Written Answers. - Foreign Adoptions.
Dan Neville
Ceist:
269
Mr. Neville
asked the
Minister for Health and Children
the number of couples and individuals who have applied to each of the health boards for assessment for foreign adoption under the Adoption Act, 1991, over the past five years; the number of completed assessments that have been forwarded to the Adoption Board for each of the health boards in that time; the number of couples and individuals still waiting to commence assessment by each of the health boards; the number in each health board area currently being assessed; the expected waiting time for a couple applying for assessment from the date when they apply until the commencement of the assessment; and the number of staff from each health board area who are allocated to deal with assessments for foreign adoptions.
[26951/00]
The information the Deputy is seeking is not routinely collected by my Department. Prior to the review of the intercountry adoption assessment and the resultant report, Towards a Standardised Framework for Intercountry Adoption Assessment Procedures, published in 1999, statistics in relation to intercountry adoption were published in the Adoption Board's annual reports. Arising from the increased interest in intercountry adoption assessment in recent years more detailed statistics have been collected by the Adoption Board and the Department since 1998.
The group charged with implementing the recommendations of the above report presented me with a report on progress on implementation in July this year. I am making a copy of this report available to the Deputy.
I draw the Deputy's attention to chapter 6 of the report of the implementation group which includes detailed statistics on the demand for intercountry adoption assessment, waiting lists, waiting times, duration of assessment and staffing levels in intercountry adoption assessment. Statistics have been collected from the health boards at the end of September 2000 and included in this response. I highlight a number of areas where there have been developments in the interim. In particular, the waiting list has been reduced, despite an increase in the number of applications to date this year and the waiting time for assessment in the boards with the longest waiting times, the Mid-Western Health Board and the Eastern Regional Health Authority whose service for the three area boards is provided by the South Western Area Health Board has also been reduced. In addition, the number of social workers has been increased during this period. The Deputy will wish to refer to the statistics contained in the report for comparison purposes.
The report also outlines the progress in implementing the standardised framework in each of the health boards and at national level. I am satisfied that the initiatives already taken have brought about considerable improvements in the service and I am hopeful that this trend will continue. The information sought by the Deputy, where available, is provided in the following tables.
Number of applications for assessment
The number of applications for assessment for intercountry adoption for each health board is available for the years 1998, 1999 and to the end of September 2000. This information is outlined in table 1 below. The Deputy will note that already this year there have been more applications for assessment than in the total of 1999.
Table 1 – Number of applications for assessments during 1998, 1999 and January to end September 2000
|
1998
|
1999
|
January to endSeptember 2000
|
|
E.R.H.A.
|
308
|
250
|
280
|
|
M.H.B.
|
25
|
26
|
31
|
|
M.W.H.B
|
33
|
65
|
34
|
|
N.E.H.B.
|
62
|
44
|
43
|
|
N.W.H.B
|
46
|
28
|
36
|
|
S.E.H.B
|
24
|
54
|
90
|
|
S.H.B.
|
149
|
111
|
84
|
|
W.H.B.
|
30
|
36
|
40
|
|
PACT
|
3
|
9
|
15
|
|
Total
|
680
|
623
|
653
|
Adoption assessment reports which have been forwarded by the Adoption Board
When the Adoption Board receives an assessment report from the health board it makes a decision on whether to grant or refuse a declaration of eligibility and suitability. Table 2 specifies the number of applications for a declaration which were granted and refused by the Adoption Board during the last five years.
Table 2 – Number of declarations of eligibility and suitability granted and refused by the Adoption Board
under the Adoption Act, 1991
|
Year
|
Numbers ofdeclarations granted
|
Number ofdeclarations refused
|
|
1995
|
109
|
4
|
|
1996
|
117
|
5
|
|
1997
|
176
|
1
|
|
1998
|
206
|
3
|
|
1999
|
242
|
1
|
|
Total
|
850
|
14
|
Source – Adoption Board Annual Reports, 1998 and 1999
The number of declarations granted by the Adoption Board in respect of each health board and registered adoption society is available for the years 1998 and 1999, see Table 3 as follows.
