Sarah Murphy

About

Sarah Murphy is an independent social worker with over twenty-three years' experience working with children and families. Her practice commenced following her Master's Degree in Social Work at the University of Ulster in 2000. Her extensive experience includes family support, child protection, children in care, fostering, separated children seeking asylum, juvenile criminal justice, adoption, medical social work and disability advocacy — a uniquely wide range of expertise for representing children's voices.

Across two decades in foster care and ten years in the child protection and welfare system, Sarah has achieved an elevated proficiency in parental capacity assessments, risk assessments and the preparation of court reports, and has managed complex placements including special care, childcare proceedings and family reunifications.

For over five years Sarah worked with separated children seeking international protection, developing skills to work in a culturally sensitive manner with different ethnic minority groups and an in-depth knowledge of asylum legislation. As a team leader she managed the transition of these vulnerable children from hostel accommodation and direct provision into foster care, and the reunification of children with their families.

Ten years in adoption services further enriched her practice. As a social work team leader she supervised fostering and adoption assessments, completed post-placement support, transition plans for infants moving to pre-adoptive placements, permanency planning and complex Section 54 High Court cases, and managed contact tracing and reunion work for adults placed for adoption or long-term fostering as children — developing deep insight into the life-long impact of separating children from their families of origin.

Outside her employment, Sarah has eleven years' experience advocating for children's rights and supports in disability, with a keen interest in services for children with complex needs, particularly intellectual disabilities and autism. She is a lead member of a voluntary advocacy group engaging with state offices, and her training in Lámh, Hanen, Visual Supports and ASD/SPD enables her to represent the voices of neurodiverse children in care proceedings.

Sarah's practice is embedded in attachment theory, children's rights and child-led engagement. A trained Marte Meo Practitioner, Level 1 Theraplay and Marschak Interaction Method (MIM) practitioner with further training in Non-Violent Resistance and therapeutic parenting, she adapts her communication to each child's developmental stage so their voice is central to decisions about their care and future. She has particular expertise representing children with social communication and speech and language disorders. Sarah is registered with CORU and Garda vetted.