Page 3032 - Week 09 - Thursday, 21 September 2006
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• the birth to two-year-old child and family centre project. This project will focus on child and family centres providing an intensive early intervention service to families to reduce re-reporting rates to Care and Protection services;
• NAPCAN, with the support of ACT Health, is providing ongoing training to ACT Health staff and Care and Protection staff on safe sleeping practices for babies.
Practice directions will be issued next week to all child protection staff in relation to the recommendations. These practice directions will come into effect immediately and change practice in the following areas:
• the handling of and responding to child protection reports of unborn children;
• the inclusion of siblings in child protection reports;
• the assessment of babies born believed to be drug affected or drug dependent;
• the changing of risk assessment ratings between operational areas;
• the “triggering” of reports on siblings who have been identified to be at risk through the court process; and
• the need to obtain written consent from carers to access information from external agencies.
Meanwhile, the office continues with its commitment to review its work. We are moving forward in this area of complex work and I am pleased that the study I requested has helped provide another step in this journey forward. The study has confirmed the importance of coordination and collaboration across various government agencies and the community—something we will be working to enhance in the next phase of the reform program.
In conclusion, I would like to emphasise that it is the responsibility of everyone in the community to look out for and take care of our children. Child protection officers are at the front line of this work but often these children are known to a number of different agencies, both government and non-government.
I would also like to acknowledge the front-line child protection workers who deal day-to-day with children and their families, and our community sector partners in child protection and children’s services. They continue to work with us to strengthen our combined responses and to ensure that we are constantly looking forward and implementing best practice frameworks and services for our children. I thank members of the Assembly for their interest in this very important matter.
Debate (on motion by Mrs Burke) adjourned to the next sitting.
Sitting suspended from 12.10 to 2.30 pm.
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