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	The number of children in care has risen by almost 20% during the past decade.</p>
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	There were 6,276 children in the care of the State at the end of last November, according to figures released by the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs.</p>
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	The majority of these are living in foster homes, while others are accommodated in state-run or private residential centres across the country.</p>
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	The figures were provided by Children&rsquo;s Minister Katherine Zappone this week in response to a parliamentary question from Fianna F&aacute;il spokesperson Anne Rabbitte.</p>
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	The number of children in care has risen by almost 20% during the past decade, although the most recent figures represent a reduction of 241 since 2014.</p>
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	&ldquo;The latest figures from Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, indicate that at the end of November 2016, there were 6,276 children in care,&rdquo; said Zappone.</p>
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	A total of 325 of these children are accommodated in residential centres &ndash; 151 in state-run centres, and 174 run by private or voluntary organisations.</p>
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	Support</p>
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	&ldquo;Residential care is usually for older children, where their needs may not be met in foster care or where this is their preferred placement,&rdquo; said the Children&rsquo;s Minister in her response.</p>
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	&ldquo;In general, these centres are based in domestic-style homes in the community, catering for two or three older children and staffed by social care workers to attend to the needs of the child.&rdquo;</p>
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	Private residential centres are subject to registration and inspection by Tusla. There are as many as 100 such centres located across four Tusla administrative regions covering the State.</p>
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	&ldquo;A child is placed in a residential setting only when they have an identified need that can be met by this service or for an intensive assessment or provision of specialist services,&rdquo; explained Zappone.</p>
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	Breakdown</p>
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	&ldquo;Some of the young people in residential care will have come into care recently, while others may have experienced the breakdown of other care placements, including foster care.</p>
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	&ldquo;Specialist supports are also routinely made available, as needed, and many centres have specialised skillsets and therapeutic modalities.&rdquo;</p>
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	June Tinsley, head of advocacy with children&rsquo;s charity Barnardos Head said the system of service provision must be capable of meeting the needs of children in its care.</p>
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	&ldquo;This means all children and young people having a personalised care plan which is implementable, assigned social workers to offer consistent support to them and their foster families, availability and access to additional supports (when needed) and a clear aftercare plan to support the transition to independent adulthood,&rdquo; she said.</p>
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	&ldquo;Another crucial piece of the puzzle is supporting families sooner to prevent problems escalating which can in turn lead to children being removed from their care.&rdquo;</p>
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	&ldquo;Offering parents support to improve their parenting capacity and skills is vital to enhancing children&rsquo;s outcomes. The value of early intervention supports should not be underestimated and should be invested in more widely.&rdquo;</p>
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	&nbsp;</p>
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	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 9th February 2017)</p>
<p>
	<a href="http://www.thejournal.ie/children-in-care-3-3230126-Feb2017/?utm_source=shortlink">http://www.thejournal.ie/children-in-care-3-3230126-Feb2017/?utm_source=shortlink</a></p>
