Relative Care: Issues for Social Care Workers?

Valerie O'Brien, child care consultant; is a social worker and family therapist. She
Lectures in the Department of Social Policy and Social Work, University College
Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4. [email protected] Tel: 01-7168254.

This article is drawn from a PhD research study I conducted between 1993-1997
(O'Brien 1997) and further developments arising in the field in Ireland since that date (O'Brien & O'Farrell 2000). It is divided into two sections. In section one, the
emergence of relative care is traced, together with the regulatory framework that has developed (Dept. of Health I 995a) . A snap shot of a cohort of ninety-two children and their families is presented to give an outline of the persons currently using or involved in relative care in Ireland. This data-set is compared with known international trends.
In section two, the key stages in the evolution of the relative care placements are
considered. These stages and associated processes are initial decision-making,
assessment of relatives, access arrangements and future planning. Key points that need to be considered by the social care worker at each of these stages are identified. The article concludes by identifying a number of principles that need to be considered for the development of relative care in an Irish context.