Tusla say they are actively seeking carers for children with additional needs in the Cork area and are continuing to hold on-going recruitment evenings.
The statement comes on foot of HIQA's inspection of Tusla's Child Protection and Welfare, and Foster Care Services in Cork which show that there is a shortage of foster care and residential placements.
Tusla says this is not unique to Cork and they have developed a three year strategic residential care plan and are in the process of developing the same for foster care to increase capacity and enable better outcomes for children and young people.
The HIQA report showed that whilst children, their families and foster carers reported largely positive experiences of the service, there are still improvements needed in it's operation.
Of the positives highlighted, every foster carer spoke in positive terms about the service and reported 'big changes for the better' in relation to improvements made since the last inspection.
Tusla is planning to recruit 16 new staff members in the southern region to improve caseload management, strengthen the governance and oversight of the service, address the backlog of reviews and reduce the number of unallocated cases.