Table 3 – Declarations of eligibility and suitability granted by the Adoption Board by health board and-or registered adoption society in 1998 and 1999
|
1998
|
1999
|
|
E.R.H.A.
|
74
|
103
|
|
M.H.B.
|
10
|
9
|
|
M.W.H.B
|
11
|
9
|
|
N.E.H.B.
|
18
|
22
|
|
N.W.H.B
|
1
|
1
|
|
S.E.H.B
|
19
|
17
|
|
S.H.B.
|
28
|
42
|
|
W.H.B.
|
15
|
22
|
|
Sacred Heart
|
13
|
2
|
|
St Attracta's
|
1
|
–
|
|
Clarecare
|
3
|
3
|
|
St Mura's
|
10
|
10
|
|
PACT
|
3
|
2
|
|
Total
|
206
|
242
|
Source – Adoption Board Annual Reports, 1998 and 1999
Waiting list for assessment at end September 2000
The number of applicants who were awaiting assessment at the end of September 2000 is outlined in Table 4. This has reduced from 1,056 to 1,009 in the three months since the end of June 2000. While this data has not been adjusted to reflect any seasonal variations in the rate of applications, the net effect has been to reduce the number on the waiting list, albeit marginally, for the first time in some considerable time.
Table 4 – Waiting list for intercountry adoption assessment end September 2000
|
Firstassessment
|
Secondassessment
|
Total
|
|
E.R.H.A.
|
449*
|
81*
|
530*
|
|
M.H.B.
|
32
|
5
|
37
|
|
M.W.H.B
|
55
|
2
|
57
|
|
N.E.H.B.
|
44
|
7
|
51
|
|
N.W.H.B
|
41
|
4
|
45
|
|
S.E.H.B
|
125
|
10
|
135
|
|
S.H.B.
|
121
|
8
|
129
|
|
W.H.B.
|
4
|
1
|
5
|
|
PACT
|
19
|
1
|
20
|
|
Total
|
890*
|
119*
|
1,009*
|
*Revised figures
The number of applicants currently
being assessed
Statistics in relation to the number of applicants being assessed in each of the health boards are not routinely collected by this Department.
Projected waiting time for assessment at end
September 2000
The Deputy will wish to refer to the report of the implementation group for the projected waiting time for each health board at end June 2000 for comparison with Table 5 as follows.
Table 5 – Projected waiting time for first and second-subsequent assessments at end September 2000
|
First assessment
|
Second-subsequentassessment
|
|
E.R.H.A.
|
24-36 months
|
18-20 months
|
|
M.H.B.
|
12 months
|
5 months
|
|
M.W.H.B
|
18 – 20 months
|
6 months
|
|
N.E.H.B.
|
10-12 months
|
4-6 months
|
|
N.W.H.B
|
6-8 months
|
6 months
|
|
S.E.H.B
|
14 – 18 months
|
6 months
|
|
S.H.B.
|
Cork 14 monthsKerry 16 months
|
Cork 5 monthsKerry 9 months
|
|
W.H.B.
|
4-6 months
|
2-4 months
|
|
PACT
|
2-2 ½ months
|
2-2 ½ months
|
The number of social workers carrying out
intercountry adoption assessments
The number of social workers carrying out assessment for intercountry adoption at end September 2000 is outlined in Table 6. The total of 38.25 social workers (whole time equivalent) compares with 17.55 in mid June 1998 and 33.25 in June 2000.
Table 6 – Number of social workers (whole time equivalent) involved in intercountry adoption assessment at
end September 2000
|
E.R.H.A.
|
10
|
|
M.H.B.
|
3
|
|
M.W.H.B
|
2
|
|
N.E.H.B.
|
4
|
|
N.W.H.B
|
2.5
|
|
S.E.H.B
|
3
|
|
S.H.B.
|
10
|
|
W.H.B.
|
2.75
|
|
PACT
|
1
|
|
Total
|
38.25
|
