  that the young people in care are provided with an opportunity to feel safe, secure and protected from harm in an environment where they can be sure their primary needs will be met.
• that the young people in care feel encouraged and supported when partaking in new and positive experiences.
• That the young people in care are provided opportunities to develop new competencies and to enjoy their achievements while also experiencing approval, recognition and praise for the efforts they have made.
• that the practice reflects the importance of understanding both the past and present life experience of  the young people in our care and takes due consideration of their age and corresponding stage of development.
• that the young people in care feel valued even when their thoughts, feelings and behaviour are  difficult for them to manage or for us to accept.
• that the relationships developed convey attentiveness, compassion and respect for the young people in our care, their families, communities and cultures
• that the programmes developed for the young people in care are always delivered with the same attentiveness, compassion and respect that embodies the relationships formed with them.

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High Support

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Special care

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Quality of Care
The requirements for placing a child in a children’s residential centre and for the running of these centres are laid out in the Child Care (Placement of Children in Residential Care) Regulations 1995.  All Children’s Residential Centres are subject to statutory inspection. The Office of the Chief Inspector of Social Services in the Health Information Quality Authority carries out this function (www.hiqa.ie). The Social Services Inspectorate inspect and register statutory (HSE) children’s residential centres. The HSE inspect and register voluntary and private (for profit) children’s residential centres.

The statutory framework which underpins this work in laid out in The Child Care (Placement in Residential Care) Regulations 1995. In addition, National Standards for Children’s Residential Centres (2001) have been in operation and are based on the requirements of legislation, regulation and findings from research.  The standards allow the Inspectors to form judgments about the quality of services provided in these centres.

Areas covered by standards include

1. the purpose and function of the centre,
2. the premises,
3. health and safety,
4. management and staffing,
5. planning and review arrangements for children in care,
6. children’s rights,
7. child protection,
8. education and vocational training  
9. health care and health education
10. record keeping
11. exercise of control
12. parental involvement

A children’s version of the standards is available. .

Reports of the Social Services Inspectorate are available on the Health Information and Quality Authority website at : www.hiqa.ie

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HSE Monitoring Officer
Under the Child Care (Placement Of Children In Residential Care) Regulations, 1995, Part 3, Article 17 the monitoring officer ensures compliance with Child Care Regulations 5 – 16 and to report under the following headings:

Care practices and operational policies
Staffing
Accommodation
Education
Access arrangements
Health care
Religion
Provision of food and cooking facilities
Fire precautions
Safety precautions
Insurance
Notification of significant events
Records

The 1995 regulations state that the monitor is required to visit centres from ‘time to time’

(Part III, Article 17(b)).

National Standards for Children’s Residential Centres
The monitor also has additional functions under Standard 3 of the National Standards for Children’s Residential Centres. These functions are as follows: 

Standard 3.4. The authorised person meets with the young people and enquires about their general welfare and happiness.

Standard 3.5. The authorised person sees that all children have an allocated social worker and that a care plan has been prepared and looks for evidence that decisions taken have been acted upon.

Standard 3.6. The authorised person reads records of sanctions, physical restraint, complaints and unauthorised absences, and discusses any issues arising from these with the centre manager.

Standard 3.7. All significant incidents will be routinely notified to the authorised person.

Standard 3.8. The authorised person shall satisfy himself or herself that the centre is in compliance with all regulations and standards in respect of children’s residential centres.

The aim of the monitoring process is to support best practice and the provision of the highest standards of care, and at all times to promote the rights and welfare of young people as paramount. The process of assessing standards of care in the centres is undertaken by gathering information through interviews and meetings with the centre management, staff members and young people, analyses of case files and centre records, and contact with guardians, social workers and other professionals deemed relevant by the monitoring officer.

When a monitoring visit generates a written report it will be circulated in draft form to the centre management and line management for discussion and clarification of issues arising. A final copy is then distributed to the relevant persons within the HSE and to the appropriate inspection services.

Following notification of serious incidents, the monitoring officer may contact the centre to clarify information received and may also make recommendations for immediate change to ensure compliance to the regulations and adherence to HSE policies and best child care practices.

The monitoring officer may, in cases of serious concerns about some aspect of the care offered by a centre, write a letter immediately following a monitoring visit highlighting these concerns to the centre’s manager and line manager, and seek clarification as to how presenting issues may be resolved in compliance with the regulations.

Click here for contact details for the Monitoring Officers

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Youth Homeless Data

The data collected by the HSE in regards to youth homeless currently consists of both old and new metrics.
Historically, the interim data set has gathered data measuring homeless on the number of contacts or referrals made to the HSE by young people. What the metrics did not capture was the number of children presenting ( as opposed to contacts) or what the outcomes were once the young person contacted the services. In some cases children presenting were categorized as “welfare” as opposed to “Homeless”

In order to correct this deficit in reliable and accurate data in the area of homeless children the following initiatives were introduced in 2011.

• In the National Services Plan 2011 two performance indicators were introduced to be reported on an annual basis i.e.

“No of children placed in Youth Homeless centers/Units for more than 4 consecutive nights (or more than 10 separate nights over a year)”

“No and % percentage of children in care placed in a specific homeless centre/unit”

• In Quarter 4 2011, the HSE will also introduce a metric on the number of children placed on Section 5 of the Child Care Act 1991 which provides for the accommodation for Homeless Children;

“Where it appears to a health Board that a child in its area is homeless, the board shall enquire into the child’s circumstances, and if the board is satisfied that there is no accommodation available to him which he can reasonable occupy, then, unless the child is received into care of the board under the provision of this Act, the board shall take such steps to make available suitable accommodation for him”

These will be reported on in January 2012 and should provide more concrete figures on the number of children presenting and assessed as homeless.

To complement the above the HSE are currently preparing a policy on the use of Section 5 of the Child Care Act 1991. This will be implemented in late December 2011.

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