The Department of Youth Justice, Children and Multicultural Affairs has announced that a record number of children are being supported to stay with kin and communities.
Minister for Children, Leanne Linard said the latest child safety data revealed that nearly half of all children in care were placed with kin, up by nearly one percentage point from last year, and significantly higher than a decade ago.
“Ten years ago, just 35 per cent of children were placed with kin. Today, that number is at 46.4 per cent. It means we’re keeping more children with relatives, friends or community members,” Ms Linard said.
She said Queenslanders were continuing to step up when a family was unable to care for their children safely at home.
“More than 1,500 families have become carers for the first time. There are now 5,967 carer families, up from 5,868 a year ago. Almost all this increase came from kinship carers,” the Minister said.
Ms Linard said that the number of children requiring care rose to 11,323 as of 30 June 2022.
The growth rate was continuing to slow, with a 2.3 per cent increase for the year ending June, compared to a 3.4 per cent increase for the year ending March and a four per cent increase for the year ending December 2021.
“Sadly, our data shows there’s still a great need for our child protection services, with 32,005 notifications requiring investigation in the year ending 30 June. This is a 13.3 per cent increase compared to the same period last year at 28,243,” she said.
“We continue to prioritise our most urgent cases. For investigations with a 24-hour priority, just over 94 per cent were started on time despite increased demand.”
She said the State’s family support services continued to provide families with the necessary support and referrals to keep children safe at home.
“I want parents and carers to know that support is always available to keep their children safe, and their families healthy and thriving,” Ms Linard said.
