Page 1288 - Week 04 - Thursday, 5 May 2022
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caution should be exercised when using and interpreting data in the report and comparing between reporting periods.
This snapshot report continues to provide insights into the ongoing positive impacts of the A Step Up for Our Kids reforms, as well as the continued challenges in out of home care.
In the first half of 2021-22, 73 children and young people entered out of home care and 68 exited out of home care. While the number entering out of home care has increased compared to 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21, the number of children and young people exiting care has also increased from 2018-19 and 2019-20, and is one fewer than those leaving care in 2020-21, resulting in the total number of children and young people living in out of home care remaining steady.
The total number of new entries into care for the first two quarters of the 2021-22 financial year is 46, which is lower than at the same point in the last two financial years. However, the number of children and young people returning to care has increased. It is still too early to identify if any of these outcomes may be attributable to the impact of the COVID-19 public health emergency or other factors.
In the first half of 2021-22, 16 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people exited out of home care, constituting 24 per cent of all children and young people exiting out of home care during that period. Concerningly, however, 33 per cent of children and young people entering care were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander—the highest proportion at this year-to-date point since 2017-18—driven by a significant increase and high proportion of children entering care in the first quarter of the financial year. This represents 24 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people who entered care in the first half of 2021-22 and compares to 20 in the same period in 2020-21, 11 in 2019-20, only eight in 2018-19 and 30 in 2017-18. This remains, as I said, an unacceptable level of over-representation and highlights the need for continued work.
At the end of December 2021, 31 per cent of children and young people living in out of home care on long-term orders were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander. This is lower than the same time in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 financial years, and the same rate as the two previous years at the same point in time. However, it is higher than at the end of the 2020-21 financial year, when 30 per cent of children and young people living in out of home care subject to long-term orders were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander. As at 30 December 2021, 12 per cent of carer households with a current placement have at least one carer who identifies as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.
The report indicates that the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in the care of the director-general with a cultural care plan in place has again declined. As at 30 December 2021, 168 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children had a cultural plan in place—78 per cent—compared to 191 at the same time the previous year, which was 86 per cent. There have been changes in the way in which plans are reviewed and recorded, and this may account for some of the data variations across
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