Vulnerable girl absconds from care as Tusla fails to comply with High Court order
High Court Reporter
A vulnerable minor who is subject to a court order directing Tusla to place her in secure care has recently absconded from a private accommodation placement, amid ongoing concern about her involvement with an adult man, the High Court has heard.
Tusla, the child and family agency, has not complied with the order to detain the child in secure care, due to a lack of available beds the State’s three secure care units.
Highly troubled and vulnerable children aged 11 to 17 can be detained in a secure care unit, known as special care, on foot of a High Court order sought by Tusla.
Judge John Jordan, who manages the High Court’s special care list, on Monday said it was “not surprising” that the girl’s situation was getting worse in circumstances where she should be in special care, but is not.
“It seems pointless pointing out to the CFA [Child and Family Agency] that special care orders are not part of an à la carte menu… they are made and should be complied with,” he said.
Alan D P Brady, counsel for the girl’s court-appointed advocate, said reports available to the court set out the extent of the deterioration of the girl’s situation in a recent accommodation placement with a private provider.
Brady said the girl had engaged in assaults on staff at the placement, and said there was concern about the minor’s involvement with an adult man.
The judge noted instances of violence, aggression, absconding, drinking, self-harm and “consorting” with an older person recorded in the reporting before the court.
Paul Gunning, barrister for Tusla, said the private accommodation provider had recently informed his client that it was discharging the minor from the placement, describing this as a “regrettable development”. The child’s previous foster family agreed to take her in, he said.
Tusla’s non-compliance with the order directing the child’s placement in secure care is the subject of a separate lawsuit, which seeks a court declaration that the agency is in contempt of court orders.
In another case, the judge described as “a reasonably good story so far” the case of a child who was previously without a special care bed, but is now in a secure unit.
Sarah McKechnie, barrister for Tusla, said the child is keeping to himself in the unit, and is described as quiet and mannerly.
McKechnie noted that the child’s sibling had been informed that a drug debt owed by the detained child had been transferred to the sibling. The judge noted that this was a matter for the gardaí.
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