Fostering First Annual Report 2022

About our companies

Fostering First Ireland has been operating in Ireland since 2005. In that time, the company has established itself as the leading independent provider of fostering families to Tusla, The Child and Family Agency. FFI specialise in recruiting, training and supporting foster carers who provide placements for children in the foster care system.

Our sister company, Key Assets Consulting have been operating in Ireland since 2018. Since then, the company has expanded their experienced multidisciplinary team and offers an array of high quality assessment and consulting services including parental capacity assessments, assessment of need, psychology services, independent case reviews and assess my child clinics.

FFI has established itself as the leading independent provider of fostering families to Tusla.

Our Pledges

Children & Families

1. Set high standards

2. Accept you for who you are

3. Prioritise your safety

4. Be passionate

5. Listen and learn

Customers & Staff

1. Deliver excellence

2. Be honest and transparent

3. Deliver innovativating services cost effectively

4. Keep our promises

5. Conduct business with financial integrity

Communities

1. Be socially responsible

2. Value diversity and inclusion

3. Be creative and flexible

4. Recruit and retain the best people

5. Contribute to shared learning

Our Culture & Core Values

Key to what we do is our culture and our core values of:

⊲ recognising everybody counts and is accountable

⊲ providing high quality and safe services

⊲ achieving excellence through continuous improvement

⊲ cultivating knowledge, innovation and learning

Our Purpose

We will achieve our purpose by positively impacting the lives of children, young people, their families and carers through quality services and expert advice designed to provide support, build confidence, improve skills, develop relationships, and strengthen resilience.

“Our purpose is to achieve positive and lasting outcomes for children, families and communities”

Director’s Note

Marie Faughey

2022

I am delighted to share this years Annual Report for Fostering First (FFI) and Key Assets Consulting (KAC) and I hope you like the new layout and design. It is lovely to report another very positive year for both companies. In FFI, this was reflected in a strong increase in placement numbers coupled with growth in the number of applications for fostering. KAC experienced a marked expansion of their assessment services. These increases reflect the growing pressure for services our colleagues who work in the public sector face daily.

Feedback and Growth

The feedback that FFI and KAC receive from clients, foster carers and commissioners is extremely important to us. That feedback has been overwhelmingly positive during 2022, and we are always open to receiving any feedback which will help us learn and improve what we do. 2022 was a year of continued change. In times of growth, it takes a strong workforce and support systems to endure and keep going. For FFI this has resulted in the development of a third social work team and for KAC the establishment of a multidisciplinary team for the Dublin clinic.

Our Challenges

Along with successes, there are continued challenges in the delivery of services. FFI has had a number of families who had successful appointments as Foster Carers and subsequently decided that the reality of fostering was different to what they had anticipated. In 2023 we will look back on what we term the Covid effect on recruitment. Throughout 2022 and into 2023, no service was exempt from the ongoing challenges of inflation and the impact of continually increasing costs. Despite these challenges, this report highlights the many positives of 2022.

Thank You

Above all I commend and wish to sincerely thank, our incredible fostering families, and our hard working and loyal staff for their dedication, support, and commitment to ensuring the continued provision of quality services for every young person and family who accessed our services. I am indebted to all our clients and customers for the support of our services and look forward to continued engagement with you. Your opinion matters and is important to us.

Sarah Treacy

2022

KAC experienced a very busy year for the service seeing increased growth in the number of referrals received, the number of staff employed and in the number of completed assessments. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to our enthusiastic staff and consulting teams who have made this possible.

Our Successes

Our multidisciplinary clinics in Dublin and Cork completed 115% more private assessments and saw 65% more children under the Assessment of Need scheme via HSE. Overall, we experienced the largest growth in our multidisciplinary assessment services across both the private and public sectors. By the end of 2022, 45% of all children seen by our clinicians were receiving multidisciplinary services involving Psychology, Occupational Therapy, and Speech and Language Therapy.

Our Consultants

The recruitment of eight new parttime consultants, brought our end-ofyear total to 20 part-time consulting Psychologists, four Speech and Language Therapists, and four Occupational Therapists, in addition to our full-time staff team. Our staff and consultants offer a diverse range of expertise, enabling us to respond to a broad range of complex needs in children and families.

Our Commitment to Employee Retention

One of the key changes in 2022 was the employment of senior clinical staff on a full-time basis, which enabled us to increase service capacity and reinforce our commitment to delivering highquality services. We are proud to have highly skilled and experienced clinic and administration staff on our team.

Our Shared Achievements

6 months Average time for assessment down to

610

referrals received by KAC

27

259 different training courses for foster carers

people attended information events

2022 Highlights

Intercultural Day

Colourful clothes, magical music and amazing art, Intercultural Day 2022 was one of the most memorable days of the summer for young people, carers and staff in FFI. FFI’s first Intercultural Day was held in August 2022 in Tullamore and was organised by the incredibly talented young people from our young people’s forum Chatter Matters.

