Tusla wants foster carers for refugee children seeking protection
Newly-arrived Afghan refugee children carry their belongings through the Jalozai refugee camp, Pakistan. Tusla has launched a campaign for foster carers to take in separated children seeking international protection. Picture: AP Photo/John McConnico)
Tusla is launching a new campaign seeking foster carers to take in separated children seeking international protection.
The campaign, the first of its kind here, will run from September 6 to 12 and comes as the existing Irish commitment to accept 36 unaccompanied minors from Greece as part of European Union relief efforts comes to an end — and as crises in Afghanistan and elsewhere develop.
Kate Duggan, Director of Services and Integration, Tusla, said it had received five queries about taking in young people last week, even ahead of the campaign launch.
"What we are looking for is dedicated, open-minded, caring individuals and families who come from lots of different cultural and linguistic backgrounds because this is a diverse group of young people," she said.
She said Tusla wants to hear from carers from different backgrounds and added: "What is most important is finding members of the public and individuals who are really motivated to care for these young people who come from a very difficult background. We have now a group of individuals who have experienced traumatic events who come to us in Ireland and what is important is we find a family or carer who really wants them."
From 2016 to 2020, 438 unaccompanied minors have come into the care of Tusla. Ms Duggan said there are 76 unaccompanied minors in the care of the Tusla at the moment, with 43 of those in family placements and 33 in residential care. Another 108 young people who have aged out are receiving aftercare.
The final nine young people of the 36 Ireland pledged to take under its last commitment are due to arrive here in the coming weeks. Their age profile is between 10 and 17, and of the 36 who will have arrived from Greece, 17 are from Afghanistan, eight are Syrian, and the remainder are from Eritrea, Iran and Pakistan.
Ms Duggan said the latest indication regarding the current situation in Afghanistan is refugee status will be granted to 203 people under the Irish refugee programme, and 103 family reunifications, but there may be a requirement for more young people to arrive and Tusla will support those efforts.
She said foster care is the priority but residential placements could be considered.
Ms Duggan said she has already received hugely positive feedback from those who have already taken in some young people emerging from humanitarian crises and referred to an email regarding a person in an aftercare unit specifically for young people seeking international protection who had secured in the range of 500 points in their Leaving Certificate exams.
Lorna Kavanagh, Area Manager, National Operations Office, said: "We are looking to build capacity," adding that Tusla will be satisfied if the recruitment drive secured between 10 and 20 new foster carers to fill these specific roles.
However, she admitted that the attrition rate between those who initially flag an intention to apply to be a foster carer to the point of approval is very high, with as little as 10% of the initial group completing the process.
Members of the public enquiring about caring for a child seeking international protection here can visit fostering.ie, call freephone 1800 226 771 or email tusla.fostering@tusla.ie
