A report by Queensland's Commission of Inquiry into Child Safety has made 52 recommendations after delivering a scathing assessment of the state's child safety sector. The inquiry revealed a billion-dollar residential care system that has left vulnerable children exposed to abuse and neglect.
Serious failures laid bare in Queensland child safety inquiry, amid promise of system overhaul A report by Queensland's Commission of Inquiry into Child Safety has made 52 recommendations after delivering a scathing assessment the state's child safety sector.
Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas/AAP Queensland's Child Safety Commission of Inquiry has revealed a billion-dollar residential care system that has left vulnerable children exposed to abuse and neglect. The inquiry was announced by the state government last year to fix issues across the child safety sector. The final report has made 52 recommendations to the government to address what it has labelled serious failures, including the "gross over-representation" of First Nations children.
Queensland Attorney-General Deb Frecklington said the state's government is considering the recommendations, with reform to come.
“We will carefully consider every recommendation ... as we work to rebuild a child safety system focused on protection, accountability and better outcomes for children and young people. ” The report said the gross over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in the child protection system is a matter of grave concern.
First Nations children make up almost half of all children in out-of-home care in Queensland, despite representing less than 10 per cent of the child population of the state. The report shows they are increasingly being placed in residential care settings disconnected from family, kin, culture and Country. The report reveals Queensland has almost as many children in residential care as every other state and territory combined.
The residential care model is designed as a transitional group-home environment for typically older youth whose complex trauma or behavioural needs prevent them from being placed in foster or kinship care. The commission found government policy has relied "too heavily" on residential care, which has become a billion-dollar sector despite failing to provide better outcomes and improved safety of children.
An analysis of critical incident reports found around 67 per cent of reports of sexual abuse of children in care involved children placed in residential care. Findings show the Queensland government repeatedly failed to make timely and sustained investment in family-based care and early intervention, contributing to a 200 per cent increase in residential care placements since March 2015.
The report has recommended a complete overhaul of the residential care system, instead recommending a prioritisation of out-of-home care as a "coherent system" that would offer more consistent care and reduce "unsuitable or unnecessarily restrictive settings". The overarching recommendation of the report calls for the Queensland government to re-focus its efforts and resources to prioritise all models of family-based care over residential care.
Speaking in parliament following the report's release, Queensland Child Safety Minister Amanda Camm announced children under the age of five will be removed from residential care. The Queensland government has also established a cabinet sub-committee and is expected to formally respond to the report within two months. The inquiry is the third review into the system since 2004 and involved almost 50 hearings held over 10 months across Cairns, Brisbane and Townsville.
Led by Commissioner Paul Anastassiou KC, the inquiry received over 1000 submissions and heard from 70 witnesses including young people in the system, frontline workers, family members, and community organisations.
“It is moving to see how many people, with direct or indirect experience of the child safety system from around Queensland, came forward to make a submission to the Commission,” Commissioner Anastassiou said. “It clearly shows a strong belief within the community that the child safety system is in urgent need of change to ensure the safety and wellbeing of children and young people now and into the future.
" Queensland's peak body for child and family services, PeakCare, has welcomed the report but says it is only the first step. “The Inquiry's final report being handed to government represents the passing of the baton, not the finish line," PeakCare CEO Kelly Jebb said.
"The next phase is implementation and PeakCare and the sector stand ready to work with the Government to implement this important reform agenda and to improve the child protection system and outcomes for all children and families together. ”Despite citing strong submissions from First Nations stakeholders against adoption, the report calls for greater access to adoption.
In the report, Commissioner Anastassiou, recommended the Queensland Government commence a feasibility study to assess how the concept of "simple adoption" could be incorporated into the Adoption Act 2009. He also recommended the Child Protection Act 1999 be amended to to entrench adoption as the third permanency option for "all children regardless of cultural background". Commissioner Anastassiou argued that the "permanency hierarchy" for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children means adoption is rarely, if ever, considered.
The hierarchy is guided by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle which was developed in the 1970s to respond to the devastating impacts of child removal policies, including those that led to the Stolen Generations. The hierarchy prioritises family-led decision-making and ensure out-of-home care placements are made within extended family, kin, and community to maintain cultural identity where possible.
Queensland Child Safety Inquiry Commission Of Inquiry Into Child Safety Residential Care System First Nations Children Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Children Child Protection System Gross Over-Representation Sexual Abuse Of Children Family-Based Care Early Intervention Residential Care Placements Priority Of Family-Based Care Commissioner Paul Anastassiou KC Submissions Child Safety System Reform Agenda Adoption Simple Adoption
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Queensland parliament live: Inquiry’s report into child safety releasedAnother day of state parliament begins with the tabling of a report of the inquiry into Queensland’s child safety system.
Read more »
Queensland Child Safety Inquiry Demands Sweeping Overhaul of 'Failing' SystemA landmark Queensland inquiry has branded the state's child protection system a failure, issuing 52 recommendations for radical change including overhauling residential care and adoption laws for Indigenous children. The political response has been swift and confrontational.
Read more »
Children under five to be removed from residential care after Queensland child safety report unveiledQueensland will remove children under five from state residential care following a landmark inquiry that found the child protection system was broken. The inquiry shocked officials with findings including that more than two-thirds of child sexual abuse victims were in residential care when the crimes occurred. The number of children in residential care had more than tripled in a decade, with Queensland having almost as many children in care as all other states and territories combined.
Read more »
Queensland parliament live: Child safety report, e-bike laws in focusIn the third and final day of this week’s parliament sitting, controversial e-mobility laws are set to pass.
Read more »