Page 3524 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 12 September 2017
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To this end the Community Services Directorate has written to SNAICC, the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples, Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health Service, Gugan Gulwan Youth Aboriginal Corporation and the incoming ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body to support the steering group and the design process.
The co-design will look at methodology, provide vital cultural advice and determine lessons to be learned. This body will be independent of the child and youth protection service so that the community can have full confidence that their work is truly independent. The Community Services Directorate, through the director-general, will work closely with the steering group to provide the support necessary to undertake this comprehensive review.
The review will also be supported by the child and youth protection quality assurance and improvement committee, which is chaired by the Director-General of the Community Services Directorate, and includes independent experts from across Australia and senior ACT government representatives. The committee was established in 2016 as part of a $2.47 million initiative under the safer families package to enhance quality assurance practices and to support improved decision-making in child and youth protection services. The committee’s engagement will allow the steering group to draw on expertise across government and across Australia to support their role. It will also ensure that lessons are learned not just within the child protection system but across other arms of government.
There is no easy or quick solution to building the community’s confidence in the system and achieving a consensus for future action in this area. The experience across Australia and the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people tell us that we must be prepared to persevere but that we must not delay. We must be prepared to hear of lessons that are hard to hear and we must be prepared to take the time to fully address what we learn. That is why we will be working carefully and methodically to ensure the review delivers real value for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, young people and their families.
The review has three phases and will take approximately two years to complete. The first phase will include the establishment of the review team, governance structure and review methodology. The steering committee will be established to oversee the design phase and to advise the review team on how to best engage with children, young people and their families.
The second phase will see the reviewers focus on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children who are involved with child and youth protection services on interim or short-term care and protection orders. The third and final phase will focus on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people who are on long-term orders, with a view to determining if appropriate casework and services are in place to support their connections to culture and family.
It is anticipated, without pre-empting the co-design, that an interim report will be delivered in mid-2018, after phase 2, and that a final report will be delivered in
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