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This podcast is brought to you

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Visit AJProducts.ie to see how we

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can make your workplace work for

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you. In

0:14

Ireland, when a child is put in the care

0:16

of the state, they are

0:18

usually placed in foster homes or

0:21

residential care settings. But

0:23

in recent years, increasing demand

0:25

on the care system has

0:27

led the state to rely

0:29

heavily on what it calls

0:31

special emergency arrangements. These

0:34

are run by private companies

0:36

who accommodate children in hotels,

0:38

B&Bs or private rentals. You

0:40

know, some of the locations of these

0:42

rental properties that I've come across have

0:44

been, you know, very rural locations, likely

0:47

a considerable distance away

0:49

from, you know, the child's community.

0:51

In his investigations into state care,

0:54

Irish Times reporter Jack Power has discovered

0:56

that in some care settings, children

0:59

were looked after by staff who

1:01

had not completed the necessary background

1:03

checks. Pre-employment screening of staff

1:05

and candidates who were looking

1:07

to be care workers for

1:09

this company had been fabricated.

1:12

References hadn't been checked. They'd

1:14

been falsified. Garda vetting

1:16

records had been altered post-issue.

1:19

How is this allowed to happen? And what

1:21

has TUSLA, the Child and Family Agency, done

1:23

about it? This

1:26

is in the news from the Irish Times. I'm

1:29

Bernice Harrison. Today, the scandalous

1:31

state of emergency care for children.

1:40

Jack, for months now, you have

1:42

been investigating how children in state

1:45

care are accommodated by TUSLA. That's

1:47

the Child and Family Agency. And

1:49

you've reported on how it often

1:52

turns to unregulated emergency accommodation to

1:54

care for vulnerable children. And

1:56

that's because of the unprecedented demands

1:58

on the system. But last week,

2:01

you uncovered some really disturbing

2:03

details about one particular care

2:05

company, which was providing emergency

2:08

care for children up until last April.

2:12

Can you tell me what you found out about

2:14

Ideal Care Services? So

2:16

this is a company that had been providing services

2:18

for Toussla since around 2018, but really

2:22

ramped up the amount of money

2:25

they were making from Toussla from 2020 onwards.

2:28

And they were basically providing these what

2:30

Toussla called Special Emergency Arrangements. So this

2:33

is where when a child is taken

2:35

into state care, but there's no available

2:37

placement with a foster carer or

2:40

in a regulated residential group

2:42

home. So what's been going to emerge

2:44

in the last two years is Toussla has

2:46

relied on this unregulated emergency

2:49

accommodation. Generally, this accommodation

2:51

would be maybe a rental property,

2:53

often in sometimes

2:55

rural areas. So it'd be

2:57

a semi-D that you'd have one young

2:59

person placed into it, and then they'd

3:01

have staff on site, staff from this

3:04

private provider who'd be running it. So

3:06

one thing that we found, we got

3:08

hold of an internal report that Toussla

3:11

had carried out after inspectors went into

3:13

Ideal Care in early 2023. And

3:17

this report was incredibly

3:19

stacked in its findings. It found

3:21

that the pre-employment screening of staff

3:24

and candidates who were looking to

3:26

be care workers for this company

3:28

had been fabricated by the company.

3:31

References hadn't been checked, and they'd

3:33

been falsified. Guard of

3:35

vetting records had been altered post issue,

3:38

which the report said was potentially

3:40

a breach of the vetting act

3:42

on unlawful. So it found really

3:44

a total failure of this company

3:46

over a two year period to

3:49

properly conduct checks on the staff that

3:51

it was employing to care for these

3:53

vulnerable children, the most vulnerable children in

3:55

the state. And you spoke

3:57

to someone who had previously worked for Ideal Care.

4:00

services a whistleblower in effect.

4:02

What do they tell you about how the homes were

4:05

run? The sense really

4:07

I got from speaking to that person on the

4:09

inside was a sense of chaos,

4:12

a really poor record keeping

4:14

file not being kept correctly and

4:16

updated for children that were taken

4:18

into their care and being accommodated

4:21

in certain circumstances. This led to issues

4:23

where children would go missing as often

4:26

children do from state care and that

4:28

has to be reported to the guards

4:30

but this lack of proper record keeping

4:32

meant there were serious issues with the

4:35

quality of information that could be provided

4:37

to the guards about the child that

4:39

had gone missing which obviously inhibited the

4:42

guards ability to locate that child safely.