You can read all about it here.

Expansion of KAC Clinics

Key Assets Consulting made a significant step forward in expanding and developing our multidisciplinary children’s services. We employed fulltime professional staff for the first time to enable us to increase our service reach, and begin to extend the continuum of services from assessment towards intervention.

You can read more about our new staff, what they do and growth of KAC clinics here.

Dyadic Developmental Practice

In November 2022 a large cohort of our social work and social care staff completed a four-day training event on Dyadic Developmental Practice (DDP). DDP is a framework for parenting developmentally traumatised children, its focus is on creating and maintaining safety for the children and adults by keeping relationships central. It is both parent and child focused so when utilised by a link social worker, for example, it can create a safe, consistent, reliable relationship with a carer.

This enables the carer to reflect on their current understanding of and responses to the child, to connect with the emotional impact the child is having on them and to think about their parenting so far. This allows the carer to deepen their skill with therapeutic parenting and ultimately leads to emotional regulation and positive outcomes for the child. Having our staff complete training on DDP is part of our overall aim to develop our reflective practice further across the teams. The training was the first exciting step in a roadmap for integration of PACE, reflection and therapeutic care in the agency.

DDP was the first exciting step in a roadmap for integration of PACE, reflection and therapeutic care in the agency.

FFI Carer Satisfaction Survey

“Being a foster parents bring great joy and happiness to us knowing that we are helping a child that needs help, support, love and a family”

“Looking back over the years I’m proud that we have helped at least a few children to change the directions their lives were taking”

“It is very hard work at times but very rewarding when you see how well your foster children are growing and settling in within your family. there are challenges but the good times always outnumber the bad times”

83 % of carers were satisfied or very satisfied with how FFI values its carers

78 % of carers were satisfied or very satisfied with their carer groups

83 % of carers agreed or strongly agreed that FFI cares about foster carer wellbeing

88 % of carers rated Training as good or very good

87 % of carers were satisfied or very satisfied with communications from FFI

92 % of carers were either satisfied or very satisfied with FFI overall

92 % of carers were satisfied or very satisfied with their overall health and wellbeing

90 % of carers said their link social worker was usually or always empathetic and understanding

Success Stories

Joseph’s Story

Prior to coming into care Joseph (Joe) was in the care of his grandparents following the untimely death of his mother in 2011, he was 7 years old. Joe started using drugs aged thirteen when he started secondary school, he would say ‘to numb the pain of his mother’s death’. In 2019, Joe was issued a formal warning by the Gardaí for possession of drugs and he entered the foster care system. He was placed with foster carers, one a retired Garda. You can read more about Joe’s story and how he ended up receiving a Garda Youth Award 3 years later.

A true success story for this young man!

Lara – Autism and a world of colour

This is a story about a little girl called Lara told through the eyes of her parents and their journey through the Autism Assessment Process with Key Assets Consulting.

As a parent, I was feeling very lost and to be honest tired and worried. I simply didn’t know where to turn for help. Lara is our only child so we had nothing to compare to, but I felt something was different from when she was a baby. As time went on it became more noticeable that Lara’s development wasn’t progressing typically. Lara was excited by toys only if they displayed colours and lights. Music evoked a similar response. We read as much as we could and began to wonder if Lara might be autistic A friend of mine had their son assessed at the KAC clinic and suggested I try there. I can honestly say that from the minute we started our assessment journey, we felt supported. Read Lara’s amazing story here .

FFI Team Growth

In 2022, FFI established, the long planned for, extra social work team, the Mid Team. Traditionally FFI have had 2 social work teams a South Team and a North Team. The North Team has had 5 Link Social Workers covering Donegal to Dublin, and the South Team grew to 6 Link Social Workers covering Wicklow to Cork. The decision to expand and restructure the existing teams into three smaller teams with the appointment of a new Team Manager arose out of the recognition of the need for a more localised management presence in the more southern counties.

Read more about the restructuring and change management that took place to support this team growth here.

A trip down under

Ben and Ciaran came into care when they were three and four years old. They, along with their older siblings experienced significant neglect in a home where both parents suffered with drug addictions and were unable to provide a caring and safe environment. The boys came to live with FFI Foster Carers, John and Maura, during the summer of 2018. Although the placement has not been without its challenges, Ben and Ciaran have thrived in the care of their foster family. In 2022, they and their foster carers got the opportunity to attend the IFCO Conference in Darwin Australia.

Read their full story here.

Children’s Participation

2022 saw a return to face-to-face events for children, young people and foster families in FFI. Overall, we held 35 participatory events throughout the year!

Chatter Matters, our young people’s forum, went from strength to strength. We continued to develop links with and provide support to, the birth children in FFI foster families. We held summer events in Clara Lara and Ballyhass Lakes.

