Page 2189 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 3 August 2016
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in a timely manner. That may have flow-on effects, because some constituents tell me they are deterred from the adoption process because they have heard the horror stories of how long adoption can take. I hear from constituents about other related matters, for example, the need for a national child protection database. One constituent has said to me:
Currently states and territories all have their own database information, and cannot easily share or see child protection information from other states.
We have spoken in this place many times about the need to share information. I am pleased that we seem to have made some small progress recently towards better sharing of information. As recently as yesterday there was legislation passed. But some families involved in the foster care system and adoption say that they are aware of families being able to cross a border and be free from supervision. They go interstate to have another child. For families in the foster system, this is a very real concern. Sharing information is very important. It is especially an issue for the ACT when we are a small territory and people can go in and out of New South Wales to escape care and protection scrutiny. It affects the ACT, and the ACT should take a lead role in these types of issues.
Other feedback I have received from constituents includes having difficulties getting in touch with case workers and uncertainty regarding whether a family wanting to adopt can use a private lawyer to do the adoption paperwork or whether they need to use the ACT Government Solicitor to do the paperwork to lodge in the court system. They ask that because of their concerns about how long it can take for the adoption process to take place. I have been told that there is a lot of toing and froing between the Community Services Directorate and the ACT Government Solicitor passing the paperwork back and forth. There is, I have been told, some duplication. For example, a constituent has told me:
After a child has remained in an ‘Out of Home Care’ placement for 12 months or more, carers are eligible to begin to apply for permanency orders, either Enduring Parental Responsibility or Adoption. Typically to become an official foster or kinship parent you already undergo necessary assessment, interviews, panels, reports and trauma informed training in line with the OCYFS policies and procedures. When the foster or kinship parent applies for adoption or EPR orders, you need to again go through a similar process of assessment, interviews, panels, and reports to have the child, who has 18 year orders. The child would have been placed by OCYFS for more than 12 months and during this time reports are made by case workers about the child in that placement.
This constituent stressed to me that funds and time could be better spent on other areas than this duplication of effort. Here is another quote from a concerned constituent:
Many carers with foster children on long term orders will not attempt to apply for EPR or Adoption because they do not want the stress that surrounds the process.
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