The recruitment and retention of new foster carers in Cavan and Monaghan continues to be a major problem. Twelve recruitment campaigns were conducted in the past year but only resulted in three new homes being added.
The shortage has meant one child was placed in "short-term foster care" while awaiting a longer-term placement, the recently published HIQA has revealed.
Highlighting that more needs to be done to increase the number of foster carers locally, the review also found "challenges" in terms of "appropriate matching" of foster carers and children within the area.
At the time Cavan and Monaghan had a total of 148 children in foster care, 119 of whom were in general foster care and 29 children in relative foster care.
Fifteen children were placed in an emergency since May 2022, and there were 55 new placements in care in the two years prior to the inspection.
Recruitment and retention of carers had been identified as a "priority", and even escalated on the risk scale register by TUSLA in Cavan-Monaghan in 2022
