Page 2020 - Week 06 - Thursday, 9 June 2016
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New services under a step up for our kids will see a greater share of responsibility for children and young people in care transferred to the responsible person of approved foster and kinship care organisations. The delegation of responsibilities will give organisations greater autonomy in providing care, giving vulnerable children and young people the most stable, productive lives possible. This will also result in a reduction in the three-way relationship between children and youth protection services, kinship and foster care providers and carers.
This was a key issue identified through the consultation with stakeholders in the development of a step up for our kids. While these amendments will enable delegation of decision-making for children and young people in care, they only come into effect once a deed of delegation is agreed. This instrument will specify responsibilities, powers and any limitations. I would like to highlight that this change will not be enacted for another 12 to 18 months. This will allow time for the sector to mature and expand and for an accountability framework to be established.
We recognise the importance of promoting the best interests of a child or young person in out of home care and ensuring the integrity of the care system. The best interests of the child are paramount and the whole system focuses on better outcomes for children and young people and working in partnership for organisations to achieve that priority.
The Standing Committee on Justice and Community Safety in its legislative scrutiny role has considered this bill and found that it upheld protection of the rights of children and young people consistent with the Human Rights Act 2004. I would like to assure the Assembly of the primacy of the rights of the child and how the safety and wellbeing of children and young people in the ACT is upheld and indeed strengthened under a step up for our kids.
I would like to talk about the elements of this today, to explain how this work will prepare the sector to share additional out of home care responsibilities proposed under this bill. Throughout 2015 and 2016, we have focused on establishing and strengthening the high-risk families and continuum of care domains of a step up for our kids. Our focus will now be on developing additional safeguards to enhance oversight and transparency through the strengthening accountability and ensuring a high functioning care system domain. This program of work will sit within an accountability framework and comprise the following key elements.
There will be improved regulation of oversight. Through legislative arrangement amendments made in 2015 to the Children and Young People Act 2008, the Human Services Registrar provides independent assessment and monitoring of ongoing suitability of organisations approved for care and protection purposes. In addition, from 1 July 2016 the ACT out of home care standards come into effect.
There will be new governance arrangements. Joint governance arrangements will see the government and non-government sectors work in partnership to oversee the establishment of an effective, high quality service system under a step up for our kids. This will include the transfer of knowledge and capacity to a non-government
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