Children in Care?

Dublingirl23

Hi all,

I couldnt find a thread for children in care, so i decided to make one instead. What are peoples views on the care system? Good, bad or awful?

flynnc8

Fair Play I think this is a well needed thread....

I myself lived in care since I was 12 years old. I am now 20 and have a 20 month old daughter. I am studying Modern History at Trinity and doing very well in life to this point.

Before people post in this thread i would like them to realise that not every child / tennager are a stereotypical foster child etc.

You have children who are settled in at foster homes and supported lodgings but you also have children who are regularly moved from residential units, secure units and night beds.

Like in any social circle you have children who fit in better than others. As well as children who behave better than others. As a child I experienced many of these living situations and met such a variety of young people.

I hate the prejudice that young people in care recieve, it makes me feel sick. Although I do agree with people who speak about the psychological affects that being in care has on young people.

tallaght01

I'm just writing up some of my research on this issue at the moment. Hoping to get it published in a few months.

It's amazing to see that children in care have much lower rates of vaccination, and higher rates of virtually any illness you can think of. Also mental ilness levels are sky high.

I've contructed a colour coded map of where they come from (In scotland) and where they go to. It's incredibly sad to look at the map, and see there's huge clusters of these kids from the east end of Glasgow. I remember going through the data and seeing that there were even individual streets where several household had children taken into care.

Big issues with the health and welfare of these kids, but rarely gets any coverage/funding.

It might sound bad, but the media prefer pictures of bald kids with leukeamia in Crumlin Hospital than hordes of unimmunised children.

flynnc8

I can't pose question on your research as I am not qualified nor clued up enough to do so...
However I do feel that I was looked after to a high standard while in care. I was in several residential units and medical appointments wore a big deal. As a young person I was always encouraged to attend any appointments..

But as I said I am not a professional and do not know the facts or statistics. I feel that the care system in Ireland is quite good in regards to the health and safety of young people.

tallaght01

flynnc8 wrote: »

I can't pose question on your research as I am not qualified nor clued up enough to do so...
However I do feel that I was looked after to a high standard while in care. I was in several residential units and medical appointments wore a big deal. As a young person I was always encouraged to attend any appointments..

But as I said I am not a professional and do not know the facts or statistics.

I feel that the care system in Ireland is quite good in regards to the health and safety of young people.

it may well be, but there's a scandalous lack of research into the area in Ireland to be able to comment on the bigger picture.

As they say "The plural of anecdotes isn't evidence". You're experience may be typical, or it may not be. It's hard to tell.

But you're not the only one who doesn't know the stats. We could do with some data in Ireland, but no-one seems interested.

flynnc8

while in care I took part in a research programme set up by the Department of Childrens Research... (or something like that) in Trinity College.

I was met by a researcher on a yearly bases in each unit to speak about the past year in regards to medical attention, personal developement and education...

I was never informed of a written paper which came out of this research, but it would be interesting to see....

tallaght01

flynnc8 wrote: »

while in care I took part in a research programme set up by the Department of Childrens Research... (or something like that) in Trinity College.

I was met by a researcher on a yearly bases in each unit to speak about the past year in regards to medical attention, personal developement and education...

I was never informed of a written paper which came out of this research, but it would be interesting to see....

Yea there's some papers like that which reply on the child's perceptions of their care and stuff like that. But there's not much that says "children in care have insert number) % chance of being asthmatic/having up to date vaccinations/becoming smokers/abusing alcohol or drugs/being diabetic, whereas the chances of a child in their parental home are....etc etc".

The problem is lack of really hard data. there is data out there, but it's based on small numbers, or the outcomes they measure are not standardised.

flynnc8

You seem quite determined to find out the above data.

It is nice to see that some people have such an interest. Weather it be for official or acedemic purpose, I agree that it would be a great asset to the system.

tallaght01

Well, I'm hoping some day tdo a similiar study on kids in Ireland.

I've been working abroad for the last few years, and will be for about another 2 years or so.

But once I get back to Ireland I'll investigate to see if a large study is viable.

I only got into this area of research by accident. Some bigshot researcher asked me to run a research project on these kids. I was so chuffed to be asked to help him, I'd have done the research on any topic.

But when I started getting to the root of the problems, I actually found myself getting pretty mad at how bad the health some of these kids are and how little attention they get.

I had a brief look at the data for Ireland, when I was looking for a country to compare my UK data to, and there wasn't much. But I'll do a more detailed search at some point, and see if there's any gems hidden in obscure journals that might give us an idea how the Irish compare to other countries.

Would be an interesting comparitive study for the future.

It's very interesting to hear your experiences. I'm glad they were positive.

flynnc8

thank you very much, I am also glad I know how tough it id for some young people..

I hope you get to further your research at some point in the future.. Good Luck with it...:D

nikki 122

Hello, I'm looking for a work plcement in residentail care in Kilkenny but I can't find anything, even in Carlow or Waterford if any one can help, please do.

Nightwish

have you contacted Human Resources in C/KK Community services? The number is 056-7784600 if you want to call them.

