Care policy for children 'needs review'

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The system of placing children under 12 in care should be reviewed urgently, the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) says. HIQA found that children as young as five were being put into care for as long as several years. Its Social Services Inspectorate has released a report on the issue. A tendency to put younger children into residential care was at odds with a stated principle to find a place for them with families, the report noted. The most recent available figures found that over 5,000 children under 12 were in care, the majority in foster homes but nearly one-tenth in residential care. Last year social services inspectors identified the 93 children under 12 in residential care, to form the basis of the HIQA report. Of these 58, or 62% were aged under 12. Over a quarter (28%) had been in their placements for more than three years. The majority of children were boys, at 78%, and most of them had been in placements before their situation at the time. The HIQA report also recommends that the Department of Health publish a clear national policy on the fostering of children under 12.