Over 96,600 Referrals Made to Tusla in 2024

Tusla's social workers dealt with 96,666 child protection and welfare referrals last year which was a 5% increase on referrals in 2023.

The latest annual report marks ten years since the establishment of the child and family Agency when in 2014, the agency experienced 43,630 referrals.

Since then, demand has increased across education, family support, residential care and special care, and services for Separated Children Seeking International Protection (SCSIP).

The report says that the continued increase in referrals reflects rising pressures on families - including cost-of-living challenges, homelessness, domestic violence, addiction, and global displacement.

Last year, 916 children were taken into care, 604 for the first time and 48,443 children were referred to family support services.

Staff recruitment is consistently raised in reports and assessments of Tusla as a barrier to children receiving dedicated social workers.

However, the report says that in 2024, a total of 1,258 new staff joined the agency, including 143 new social workers through the most successful graduate campaign to date.

Last year, 916 children were taken into care, 604 for the first time.

Despite reports of staff burnout and early exits, staff retention also improved last year, according to Tusla, with a 93% overall retention rate (up from 91.1%) and social work retention rose to 91.5% from 87% in January 2024.

Demand remained high across foster care, mainstream residential care, and special care.

A new dedicated National Fostering Recruitment Team approved 244 new foster carers - a 21% increase on 2023 which saw 173 carers.

However, Tusla has acknowledged that it continues to face challenges particularly in special care, where recruitment of specialist professionals working with young people with complex needs, remains problematic.

A number of judges have expressed \"despair\" last year over a lack of special care beds for some of the most vulnerable children in the State.

Tusla has said progress was made in 2024 in this regard through targeted initiatives to attract and retain staff including national and international recruitment campaigns.

In collaboration with the Department of Children, Disability, and Equality, Tusla also introduced an enhanced staff grade - Special Care Worker - to \"strengthen the delivery of special care services\".

\"This strategic initiative is already showing positive outcomes: the opening of an additional special care bed marks a tangible expansion in capacity, and recruitment under the new grade is now under way, supporting the safe and effective care of some of the most vulnerable children in care,\" it said.