Dublingirl23

Wow, this thread has got a lot of replys! My whole reason starting this thread was I too, was in Health Board care and I did get moved about an awful lot to night shelters, homes, foster homes suported lodgings etc. I was amazed to hear from a staff member who used to look after me that the stats have changed a lot since I was in care. When I say changed, I mean that the age of children going into care isn't as young as it used to be. She told me, a lot of the young people she works with are self-refferal. I've also been told, that the Health Board are trying to get children who under 12, into foster families rather than units/group homes. I think this is a great idea, as a unit can be a scary place for a child under the age of 12.

Yes, thank god the care system is on the way up.

Dublingirl23

flynnc8 wrote: »

I can't pose question on your research as I am not qualified nor clued up enough to do so...
However I do feel that I was looked after to a high standard while in care. I was in several residential units and medical appointments wore a big deal. As a young person I was always encouraged to attend any appointments..

But as I said I am not a professional and do not know the facts or statistics. I feel that the care system in Ireland is quite good in regards to the health and safety of young people.

Very sorry to double post. Fynn, have you tried IAYPIC for the stats? If you are interested, check out their site www.iaypic.ie Lots of useful info on there

nikki 122

Nightwish wrote: »

have you contacted Human Resources in C/KK Community services? The number is 056-7784600 if you want to call them.

thanks a bunch i owe you 1.

flynnc8

Yeah I have been involved with IAYPIC for a number of years since being in care. Nothing major just partaken in different research surveys etc.
The most recent one I have been involved with was the After Care scheme. How it helps, what changes can be made and so on.

In regards to Dublingirls comment on the system changing.. I don't know if your aware but there is now only one night by night unit in Dublin for under 18's (Nightlight Eden Quay) Other units such as Parkview, Sherard House and Eccle Street are now short term units. They tend to have the younger group ie. 12-16 years placed in the above units as they are very structured and allow the young person to continue on with school or courses.

As well as the above changes The Loft which is run by Focus Ireland only runs 2 hours a day in comparison to its old times of 10am to 7pm.. The Loft offers a cooked meal, shower facilities, recreational activities and key working sessions, for young people attending Nightlight.

The reason for this is the dramatic drop of young people being referred to Nightline. Nightlight now only accomadate 6 night beds (used to be 8) again because the demand for beds is no longer as high as it was back 5 maybe more years ago.

Dublingirl23

Yep, I was in all of them! I avoided the loft to be honest, when i was in out of hours, i tended not to be around the others much.

I'm glad that people do well for themselves, despite what they've gone through, given how unsetteling and traumatic care can be...

flynnc8

Well I have to say I was very involved with the others going through out of hours. The loft was great to just have somewhere to chill rather than being in town all day long, i find it very suprising that the hours are so limited now..

However if I take 23 as your age (dublingirl23) you where going through a few years before me. I know a couple of the lads and Girls who went through before me and they are totally different to the crowd i went through with...ie. heavily strung out on Heroin, in comparison to the young people using the service today. So i dont blame you keeping your distance. Thats not to say that the out of hours is drug free today.

Do you mind me asking what you are doing with yourself these days?

Dublingirl23

Yep no problem well im living in the country now with my boyfriend and were moving back to Dublin soon. I'm hoping to work with the DSPCA when i get back as i did work with the ISPCA for a good while.

Yes, I went through the out of hours service in 1999, i was about 15. I was lucky, I was placed every single time i went through. I know people that were left out and I thought that was horrible.

flynnc8

Same here i was never left out, while friends where constantly without beds.. I think the out of hours team give priority to the young people who they think are most vulnerable on the streets. Which is right in my opinion.

if you have two people looking for a bed and one is strung out on drugs and constantly getting arrested etc. and the other is a polite person who stays out of trouble. its obvious who is going to get priority.

Yes, 1999 was abit before me i started going through in 2001 and left the system in 2006. I'm sure we would know similar people but no sense going into names. i'm studying at Trinity College at the moment and receive so much praise for my struggles. So its nice to see that other people have came out on the right side too.. As you hear very little about people doing well.

Dublingirl23

Very true! Well said! It's hard to get your life in order after all the havoc but its not impossible...

Dublingirl23

Can I just say, its very difficult to get a hold of your care files. I'm going around in circles here trying to get them. :mad::mad: Very annoying.

feelthesame

hi dublingirl23, what problems are you having getting your care files if you don't mind me asking? you are definitly entitled to have them under the freedom of information act. have you had your request acknowledged etc? it usually takes 20 working days after that for the hse to find and copy your files etc.

Dublingirl23

feelthesame wrote: »

hi dublingirl23, what problems are you having getting your care files if you don't mind me asking? you are definitly entitled to have them under the freedom of information act. have you had your request acknowledged etc? it usually takes 20 working days after that for the hse to find and copy your files etc.

Hey, yeah i wrote off to Naas and another place that was ran by nuns (don't want to say it online, hope thats ok) They were grand, its another place ran by nuns that are sending me around in circles really, i feel like giving up completly. The gave me an address today and when i googled said address, it came up as an ex Magdelene Laundry. I saw some pics and its a derelict building