The Attorney General’s Department has launched a pilot program aimed at protecting vulnerable children and their families in court proceedings.
The program’s focus will be on newborns and infants.
Attorney General, John Quigley said it was the Children’s Court’s responsibility to decide whether a child was in need of protection and care, and to make decisions based on the best interests of that child.
“Court figures show the number of protection and care applications lodged in the Perth Children’s Court has increased by 54 per cent over 10 years from 691 in 2010-11 to 1,064 in 2019-20,” Mr Quigley said.
“Similarly, the Department of Communities has seen a 61 per cent increase in the number of children, including Aboriginal children, entering care over the past nine years from 3,334 children in 2010 to 5,379 children in 2019.”
He said this represented a significant increase in the number of young people needing court intervention to remove them from potentially dangerous living arrangements and place them in a more suitable, safer home.
“The pilot will involve a separate list of cases in the Perth Children’s Court, focusing on families in need,” Mr Quigley said.
“It aims to address the issues that cause families to come before the court in a holistic, therapeutic and culturally informed manner.
“By establishing the pilot at the Perth Children’s Court, the children, their families, Government Departments, representatives from the Aboriginal community and community-based agencies will be able to attend the court at the same time.”
The Attorney General said the Perth Children’s Court had begun the pilot in
July and there were currently 16 families involved.
