Fostering Teenagers Ireland — Why Teens Are the Hardest to Place

When Tusla puts out a call for new foster carers, the faces in the campaign are almost always young children. A toddler clutching a teddy bear. A six-year-old with a shy smile. The campaigns are effective at generating enquiries, but they create a distorted picture of who actually needs a foster home.

The reality is that teenagers are the hardest group to place in the Irish foster care system. They wait the longest. They experience the most placement breakdowns. And they are the most likely to end up in residential care — not because they need institutional treatment, but because no family has stepped forward for them.

The Numbers

Of the 5,823 children in alternative care in Ireland at the end of 2024, 87% were in foster placements. That is a strong figure by international standards. But within that number, the distribution is uneven.

Younger children — those under eight — are almost always placed quickly. They generate the most interest from prospective carers and their placements tend to be stable. Teenagers, by contrast, wait longer for matches, and their placements are more likely to break down within the first year.

The reasons are not mysterious. Many prospective carers are nervous about teenagers. They worry about challenging behaviour, substance use, mental health issues, and the influence of peer groups. Some worry about the impact on their own younger children. Others are simply more drawn to the idea of caring for a small child than a 15-year-old who may not want to be in their home.

Those concerns are not unreasonable. But they leave a gap in the system that has real consequences for the young people involved.

What Is Different About Teenage Placements

Fostering a teenager is genuinely different from fostering a younger child. Anyone who tells you otherwise is not being honest. Here is what changes:

The relationship starts differently. A toddler who arrives in your home will, over time, attach to you naturally. A teenager arrives with years of lived experience, relationships, loyalties, and defences. They may not want to be in your home. They may actively resist your attempts to connect. Building trust takes longer, and it looks different — less like cuddling on the sofa and more like showing up consistently even when they push you away.

Independence is already in motion. A teenager in care is not starting from zero. They have habits, routines, preferences, and a social life. Your role is not to reshape them into a different person but to provide the stability and guidance they need to navigate the transition to adulthood. That means picking your battles carefully and recognising the difference between behaviour that is dangerous and behaviour that is simply annoying.

Mental health needs are more prominent. Many teenagers in care have experienced significant trauma — abuse, neglect, multiple placement moves, loss of contact with siblings. Some have diagnosed mental health conditions. Others have undiagnosed needs that only become apparent once they are in a stable environment. Access to CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) in Ireland is notoriously slow, with waiting lists that can stretch to 18 months in some areas. As a carer, you may need to advocate hard for the services the young person needs.

Birth family dynamics are more complex. A teenager is more aware of their history and their birth family than a young child. They may want to maintain contact with parents who are not safe. They may feel torn between loyalty to their birth family and their growing attachment to you. Managing this dynamic requires patience, empathy, and clear boundaries.

The timeline is compressed. If a teenager comes into your care at 14, you may have only four years before they turn 18 and the Care Order ends. That is not a lot of time to build a relationship, address educational gaps, and prepare them for independent living. Every month matters.

Separated Children Seeking International Protection (SCSIP)

One of the fastest-growing groups needing foster placements in Ireland is Separated Children Seeking International Protection — unaccompanied minors who arrive in Ireland without a parent or guardian.

The numbers have surged. Tusla reported a 500% increase in SCSIP referrals since 2022, driven by conflict, displacement, and migration patterns across Europe and beyond. These are children and teenagers from countries like Afghanistan, Syria, Eritrea, Somalia, and Ukraine, among others.

SCSIP placements present unique considerations:

Language barriers. The young person may not speak English or Irish. Communication in the early weeks may rely on interpreters, translation apps, or simply gestures and patience.

Cultural differences. Food, religious practice, social norms, and expectations around family roles may differ significantly from Irish culture. Flexibility and willingness to learn are essential.

Trauma history. Many SCSIP minors have experienced war, trafficking, dangerous migration journeys, and separation from their families. The trauma is often severe and may present in ways that are not immediately obvious.

Legal complexity. SCSIP minors are simultaneously navigating the child protection system and the international protection (asylum) process. Their legal status is uncertain, and decisions about their care may intersect with immigration proceedings.

Enormous resilience. Despite everything they have been through, many SCSIP young people are remarkably resourceful and determined. Carers who have fostered SCSIP minors frequently describe the experience as one of the most rewarding of their lives.

Tusla actively recruits foster carers for SCSIP placements, and if you are willing to consider this type of placement, you will be in high demand.

Special Needs Fostering

Fostering a child with additional needs — physical disabilities, intellectual disabilities, autism, or complex medical conditions — is another area where demand far exceeds supply.

These placements may involve regular appointments with consultants and therapists, home adaptations (which Tusla can help fund), additional training in positive behaviour support, and coordination with special education services and school SNAs. The demands are higher, but Tusla provides an Enhanced Allowance for placements involving additional needs or complex care requirements.

The Enhanced Allowance

The standard foster care allowance in Ireland is set at weekly rates that increase when the child turns 12. For placements involving children with additional needs — including some teenage placements, SCSIP placements, and special needs placements — Tusla may approve an Enhanced Allowance.

The Enhanced Allowance is paid on top of the standard rate and is intended to recognise the additional time, skills, and resources required for complex placements. The exact amount varies depending on the child's needs and is assessed on a case-by-case basis.

To qualify, your Link Social Worker will need to submit a request demonstrating why the standard allowance is insufficient for the specific placement. This is not automatic — you need to advocate for it, and the approval process can be slow. But it is available, and it makes a material difference for carers managing complex needs.

Why Teenagers Deserve a Different Narrative

The foster care recruitment campaigns focus on young children because those images generate emotional responses and enquiries. But the system does not need more people who want to foster a two-year-old. It needs people who are willing to foster a 14-year-old who has been through three previous placements and does not trust adults.

That is harder to sell. But the carers who do it describe an experience that is transformative — not easy, not simple, but profoundly meaningful. Watching a teenager who arrived angry and withdrawn gradually begin to trust you, succeed in school, and develop a plan for their future is not the same as raising a toddler. It is different, and for the right person, it is better.

Getting Prepared for Complex Placements

If you are considering fostering a teenager, a child with additional needs, or a SCSIP minor, you need more preparation than the standard assessment provides. You need to understand trauma-informed care, the Enhanced Allowance process, aftercare planning for young people turning 18, and the specific support services available in your area.

Our Ireland Foster Care Guide covers all of these topics in the context of the Irish system. It includes guidance on what Tusla expects from carers who take on complex placements, how the allowance and additional supports work, and how to prepare your family for the realities of fostering a teenager.

The system needs carers who are willing to say yes when the phone rings and the child on the other end of the line is not the cherubic toddler from the poster. If you are that person, the preparation starts now.

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