Children and young people in State care

The Complaint

A 17 year-old girl living in residential care contacted the OCO because she was very worried about her aftercare. She was studying for her Leaving Certificate and was due to turn 18 at which time she would have to leave the residential centre in which she had resided for nearly 10 years. She had become attached to the staff and other residents in the care facility. She expressed concerns about her ability to cope with the separation and lead a normal life without support. Under the current legislation, the HSE has the power, but is not compelled, to provide aftercare.

The outcome
The HSE met with the young person and agreed to keep her in care until after she had completed her Leaving Certificate exam. They also agreed to develop, in consultation with her, an appropriate aftercare plan to support her once she leaves care.

Complaint:
A 16-year-old young person who had been availing of HSE out of hours/crisis intervention services contacted the Office. One of her parents had died and the other lived in another jurisdiction. Due to family difficulties she alleged that it was not viable for her to live with the remaining parent. She initially stayed with friends to whom she paid lodgings. When this broke down, she moved to live with her 19-year-old sibling, to whom the HSE provided aftercare. After a few months, this placement also broke down and the 16-yearold became homeless, accessing HSE out of hours services.

She heard of the OCO in her school and complained to the Office about a lack of support from the HSE, especially difficulties in getting social work support and having her phone calls returned. She explained that she felt alone and unwanted.

Investigation:
The OCO directed the young person to relevant support groups and also initiated an examination of the case. In their response, the HSE outlined their attempts to reunify the child with her parent, which the child refused. In the seven month period from the time the HSE became aware that she was on her own to the time she began to access the out of hours services, this included five phone calls to various parties and two meetings. The HSE also wrote a letter to renew the child’s medical card.

While the HSE explained to the child that it would be usual to contact the social services from the other jurisdiction to facilitate the reunification, there was no indication that contact took place to either assist such reunification or to establish if this was appropriate, given the child’s claims that she had been abandoned there on several occasions. Equally, no action appears to have been taken to check if the placement with the 19-year-old sibling was suitable.

Outcome
During the course of the OCO’s investigation, the child initiated legal proceedings with the help of support groups, on foot of which she moved from out of hours accommodation to HSE-supported independent living. Nonetheless, the details of the case raised concern about the level of support provided to the young person by the HSE, particularly given her isolation and possible vulnerability.