Page 793 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 21 March 2018
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As noted in the motion and the proposed amendment, the royal commission has reinforced the role of adults in the lives of children to act to keep children safe. We know, as Mrs Kikkert has said, that parents and caregivers are one of the most important protections for children. That is why the ACT government, over a long period of time, has provided specific parenting education resources that recognise and respond to concerns of child abuse.
The ParentLink program is a parenting information program designed to increase confidence and skills in parents and caregivers. It is delivered in the ACT under a licensing agreement with the South Australian government. ParentLink includes more than 70 parenting guides on a wide range of topics. Some examples are childhood development, raising toddlers and family issues.
Importantly, as I noted earlier, ParentLink provides specific guidance on protecting children from sexual abuse. It includes advice for parents and carers about what is child abuse, what parents can do to keep their children safe, identifying possible signs of sexual abuse, and the effects of sexual abuse on a child. ParentLink guides are available online and in printed form.
In 2016-17 there were more than 74,000 visits to the ParentLink website. During the same period more than 22,450 paper-based parenting guides were distributed across the ACT. Information about ParentLink resources is provided to parents of newborn babies in their personal health record, better known as the blue book.
ParentLink information is also provided to all parents of first-time primary students in the ACT in their “On my first day” pack. In addition, ParentLink information is provided at child and family centres located in west Belconnen, Tuggeranong and Gungahlin, and it is provided to new Canberrans through the Suburban Land Agency welcome pack. ParentLink resources online are currently being refreshed to ensure that they include specific local information and to modernise and improve the online presence. I am advised that this work is expected to be completed by May.
Protecting children and young people is also a broader community responsibility. I am therefore pleased to let the Assembly know that the child and youth protection services updated the Keeping children and young people safe—a shared community responsibility guide in November last year. This guide to reporting child abuse and neglect in the ACT provides the broader ACT community with information about reporting concerns of child abuse and neglect within a family and advises them about the important roles and responsibilities of mandated reporters and the broader community in responding to child abuse and neglect, including child sexual abuse.
Through this information the government aims to help the community understand how the child protection system works in the ACT and the important roles we all play in identifying and appropriately acting on suspicions of abuse and neglect so that we can best work together for the benefit of Canberra’s children and families.
The ACT government will continue to ensure that this important ParentLink and child and youth protection services information about recognising and responding to child
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