Ezara is a Professionally Qualified Social Worker with over ten years’ experience working in Tusla – Child and Family Agency, with children and families in various capacities. She is a CORU registered professional with 15 years of experience in social care and social work, possessing practical and theoretical knowledge in the areas of child protection, welfare, neglect, disability, mental health, and addiction. Ezara is confident working in a pressured environment, with strong leadership and analytical skills as applied to the various situations that can arise in child protection, children in community, children in care and leading a full team.

Ezara has worked with Children and families since 2009, starting her career as a social care worker working in mainstream residential facilities, where she was a keyworker, involved in staff co-ordination and oversaw the managing and running of some shifts. She then moved to other settings such as Emergency Crisis Intervention (young people who may require emergency accommodation through Out of Hours (OOH) and Clonree CRC (Children Residential Centre) for children who required short term placements usually aging between 12-18, though sometimes younger children. Ezara worked in High Support and Special Care up until 2014. This gave her the opportunity to do direct work with children of all ages and in particular with teenagers who were experiencing trauma and challenging behaviour. Within these settings Ezara was a keyworker for some of the children she worked with, advocating, ensuring the goals, support plans and direct key-working was accomplished to gain the optimal outcomes for these children.

Ezara has worked with Tusla since 2014, starting in the role of children in care social worker in the Dublin area. Within this role Ezara worked with young children and adolescents ranging from prebirth/newborns up to young adults, 23 years of age in aftercare. In this role, Ezara did direct work with children, adolescents and families with various profiles, backgrounds and complex traumas; young children with physical disabilities living in disability placements, children from ethnic backgrounds, young teenagers with complex trauma and challenging behaviours, some subject to children’s court and Oberstown, others subject to special care and overseas placements. Ezara has extensive experience in direct work with children, risk assessments, pre-birth assessments, CPC assessments, safety planning, reunification plans, aftercare planning, comprehensive assessments, and care planning of children in the care system.

In 2019, Ezara began working as children in care team leader in Kildare. In this role she managed a full team of social workers and social care workers. She is very passionate about working with families in the community and the care system to ensure the provision of a high-quality service to children in care and families in accordance with standards, policies, and legislation. Ezara has comprehensive knowledge and specialized experience working with children in care with complex needs and trauma; children and teenagers with challenging behaviours, struggling with their own identity, sexuality, anti-social behaviour, significant trauma, self-harm, suicidal ideation, issues with school, placements and violent towards carers or social care workers. Ezara has worked with teenagers with serious mental health difficulties who were detained under the Mental Health Act and children with disabilities and complex health needs both in foster placements and Disability placements. She has a proven ability to work under pressure and on initiative with risk management skills.

Ezara possesses significant court experience within the Children’s Court, District Court, High Court, and Circuit Court on various cases over the last 15 years. This experience has allowed her to demonstrate her analytical and decision-making skills in all areas of Child Protection and Children in Care. Ezara is a dedicated and dependable individual with strengths in emotional intelligence and evaluating the needs of service users in a compassionate, empathic, and non-judgemental approach. Ezara is committed to the promotion of human rights and social justice for children and families. She also has an expert knowledge and experience of the implementation of Childcare legislation and Children's First guidance and National Standards for Foster Care.

Ezara has excellent interpersonal communication skills. She is confident working as part of or with a multi-disciplinary team and maintaining skills to work competently with a range of service users presenting with challenging behaviours and diverse psychosocial issues. Ezara has extensive experience collaborating with professionals in court and in multidisciplinary settings to achieve the optimal outcome for children and families.

Ezara has participated in staff retention groups and mentored other team leaders from other areas and sectors as part of the Tusla Mentoring Group. She is a proactive Signs of Safety (SOS) Leader with experience in running groups with the team and facilitating SOS support network meetings as part of reunifications. Ezara has effective communication and interpersonal skills with a strengths-based approach when working with children and families.

Ezara is committed to developing her knowledge and training on a monthly basis to build on existing skills and improve practice. Ezara’s emphasis is on safeguarding children in the care system with a focus on ensuring the children are safe, their voice is heard, their rights are protected and that they are receiving and being supported adequately through their childhood trauma and adverse life experiences. Ezara is fully Garda Vetted.

2014 | MSc Social Work (Masters), University College Dublin.

2009 | Bachelor of Arts in Social Care (BA Hons Level 8), Athlone Institute of Technology.

‍Further Education and Training

Monthly Professional and Training Sessions with TIGALA & Legal Training Seminars

2024 | Children’s First – Tusla

2024 | GDPR – Tusla

2024 | Health and Safety Awareness Training – Tusla

2024 | Hidden Harm: The impact of parental alcohol and other drug use – Tusla

2023 | Complaints

2023 | Restorative Practice CDI (Childhood Development Initiative)

2023 | Permanency Planning for CIC

2023 | Interview Training

2022 | Social Work Practice Teaching Training – UCD

2022 | Supervision Skills

2021 | Health and Safety Management: Introduction for Line Managers – Tusla

2021 | First Time Managers Programme

2019 | Relational and Developmental Trauma – Dr Karen Treisman

2019 | Signs of Safety Practice Teacher

2019 | Byrne Wallace – Legal Training Seminars

2019 | PECS Training

2019 | Attachment & Trauma

2018 | Mason Hayes & Curran - Legal Training Seminars

2018 | Safe Talk Training

2018 | Response Ability Pathways Course

2018 | Domestic Violence Training Forum

2018 | Court Room Skills & Report Writing

Areas of Special Interest

Children who have experienced trauma & adverse childhood experiences

Childhood Neglect cases

Care Planning for children in care, including assessment of access and reunification planning

Complex Teenagers requiring Secure Care or Out of State

Children with intellectual and physical disabilities

Child Sexual Abuse

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Professional Membership

Ezara Regan is registered with CORU.

She is a member of NAGALRO Professional Association for Children’s Guardians, Family Advisers, and Independent Social Workers.