South Australia is continuing to improve its response to children and young people that come into contact with the child protection and family support system.
The 2022-23 Report on Government Services shows that 96 per cent of children who exited out-of-home care to either reunification or a third-party placement did not return within 12 months – the highest result for all jurisdictions and 8 per cent above the national average.
The Report also shows that the Department for Child Protection undertook 10,418 investigations in the 2022-23 financial year – up 5.9 per cent on the previous period.
Of these investigations, 46.2 per cent were completed within 28 days of their commencement date – the highest of all jurisdictions and 18.5 percentage points higher than the national average.
In addition to quicker response times, South Australia is continuing to improve stability for children and young people in care. The report shows that 86.5 per cent of children placed in care for two or more years had lived in either one or two placements – 2.3 per cent higher than the previous year, and the highest result in this measure over the last two years.
These encouraging results stem from significant Government investment in the child protection and family support system, with $372 million provided since 2022, and with a focus on long term reform of the system.
Funding has been prioritised across the system through investments in effective intervention, including into family group conferencing, better support for families and additional support for foster and kinship carers.
Work is underway on the development of the Government’s 20-year vision and design of a fit for purpose child protection and family support system that has children and improvements in their lives at its centre.
As put by Minister for Child Protection Katrine Hildyard
All children and young people deserve to grow up in a safe and secure environment where they are loved, nurtured and supported to reach their potential. We are determined to help them do so.
Addressing legacy issues, strengthening families, tackling the complex issues they face and reducing the number of children and young people in care requires significant investment, stringent focus on change and an enlivened and coordinated approach engaged in across government, service providers and the community.
The Malinauskas Government has significantly invested into the child protection and family support system. The results of the 2022-23 Report on Government Services are reflective of our investment, and the signs are encouraging.
Addressing the safety and security of the 1 in 3 children and young people in contact with the child protection and family support system in South Australia is a key priority and it is pleasing to see the improvements in response times.
While our long-term strategy and vision is being developed with input from community, the sector, government, families and people with experience of the system, we are funding innovative programs designed to address key areas of need within the system. These programs are designed to continue to slow growth and improve the quality of and access to family support services.
Recent initiatives like increasing funding for Family Group Conferencing, the new Finding Families program and the adjustments to carer respite payments are crucial in supporting children and young people and their families, and the generous carers supporting our young people to thrive.
