The Andrews Labor Government has today responded to the Victorian Commissioner for Children and Young People’s report “…as a good parent would…” by supporting in principle all of its nine recommendations.
The Report, which looked at critical incident reports from March 2013 to March 2014, has serious and concerning findings which highlight a system that needs reform from the ground up.
The issues that are highlighted are above politics and run deeper than money – they require a community-wide commitment to do better to support our most vulnerable children and young people.
The Labor Government is already implementing many of the Report’s recommendations, and has funded an extra 110 child protection workers.
In the 2015-16 Victorian Budget funding for child protection and family services was boosted by 17 per cent, delivering an extra $257 million to strengthen and improve the system and relieve pressures.
This included a $48 million increase for early intervention and family support services.
The Department of Health and Human Services has been working closely with Victoria Police to target sexual exploitation of children in out-of-home care by sexual predators. Additional child protection workers dedicated to this work were funded in the Government’s first budget.
But there is a long way to go.
Recently the Government announced the Roadmap for Reform: Strong Families, Safe Children to review the entire child protection and family services system, strengthen and improve it.
This includes intervening early to prevent children experiencing trauma and abuse and entering the system, and an emphasis on home-based care – like foster or kinship care - rather than residential care.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Families and Children Jenny Mikakos
“I was appalled and distressed by this report. There is no quick fix, but we are determined to put in place the long term changes needed from the ground up to make children safer.”
“Placing children in home-based care like foster care is our first priority, but there are times when residential care is unavoidable - we need to strengthen out-of-home care for children to make it as safe as possible.”
“These issues were highlighted in the media last year. The Government hasn’t waited for this report to start reforming the system from day one.”
BACKGROUND
Shortly after coming to office the Andrews Labor Government acted to start reforming the child protection system.
It has announced and is implementing:
- $1.5 million for spot audits of residential care facilities
- $1.5 million for a foster care recruitment and retention strategy
- $16 million for additional overnight staffing residential care facilities
- $43 million for Targeted Care Packages which provide a flexible approach to moving children and young people out of residential care and into home-based care. The priorities for these packages are primary school aged children and Aboriginal children
- A Ministerial Advisory Committee for children in out-of-home care
- $48 million for early intervention and family support services targeting prevention
- $31.3 million to improve financial support for foster and kinship carers and review the system to make it simpler. A Foster Carer roundtable chaired by the Minister was also convened to listen to experienced foster carers about how the Government can recruit and retain more foster carers
- An overhaul of the critical incident reporting system
- 110 new child protection workers
- Additional child protection workers dedicated to growing the Government’s capacity across Victoria to tackle sexual exploitation of children in care by sexual predators. This includes better training for staff to identify and respond to sexual exploitation
- A roundtable of experts convened by Ms Mikakos including police, child protection workers and Centres Against Sexual Assault to discuss prevention and respond to child sexual exploitation
- $7.5 million to redesign and renovate out-of-home care properties
- An education roundtable convened by the Minister comprising experts to address improving educational outcomes for children in out-of-home care
- Development of a policy regarding the delivery of sexual and relationships education for children and young people in out-of-home care
- Establishment of the Aboriginal Children’s Forum, held quarterly, to address the over-representation of Aboriginal children in out-of-home care
The Labor Government recently announced the next step in its reform agenda – the Roadmap for Reform: Strong Families, Safe Children.
The Commission of Children and Young People has been supportive of the Government’s reform program, including many of the programs and measures listed above.
Reviewed 19 August 2020