Page 2121 - Week 07 - Thursday, 16 May 2013
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while there were some deficiencies in the process that occurred, the officials genuinely believed their actions were in the best interests of the children involved in what were difficult circumstances.
It is also important to note that in developing this bill the directorate has provided very useful feedback on the current operation of the care and protection system and engaged very positively with the proposed reform. I would like to place on the record my thanks to those involved.
It is the Greens’ view that the extensive provisions already in the act relating to the obligations owed to, and the protections in place for the wellbeing of, children and young people in the care and protection system should be required to operate in every circumstance. This is how the act was previously understood to operate by those involved in the system and I believe how it was understood to operate by the Assembly when it passed the act.
The Public Advocate, who is one of the key oversight mechanisms for the care and protection system, was also of the view that this was how the act worked. Indeed, what was evident in her report is the view that this is how the act should work, which is a very strong indication of the merits of this bill.
The Children and Young People Act regulates how the state must look after children and young people when they fall into the care of the state because their parents are unable to look after them. The act charges members of the executive with the care of often the most vulnerable young people in our community. The consequences of the decisions made under this act will very often have a profound impact on the child or young person’s life. In recognition of this reality, the act builds in a number of protections to ensure that young people are properly cared for and particularly that those entrusted with that care are suitable to exercise that responsibility.
The bill clarifies that these requirements are in fact mandatory and must always be followed.
The bill recognises that, whilst placing a child or young person with an out-of-home carer is the primary and far and away most common way of providing for the wellbeing of children and young people in care, there are a limited range of other circumstances where an alternative arrangement may be in the child’s or young person’s best interests.
The bill provides for four alternatives to placement with an out-of-home carer. The first is if a child or young person has an illness or disability that requires particular specialised care, which must be recommended by a doctor. For example, it may be appropriate that a young person with a severe eating disorder or with a disability that means they need a very high level of specialised care or treatment stays in a particular health facility that can provide for their needs.
The second situation is that it may be that a young person who is nearly an adult and has been assessed using accepted criteria as capable of independent living and who chooses not to live with an out-of-home carer should not be placed in such an
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