Increase in number of referrals to Tusla
New data from Tusla shows a rise of more than 6,000 referrals to the Child and Family Agency last year, with a corresponding rise in the number of cases awaiting social worker allocation, including 20% of cases deemed “high priority”.
The data also shows the number of cases of retrospective abuse awaiting allocation tripled, from 394 at the start of the year to 1,058 at the end of last December.
The Year To Date Activity Report for 2018 shows a fall in the number of children in care, from 6,196 at the start of 2018 to 6,026 at the end of December, but a rise in referrals of just over 6,000 to 56,830. By the end of last year, 76% of those cases had been allocated, compared to 80% allocated at the start of 2018.
The percentage of cases awaiting allocation nationally involving child protection and children in care rose from 19.7% to 24.3% in the same period, although there was a slight fall in the percentage of high-priority cases awaiting allocation nationally.
The total number of children at the end of the reporting period currently listed as ‘Active’ on Tusla’s Child Protection Notification System also fell, from 1,304 at the start of the year to 1,029 at the end of December.
The rise in the number of referrals over the course of the year — flagged in advance by Tusla due in part to the introduction of mandatory reporting of child protection concerns — saw a corresponding rise in the number of ‘open’ cases from 24,891 at the start of 2018 to 26,433 at year’s end.
The data report, which Tusla has stressed contains provisional figures, also showed a fall in the percentage of cases with an allocated social worker, from 94% at the start of the year to 91% at the end of 2018, with Carlow/Kilkenny/South Tipperary having the lowest percentage of any area at 69.2%.
The number of relative foster care placements without a social worker also fell, from 92% at the start of the year to 87% last December and, in that category, Dublin South West/Kildare/West Wicklow had the lowest percentage of any area, at 61% of cases.
A related report showing activity across the year showed child protection and welfare referrals peaked last May when 5,514 were made. The report also shows while there was a rise in the number of cases awaiting allocation generally in cases rated as low, medium and high priority, the most marked increase was among medium-priority cases.
The Tusla data also shows that although total staff numbers increased by almost 200 in 2018, the number of social workers fell slightly over the same period. Tusla has told a number of Oireachtas Committees that it is making renewed efforts to improve social worker recruitment and retention.
The data also shows, at the end of last year, there were 22 Irish children in out-of-State placements, including five from Co Mayo alone.
