HIQA has published its inspection report on the foster care services operated by the Child and Family Agency (Tusla) in Donegal.
An inspection was carried out in March, which examined the promotion of children’s rights, the quality of children’s assessments of need, and how these assessments informed the matching of children with foster carers.
In addition, HIQA assessed how children are protected from abuse and neglect and the management and monitoring of the foster care services, including the availability of a range of suitable foster carers.
Of the six national standards assessed, the Donegal service area was found to be compliant with two standards and substantially compliant with four standards.
HIQA found that the foster care service in the county had systems in place to protect children from abuse.
However, increased levels of oversight were required to ensure all foster carers were aware of their role as mandated persons.
The area also had significantly high numbers of children who were not related to each other placed in the same foster care home, which is not in line with the national standards.
There were clearly defined governance and oversight systems in place that set out lines of authority and accountability.
Overall, HIQA found that the quality assurance systems in place were effective, though some systems required more effective oversight from management, such as the frequency and recording of supervision.
