The Coalition for Children in Care today welcomed the Opposition's policy to commit to the handover of the provision of foster care to non-government organisations in line with Justice Wood's recommendations.
Justice Wood's 2008 Inquiry into Child Protection found there would be a higher level of care and support of foster children if they were supervised by accredited non-government agencies.
"Transfer of out of home care to the non-government sector is long overdue and the Coalition for Children in Care (CCC) welcomes the Liberals and Nationals commitment to start the handover process immediately. This will enable Community Services to focus on its core business of identifying and protection children at risk of significant harm and improve the outcomes for children in care," Maree Walk, General Manager of The Benevolent Society said.
It is disappointing that the current government has delayed implementing key recommendations of the Wood Inquiry into Child Protection for two years. It's time to act for vulnerable children.
Reducing the number of children in foster care will only work if there is a strong commitment to early intervention for vulnerable families so children are not put at unnecessary risk.
"Children who need to be removed from their families for their safety should always receive the care and protection they need, including being placed in care.
"In order to reduce the number of children who come into the out of home care system, we welcome the Opposition's commitment to intensive services for families who need to make change to keep their children safe and the focus on early intervention in the Opposition's announcement."
Regardless of the outcome on March 26, both sides of politics need to move swiftly to implement the recommendations of Justice Wood's 2008 enquiry without further delay.
About the Coalition for Children in Care
Currently NGOs provide 36% of foster care, 91% of residential care and work with 85% of the support to high needs children.