4:45

So tell me who is behind ideal

4:47

care services? So the

4:49

company was set up and owned by

4:51

a man called Jossi Akwubi. He's

4:54

a businessman in Tyrrellstown

4:57

and he's also a pastor

4:59

with an evangelical group in West

5:01

Dublin as well. So he set

5:03

up the company, company accounts and shares

5:05

so that he owns it and he

5:07

was listed as the director of operations

5:10

along with his wife Karen who

5:12

was the director of services. So

5:14

the two of them ran this

5:16

company effectively. So Akwubi as

5:18

he says a pastor but does he

5:20

have qualifications in the care service or

5:23

typically are these companies set up just by business

5:25

people? A lot of them and I've gone through

5:27

the records of a lot of the other companies

5:29

that have branched out into this field. Some of

5:31

them will have worked in the care system before

5:33

and effectively I suppose seen an opening

5:36

where they can strike out on their own,

5:38

set up their own company and very quickly

5:40

find themselves in receipt of several

5:42

million euro in funding from Tucson on

5:45

an annual basis in some cases resulting

5:47

in significant profits. But in relation

5:49

to ideal care Jossi the

5:52

owner and the director his background was

5:54

as a manager in the Peter McPhery

5:56

trust where he worked for for several

5:58

years up until around the time. around

6:00

January 2020 we've established.

6:03

I think maybe to give our listeners an idea of how

6:06

big the service was,

6:08

TUSLA paid nearly 9 million

6:11

euro to IdealCare between

6:13

2022 and 2023. Yeah,

6:17

so they were one of the top providers of

6:19

this emergency accommodation, which TUSLA in

6:22

recent years has been increasingly relying

6:24

upon. So

6:27

you have been digging a little

6:29

deeper into Jossie, Okwobi and his

6:32

businesses. And you found there was a

6:34

UK connection. Yeah, so he's also

6:36

the director of a company in the

6:38

UK that provides home care support on

6:41

behalf of local authorities there to

6:43

the elderly and people with disabilities,

6:46

people with mental health issues. And

6:49

interestingly, I also found

6:51

there was issues with that company in

6:53

relation to staff checks and vetting. An

6:56

inspection by the healthcare regulator over

6:58

in England found that

7:01

vetting practices in that

7:03

company called Tenda Hands Home Care

7:06

were also unsafe and

7:08

that there was also issues around things

7:10

not being followed up and

7:12

issues around staff vetting. When

7:15

the arrangement with TUSLA

7:17

and IdealCare was terminated

7:19

last year, Jossie

7:22

Okwobi and Karen Okwobi, who

7:25

were the partners in that company,

7:28

they set up another company,

7:30

a similar company, but with

7:33

a different name offering also to provide

7:35

care. Can you tell me about that?

7:38

Yeah, so after TUSLA cut ties

7:40

with IdealCare, the pair behind it

7:43

set up another company called Iuntefa

7:46

Care Limited. With

7:48

the intention, I found out through our

7:50

inquiries of trying to

7:52

register to provide regulated care

7:55

homes, so not emergency accommodation,

7:57

but more stable group

7:59

homes. homes for children taken into

8:01

state care. So I found

8:03

that particularly interesting after one avenue was

8:05

cut off to them, they sought

8:08

to provide care on behalf of

8:10

Tootaloo through a different company. I

8:13

believe they're unsuccessful in that

8:15

effort. Tootaloo, in response to

8:17

queries that we put to them, said

8:19

that they never have had any contractual

8:22

relationships with this new company. So I

8:24

understand that as our reporting

8:26

in recent weeks broke, they had been

8:28

in the process of trying to apply

8:31

to Tootaloo for permission to open up

8:33

regulated group care homes for children. And

8:36

I imagine I would find it

8:38

hard to believe that they'll get that permission

8:40

from Tootaloo given everything we've reported in recent

8:43

weeks. Do you know

8:45

what happened to the staff of

8:47

Ideal Care Services when Tootaloo

8:49

withdrew all their funding? Yeah,

8:53

I'd imagine some of them went to

8:55

work in other similar companies providing this

8:57

type of emergency care. You'd

8:59

find, or what I found kind of

9:02

looking into this is in a lot of cases,

9:04

people might have had two jobs in the health

9:06

sector. So they might have been working and

9:08

providing some care for ideal care. And

9:10

they might have also been working as

9:13

an agency employee for another health care

9:15

company. And of course, these

9:17

are children in very, very vulnerable situations. Do

9:19

we know what happened to them that presumably

9:21

they were in the care of Ideal Care

9:23

Services for one, two years maybe? Do

9:26

we know what happened? So

9:28

often they'll be probably moved to

9:30

a similar arrangement to effectively, and

9:33

just to give some kind of

9:35

context to these special emergency arrangements.

9:38

At the moment, there's around 180

9:40

children in this unregulated emergency accommodation.

