The Community Services Directorate is developing the next iteration of its Out of Home Care Strategy, building on its work of the past five years.
A Listening Report on the Directorate’s current Strategy, A Step Up for Our Kids, summarises consultation with stakeholders and highlights key themes and learnings.
Minister for Families and Community Services, Rachel Stephen-Smith said insights from the Report and ongoing engagement would inform the future Strategy.
“As we embark on developing the next iteration of A Step Up for Our Kids, our first stage of engagement has focused on hearing from people with lived experience of the out of home care system and those who work with them,” Ms Stephen-Smith said.
“Children and young people have a right to be included in decisions that impact their lives, and we’ve heard in the Listening Report that children and young people want a stronger voice in decision-making,” she said.
“Carers are the backbone of the out of home care system and we have heard that we have more to do to ensure that their expertise in the lives of the children and young people in their care is always respected and their needs are appropriately supported.”
Ms Stephen-Smith said feedback also indicated a need to strengthen community-led decision-making and service design, particularly while working alongside the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community to reduce the over-representation of First Nations children and young people in the child protection system.
The Minister said the release of the Listening Report coincided with the launch of a new YourSay webpage that included engagement opportunities, discussion papers and past strategies related to child and family services.
“Across the entire child and family services landscape, we need to hear from and work collaboratively with those who have lived experience of the service system – children and young people, families, carers, community partners and advocacy groups,” Ms Stephen-Smith said.
The Directorate’s 14-page Listening Report, including information on how to have a say on the next stage of the Strategy’s development, can be accessed at this PS News link and its new children and family services reform Your Say website at this link.
