Child Protection Reform - Implementation Strategy

There are four ways you can be involved at this stage in the implementation:

FOCUS GROUPS

14 focus groups have been held in country SA and Adelaide metro to date. Contact the CPR Implementation team (cpreform@sa.gov.au) if you'd like to be advised if more are scheduled. Reports from the focus groups can be found here ...

SURVEYS

Two surveys have been undertaken during this phase of the implementation so far. Reports from the submissions will be made available shortly.

ONLINE DISCUSSION

Be part of the discussion on this site - see link below.

EMAIL YOUR FEEDBACK

Or you may wish to make contact more directly - email us at cpreform@sa.gov.au

18/4/17 Update:

The questionnaire referred to in this communique (following) has now been closed. If you have questions or comments, please contact cpreform@sa.gov.au.

30/3/2017

The government's initial response to the Royal Commission's findings, 'A fresh start' (PDF 4.5MB) made recommendations for improvement across the system to support foster and kinship carers.

Recommendation 127 calls for a centralised complaints mechanism to be established within the Department for Child Protection. To progress this, role descriptions for the Carer Liaison Manager and Carer Relationship Officer have been developed and will be advertised soon.

These positions will have a key role in strengthening partnerships between carers and the department, improve relationships and make sure any issues are resolved.

It is intended that the roles will be centrally based. They will have an excellent working knowledge of the child protection system and carers, and make sure that we respond better to the needs of the Aboriginal community and Aboriginal children and young people in particular.

We are seeking your feedback and comments on these role descriptions:

Carer Relationship Officer (PDF 593kb)
Carer Relationship Manager (PDF 596kb)

Please respond via this short questionnaire by April 17, 2017 (*18/4/17 update: survey now closed).

Your feedback is valued and a summary of changes made to the role descriptions will be provided.

Additional roles will be followed up separately to provide an independent advocacy service for carers and related education materials, as recommended in Nyland 116 and 117.
Kathryn Jordan
Executive Director, Child Protection Reform

The first round of child protection system reform focus groups included approximately 800 participants attending 11 sessions across the state.

The sessions explored our system reforms priorities - child safety pathway, Child and Family Assessment Referral Networks (CFARNs) and out of home care, to gather ideas and feedback on how best to work together towards implementation.

Key suggestions emerging from the sessions included the need to undertake targeted focus groups with carers, consultation with the Aboriginal community, and former and existing children under care to become involved in the discussion.

The emerging themes are:

• Child protection is a shared responsibility
• Additional training: information sharing guidelines and data sharing, notifiers, carers
• Transition for children and young people exiting out of home care
• Making CARL more accessible and less wait times
• Connection to country and remote areas
• Aboriginal families and communities:
  • Engage with extended family
  • Additional Aboriginal staff
  • Testing information through Aboriginal communities
• Culturally appropriate response and outreach programs.

Detailed feedback and responses that have been given so far

Explaining the reform of the child protection system (PDF 533kb)

1) Child Safety Pathways - Summary Report - Part 1 (PDF 691kb), Summary Report - Part 2 (PDF 556kb)

2) CFARNs - Summary Report - Part 1 (PDF 635kb), Summary Report - Part 2 (PDF 556 kb) and further information on Engaging with CFARNs (PDF 567kb)

3) Out Of Home Care - Summary Report (PDF 574kb), three topics generated specific reports: Family Scoping (PDF 611kb), Residential Care Placement (PDF 559kb) and Leaving Care (PDF 573kb).

Video updates were provided during the implementation ...

Kathryn Jordan, Executive Director for the Department of Child protection explains the scope and style of engagement around Child Safety Pathways, Child Assessments and Referrals and Out of Home Care (1m32s)

Three focus groups were specifically for Carers, this clip outlines the topics of discussion and feedback (1m0s)

The reform implementation

The "A Fresh Start" (PDF 4.5MB) outlines the system-level reorientation, inspired by a public health approach.

View the department's website for more information on the changes.

The 3 areas for consultation

OUT OF HOME CARE

Fifty nine (59) recommendations from the Nyland Royal Commission specifically relate to reform of the Out of Home Care (OOHC) system. Reform implementation for out of home care will occur over three phases. Phase 1 will involve a range of strategies to: increase family based placements and stability of these placements; increase the safety of children in out of home care; and improve support for young people transitioning to adult life.
Visit the Department for Child Protection website for more information.

CHILD SAFETY PATHWAY

The Child Safety Pathway will be a new front door to the child protection system and first point of contact for the public. The new pathway will use a multi-agency intake model that offers a broader child protection and development approach to families and children at risk. The pathway will include Department for Child Protection practitioners who currently staff the Child Abuse Report Line (CARL) and staff from SA Health, the Department for Education and Child Development, South Australia Police, the Department for Correctional Services, and the Department for Communities and Social Inclusion.
Visit the Department for Child Protection website for more information.

CHILD AND FAMILY ASSESSMENT AND REFERRAL NETWORKS (CFARNS)

CFARNs will collaborate with other providers in local regions to deliver new referral pathways and services, tailored to the individual needs of children and families. CFARNS will work with families of children in the first 1000 days of a child’s life (prenatal to 2 years of age) who are at risk and have come to the attention of the DCP - Child Safety Pathway.
Visit the Department for Child Protection website for more information.