9:43

I remember when I started reporting on this issue

9:45

back a few years ago, that number was only

9:47

60. So we've seen

9:50

a steady year on year, you

9:52

know, nearly month on month increase

9:54

in the number of children in

9:56

these arrangements. And often these arrangements

9:58

will be a different number. for

10:00

a period of days or weeks, but

10:02

what will happen in practice is

10:05

that they'll be rolled over and children will end

10:07

up living in these inappropriate settings

10:09

for months on end. So in a

10:11

lot of cases, I would imagine where

10:14

special emergency arrangements run by ideal care

10:17

were shut down, children were likely placed

10:19

into similar unregulated accommodation

10:22

run by another provider. I'll

10:25

continue my conversation with Jack Power after

10:27

this short break. This

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10:42

rest of the world. Visit ajproducts.ie

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to see how we can make

10:46

your workplace work for you. The

10:50

findings from Ideal Care Services came to

10:52

light as part of a wider review by TUSA

10:55

into these special emergency arrangements,

10:57

as you say they're called.

11:00

What are some of the other issues uncovered

11:02

at the other providers? Yes,

11:05

so I spoke to people who worked

11:08

inside TUSA for a period overseeing

11:10

this accommodation. Some of the

11:12

other things they said would be issues around

11:15

staff double-jobbing in

11:17

terms of the actual accommodation, the standards of

11:20

the properties people were placed into have been

11:22

really, really poor, issues around

11:24

children having to share beds.

11:27

So there's a lot of problems

11:29

with this emergency system that has

11:32

been created and ballooned in recent

11:34

years and it's a lot wider

11:36

than just Ideal Care Services. So

11:39

is it a case that a child

11:41

who is in a very vulnerable position, a social

11:44

worker, calls one of these services

11:46

like Ideal Care Services and

11:48

then the child is taken to maybe a B&B

11:51

to be looked after by care staff, maybe to a

11:53

rental to be looked after by care staff? Yes,

11:56

so it can range from being

11:58

placed in a hotel for a night, a The and

12:00

be for a nice or rental

12:02

properties and yeah, some of the

12:05

location cities rental properties that I've

12:07

come across offense young favor locations

12:09

likely at considerable distance away from

12:11

In of the Tiles community and

12:13

one other issued this. Is

12:16

possibly gotten lost in the noise on this

12:18

as well is that a lot of these

12:20

children are also. On. A complete

12:22

miners Asylum Seekers of com to

12:24

the country without guardians? Her under

12:26

eighteen See, you can imagine you

12:29

know possibly the most vulnerable course

12:31

of children in the care system.

12:34

And there's been placed into this. Emergency

12:36

System where you know they might

12:38

and have a good grasp of

12:40

evening. This language you can imagine

12:43

how you know difficulty been to

12:45

navigate in the best of times

12:47

and suddenly they're placed in this

12:49

rental house down the country somewhere

12:51

with staff young changing day in

12:53

day. As you'd imagine, it's one

12:55

of the most. Vulnerable.

12:57

Positions you know at at a child could be in. The

13:01

you report them. That I said particularly

13:03

something the to since the

13:05

when they were no contracting

13:07

tear out to these companies.

13:10

They. Didn't actually Chests? The

13:12

qualifications of the South they didn't set procedures

13:15

were in place, proper procedures were in place.

13:17

It was only went is less toss. Okay,

13:19

maybe we shouldn't take people on their merit.

13:21

Maybe we should actually put an artist's system

13:24

in place to check qualifications to check that

13:26

messing has happened. And the old ass yeah

13:28

this is one of the things that emerged

13:30

on foot of our reporting. the to send

13:33

said at the stars. When the wears, a

13:35

lot of these companies could very quickly moving

13:37

into this sphere that they says we took

13:40

the buzz words desk. Everything was an order.

13:42

When. It came to vaccine when it

13:44

came to staff qualifications all avast a

13:46

now to set. I. Suppose of

13:48

haven't woken up to some of

13:50

the issues around the lack of

13:53

bonus he days and irrespective ideal

13:55

cats that they are much more

13:57

aware and conscious of trying to

13:59

provide more. The precise and auditing

14:01

of these companies but will what I

14:03

would say as well as we requested

14:05

On to the Freedom of Information Act

14:08

a copy of many many aren't reports

14:10

internally. The to that carried out into

14:12

these companies including Ideal Tests and his

14:14

refused to release copies of those audits

14:17

to Us Senate wouldn't be in the

14:19

public interest is that information was disclosed

14:21

in the media and you would disagree.