Education Overview

In August, we were able to host our first in person independence retreat since 2019 for our 16+ year olds. And last but not least, our participation ambassador was kept busy attending training events, co-facilitating chatter matters, and taking part in international and national events throughout the year. You can read more about all of these things here.

At the end of December 2022, 100% of young people of school going age had an educational placement.

Junior Cert Engagement

Four of the Junior Cert students availed of online group supports regularly every 3 weeks up to the exams in June including exam prep, study support and attending the “Surviving Junior Cert” workshop focusing on managing the exams, supporting mental health and stress with mindfulness techniques.

Leaving Cert Engagement

Students all received an information booklet at the beginning of 5th year giving lots of tips and advice on how to manage the 2 years of the Leaving Cert, visiting colleges and making plans for what options to pursue next and exam focused information during 6th year. Leaving Cert students could avail of regular online support around CAO, SUSI applications, grinds and support in study and planning.

In June 2022, eight young people successfully attained their Junior Cert and three young people completed their Leaving Cert. 2 young people went on to apprenticeships and 1 young person went on to 3rd level honours degree.

You can read more about out Education Initiatives here.

FFI Referrals & Placement Info

The agency continued to see huge numbers of referrals across 2022. We had a total of 1227 referrals, a growth of 264 referrals on the previous year and marked the busiest year in agency history.

⊲ The average age of children referred to FFI in 2022 was 10.7 years and the average age of a child placed was 9.4 years.

⊲ The most common age group referred was 15+ years (121 times)

⊲ In 2022 we placed 67 children of which, 46 were still in FFI foster families at the end of the year.

⊲ FFI provided placements for children from the following Tusla Areas: Carlow/ Kilkenny/South Tipperary, Cork, Dublin North City, Dublin North, Dublin South Central, Dublin South West/Kildare/West Wicklow, Dublin South East/Wicklow, Galway/Roscommon, Kerry, Mayo, Midlands, Midwest, and Wexford/Waterford

⊲ At the end of 2022, 72% of all FFI placements were over one year in duration and 59% of all placements were over two years in duration.

In 2022 the most common age-group referred to FFI was 15+ years...

Feedback...

...from young people

“I was nervous at the start but had fun and learnt how to calm down and breathe”

A young person on FFI’s Mindfulness Camp

“It has really helped me gain an insight in to how to manage in college especially with budgeting and mindfulness”

A young person on FFI’s Independence Retreat

“I learnt that I can do more things than I expected”

A young person on FFI’s Independence Retreat

...from stakeholders

“The training we received was excellent and gave us a greater understanding into the needs of the children in care in our school. We value the support given and continue to be given by FFI”

A school on FFI’s Trauma and Attachment Workshop

“Very punctual and her attention to detail writing down all she does and the time etc. not to mention that the children just love her and have really taken to her”

A foster carer on FFI’s Social Care Support

“Excellent report - addressed our questions very well - psychologist gave us clearer insight on this case and where to go next”

Tusla Social Worker re: KAC Psychology Report

“I have read the OT assessment of AK. It is indeed very helpful and comprehensive”

Guardian Ad Litem re: KAC Traumainformed OT assessment

“Very well put together and very attractive artwork it will be a wonderful tool for foster carers”

A foster carer on the Carers for Culture booklet

“The boys had an absolute ball and loved meeting other kids in care”

A foster carer on FFI’s summer events

...from parents

“We are happy with everything and thankful to KAC for a comprehensive assessment”

Parent of child who received full Assessment of Need with KAC

“I can’t thank you enough for the special attention you’ve given us all over the whole process; you’ve done everything you can to help M get the best access to what he and we need for him. You’ve gone above and beyond - thank you wholeheartedly”

Parent of child following Autism diagnostic assessment with KAC

“We are very happy with the report - the level of detail is exactly what we need to get the right supports for her at school and to help her at home”

Parent of little girl who received comprehensive OT assessment

“I cannot thank you enough. you’ve gone above and beyond for L and we are so grateful...The way you focused on his strengths in the report really helped me”

Parent of 3 year old boy following MDT assessment and Autism diagnosis with KAC

“To all the wonderful staff of Key Assets. We really appreciate the help and kindness shown to S during his assessments”

From a parent following her son’s MDT Assessment of Need with KAC

“Thanks for everything, I really appreciate it. I’m really pleased with high standard of assessment by everyone on the team and thank you all for being so empathetic”

From a parent of a 6 year old girl following full MDT assessment with KAC

2022 in pictures

WESTMEATH OFFICE

Forest Park

Global House Unit 7B

Mullingar

Co. Westmeath

DUBLIN OFFICE

Grantham House

Grantham Street

Dublin 8

D08 W8HD

Tel: (01) 417 1944

CORK OFFICE

Unit 4, Millview Road

Victoria Cross

Cork

T12 E9CN

fosteringfirstireland.ie

keyassetsconsulting.ie