Page 3610 - Week 12 - Tuesday, 27 October 2015
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
children. We know that in the ACT, as around the country, there is an unacceptable overrepresentation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people in the care system.
As part of their suite of new supports, UnitingCare will be using its well developed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander service called Jaanimili, a Gumbaynggir word from the north coast of New South Wales that means “gather together”. One of the visions of Jaanimili is to improve outcomes and opportunities for Aboriginal people and communities. It will bring to the ACT a new level of culturally appropriate support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in our community by being drawn into the child protection system.
I look forward to keeping members updated on this important new service. I would also like to mention another partnership that UnitingCare will be utilising. They will be partnering with the Karralika alcohol and other drugs family program in another example of this holistic approach.
I have mentioned the four areas of strengthening high-risk families that UnitingCare will be responsible for. I would quickly like to acknowledge another important partner in the strengthening high-risk families domain, Karinya House. I announced in January that Karinya House was being expanded to be able to provide 24-hour, seven-day supervision for mothers whose babies were at risk of entering care. This comes under the fifth area of mother and baby services.
A step up for our kids is obviously focused on the needs of the child. The parenting support that I have talked about ultimately aims to support children to have the best life possible. But I would also like to reference the jobs growth that will be realised through the investment this government is making in this strategy. Over three years, the ACT government will be putting an additional $16 million into out of home care.
This investment alone is significant but it becomes even more so when paired with the growth in the non-government sector that this investment will create. Importantly, I have requested that new providers first consider suitably qualified employees from existing providers when expanding their services so that we retain and build a high quality workforce in the sector.
A step up for our kids is going to foster greater responsibility than ever before for non-government organisations in child protection. I want to emphasise two things: firstly, these are new jobs; and, secondly, the increased role for non-government organisations will go hand in hand with enhanced oversight and regulation of the whole system.
Madam Speaker, I have discussed the direct benefits to vulnerable Canberrans, but there are significant benefits to the wider community through these reforms. As can be seen by the announcement of UnitingCare’s engagement, we are seeing the growth in new job skills and expansion of the sector. In August, I announced that the Australian Red Cross had won the tender to provide independent advocacy support services for families dealing with child protection services.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video