14:23

You would say it isn't the public

14:26

interest will a think we've seen with

14:28

the Ideal Tear example we've. Seen

14:30

a situation where there were serious

14:32

issues with the care been provided

14:35

and the standards of the companies

14:37

to slip. For example, publishes Inspections

14:40

of regulated care homes ya heckler

14:42

Publishers Inspections of nursing Homes I

14:44

find it hard to see the

14:47

reason why to Snacks are keeping

14:49

the audits of all these other

14:51

companies involved in this emergency accommodation

14:54

under wraps Assessment. Play

14:57

though Jack his distaste turning

15:00

to private companies. Oh

15:02

and special emergency arrangements us and

15:04

call to provide this care. Of.

15:07

This problem has been brewing for

15:09

several years now. At this point

15:11

we've had chronic lack of people,

15:13

saw stream children and assorted a

15:15

saucer. Terrorists said thus side of

15:17

the system which use the cancer

15:19

Vous Ninety percent of the children

15:21

in care will be in foster

15:23

care that that capacity. And

15:25

then the smaller. Course.

15:27

Of the official residential care system was

15:30

will be fun of group care homes

15:32

either run directly by teaser, run by

15:34

a voluntary provider, around by a private

15:37

company. That system is also capacity and

15:39

there's basically no space in your for

15:41

tip. Put these new children to the

15:43

taken into care or have arrived in

15:46

that country without guardians that no space

15:48

to them in these group homes or

15:50

with foster tears and so what's happened,

15:52

Increase in the is to less has

15:55

leaned on these. New. Companies that

15:57

have come into the into the breeze

15:59

and settle. And suddenly find themselves

16:01

know making multi million profits. In some

16:03

cases because they're they're filling a gasp.

16:06

Put. The problem says to me as as

16:08

would see what ideal tests I don't know

16:10

how. Well. To sit

16:12

and stand over the quality of

16:15

the care provided in this emergency.

16:17

Arrangements Susana spotlight on

16:19

to this crisis so

16:22

is to some handling

16:24

the crisis with in

16:26

the system. City.

16:28

Sit. A few months

16:30

ago set up by an internal

16:33

crisis management team to deal specifically

16:35

with these special emergency arrangements. They

16:37

said they're trying to am in

16:39

recruit more staff that trying to

16:42

buy more properties that they will

16:44

directly run as care homes themselves

16:46

that's on a fund the normal

16:49

an official i suppose regulated residential

16:51

sector given those privacy and bouncy

16:53

providers, more phones to find, open

16:55

up more beds and with the

16:58

overall intentions of reducing. The number

17:00

of children in these emergency arrangements

17:02

bush at the moment. you know,

17:04

despite to says some Us best

17:06

efforts the numbers only going in

17:08

one direction, we're only seen more

17:10

children placed into these emergency on

17:12

suitable inappropriate plaisance rather than less

17:14

And the say that is the

17:16

key here is privacy provider is

17:19

because the money sloshing around it

17:21

is so immense. But in Wales

17:23

the government there. It's. Bringing

17:25

in legislation to remove process

17:27

send the care of children

17:29

stopping private companies from earnings

17:31

Huge money for providing care.

17:35

Can you see this as being something

17:37

that the be brought into island ever.

17:39

Let. Alone considered or is is is just too

17:41

big. Now is the private sector just too big?

17:44

A suppose it is or ever

17:46

take a long time for to

17:48

say to draw down it's reliance

17:51

on the private sector. not even

17:53

in this new emergency private sector

17:55

that has emerged from recent years.

17:57

In the more regulated private sector.

18:00

Teacher has only opened up a very

18:02

small number of new residential centers that

18:04

it runs directly south. It's much more

18:06

relied upon private and bounty providers to

18:09

open up new homes which will face

18:11

children in care into and to says

18:13

said i think was best. Maybe year

18:16

and a half ago they said they

18:18

were gonna try move towards have a

18:20

net and more kind of fifty fifty

18:22

split of ones and homes more directly

18:25

by two slots and ones moon by

18:27

private a voluntary providers but there hasn't

18:29

been. Much moving of the dial

18:32

or the needle on that Today's

18:34

and you know to say still

18:36

overwhelmingly reliance on private companies to

18:38

ruin care homes for for children

18:41

and in the cared states. Has

18:49

just sequel the said anything about your reporting.

18:52

Knows what a concept as I'm of the

18:54

at the start of are reporting and I

18:56

was intelligence and as soon as he if

18:59

grass what i was asking about in terms

19:01

of the findings of this deeply critical to

19:03

for of you know he said he didn't

19:05

want to comment on that's an Sos when

19:08

efforts to contact him or to seats. And.

19:12

Exodus. For

19:19

more points, I just power and scandals

19:21

in the care sector subscribe and I

19:24

was students.com for instance, that's Good and

19:26

Bernie Sanders and this episode It's Pretty

19:28

Spices and Brennan in the news will

19:30

be that two years.