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Child in Care Review Meeting
This is a meeting when the people who care for you come together to talk with you about how you’re getting on. The people at the meeting might be your parents, family members or other important people in your life, your social worker, social work team leader, foster carers or residential staff.
What do you talk about at a Child in Care Review Meeting?
Anything you want to talk about - It is OK to say how you really feel and if you don’t want to say anything, that’s OK too.
Things you might talk about are:
- what has happened or changed since the last meeting;
- your home - how that is working out;
- your school - how things are going there;
- your health - how you are feeling;
- where and when you will meet your parents, brothers, sisters and other people you want to see (if possible);
- how you feel about living in care;
Another important thing you might talk about is where you will live in the future. Tusla will make a “Preparation for Leaving Care” or an Aftercare plan with you when you turn 16, to help you to become independent when you leave care sometime after 18 years old. They’ll help you prepare for adult life, everything from cooking to paying bills to finding accommodation.
When do Child in Care Review Meetings happen?
There is a Care Plan meeting before or when you first go into care; after that, there is a Child in Care Review meeting every six months for the first two years; after that, there is one every year. The meetings last for about one hour.
In between these meetings, you can ask for a special review meeting anytime. Remember: you do not have to wait for a Child in Care Review Meeting to talk about something that is important or ask for something, e.g. to go on a sleepover at a friend’s house. You can talk to your social worker about this. (http://www.tusla.ie/uploads/content/Guide_to_Res_Care_section_1.pdf)
