New report proposes better safeguards for out-of-home care
In a report tabled today in NSW Parliament, the Office of the Children’s Guardian has drawn attention to significant concerns about the quality of care provided to children and young people placed in Alternative Care Arrangements (ACAs), which involve children residing in unstable, short-term accommodation such as motels, caravan parks, holiday rentals or serviced apartments.
Strengthening out-of-home care and the broader child protection system (PDF, 204 KB) (PDF, 703.84KB) outlines findings from a review conducted from September 2023, which examined the circumstances of 55 children and young people in ACAs. The report identified five key issues impacting the quality of care to these children.
- Inadequate oversight and monitoring of the care provided
- An inability to guarantee that children are provided with the integrated supports and critical services needed
- Significant problems in attracting and retaining appropriately skilled staff
- The significant over-representation of Aboriginal children and young people in ACA placements
- Children remaining in ACAs due to a lack of suitable care options
The review also highlighted issues that need to be addressed for the broader out-of-home care system.
These include the need to ensure high quality therapeutic residential care for the many young people in these services, often with complex support needs.
As part of addressing this issue, the report proposes establishing an expert advisory group for residential care.
Children’s Guardian, Steve Kinmond OAM, acknowledged the need for more foster carers, but stressed the importance for carers to be well supported and listened to.
‘That is why we recommend the establishment of a carer engagement and advisory committee along with improved data collection and analysis about the carer workforce to better understand what’s working well and what needs improving,’ Mr Kinmond said.
While welcoming the NSW Government’s firm commitment to phasing out ACAs, the report notes that children and young people need additional support as the transition to more suitable care progresses. The report identifies additional measures to protect and promote the rights of children who remain in ACAs and other forms of high-risk emergency care until this fundamentally flawed part of the out-of-home care (OOHC) system is removed.
The report goes beyond OOHC to acknowledge the need to tackle longstanding challenges in the broader child protection system. The report acknowledges recent inquiries and reports from the NSW Audit Office, the Ombudsman and the Advocate for Children and Young People, which clearly demonstrate the need for a strong reform agenda.
‘It’s important we don’t take the blinkered approach off only seeking to address challenges in the OOHC system,’ Mr Kinmond said.
‘We need an evidence-based, integrated, multi- agency response. And it is crucial that the right governance arrangements are in place to effectively drive this urgently needed reform.’
Mr Kinmond noted what has also been emphasised in several other independent reviews – that there is a need to put in place much more effective governance arrangements that draw upon the expertise and resources across a range of key sectors and disciplines, to strengthen the child protection system and its outcomes for children and young people.
The report notes the critical importance of ensuring a strong and effective nexus between the focus of this governing entity and the interagency operating models that will be required to undertake the necessary detailed system redesign and implementation work.
To strengthen oversight of the OOHC system, the report recommends strengthening the Office of the Children’s Guardian’s complaint-handling powers, allowing for direct receipt of complaints from children and young people in OOHC and their carers.
‘The important work undertaken by the Advocate for Children and Young People clearly shows that children and young people in care need to have a platform to raise concerns about their lived experience,’ Mr Kinmond said.
‘The lack of a child-centred, complaint handling function within the Office of the Children’s Guardian is a critical gap in our oversight of the OOHC system,’ he said.
‘As the regulator, we need to be empowered to address the individual needs of children and young people in out-of-home care, especially those who need more intensive support.
In the context of proposals to expand the OCG’s oversight responsibilities, the report also acknowledges that there is a fundamental issue yet to be resolved – that is, whether the whole oversight system is ‘fit for purpose’. Therefore, the report supports consideration being given to how the oversight system could be strengthened more broadly. On this issue, the report notes the important work by the Ministerial Aboriginal Partnership group relating to recommendations in the Family is Culture report for the establishment of a new, independent Child Protection Commission which would also include the appointment of an Aboriginal Commissioner.
