Page 2323 - Week 07 - Thursday, 4 August 2016
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The advocacy support service for kinship and foster carers will play a valuable role in assisting carers with their interactions with out of home care service providers, child and protection services and other related organisations. The primary role of the advocacy support service for kinship and foster carers is to advocate on behalf of foster and kinship carers and their families and to form strong working partnerships with government and non-government organisations in support of good decision-making focused on children and young people in care.
This independent service will be at arm’s length from government and out of home care providers and aims to provide a mechanism to support and empower foster and kinship carers in resolving difficult issues or conflicts. This service is the first of its kind in the ACT, as there is currently no existing funded or integrated foster and kinship carer advocacy program.
I was pleased to announce in late July Carers ACT as the new provider of this service. Carers ACT is a well-established community organisation in the ACT with over 20 years experience in providing support services to carers and caring families. The advocacy support service for kinship carers and foster carers will be formally launched on 26 August.
MADAM SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Mr Hinder.
MR HINDER: Minister, what benefit will the birth family advocacy support service bring for birth families involved in the child youth protection system?
DR BOURKE: Since its establishment in December 2015 the birth family advocacy support service has already had a positive impact, having assisted over 80 clients in their interactions with the care system. Many of these families have experienced constructive outcomes, particularly around improved communication and relationships with child and youth protection services.
The service has provided practical support to parents, including the following: understanding of child and youth protection case processes, attendance and support at meetings, support in preparing for meetings, support in court, understanding court processes, understanding documentation, particularly affidavits and child protection assessment reports, understanding processes to appeal decisions and orders and of course understanding their rights. As I have said before, 23 of the clients of that service have identified as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.
Red Cross has made significant efforts to engage with the local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community by establishing positive relationships with the community organisations and programs, including the growing healthy families program based at the Tuggeranong Child and Family Centre and the Yurauna Centre at the Canberra Institute of Technology. In addition, the birth family advocacy support service has an identified a Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff position; this position is currently held by a Murrai woman who has strong ties to the local Canberra community.
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