Page 1335 - Week 04 - Thursday, 12 April 2018
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short period of time that data has been captured for the baseline report, the results in some categories may appear skewed or are too small to be meaningful and carry the risk of being able to identify individuals. This has meant that in-depth analysis of some measures is not feasible at this point in time.
However, the baseline report does identify early progress against key elements of the strategy. In particular, it highlights that the system is maturing and key elements of the strategy have been implemented, including services established and governance mechanisms in place. Initial forecasting of demand did not adequately anticipate the high volume of children entering care in the early stages of the implementation of the strategy, causing initial strain on the system.
The stability of placements is trending upwards, indicating that children and young people are experiencing fewer placement changes. In addition, planning for permanency is happening sooner in children’s lives, with a positive increase in enduring parental responsibility orders. Reunification rates are lower than initially forecast, indicating that there are fewer children than expected returning home. Prevention rates are higher than initially forecast, indicating that we are doing well at keeping children and young people with their families. The report shows that 73 per cent of children whose families have completed preservation programs have remained at home after three months, and 56 per cent remained after six months.
Participation rates are rising, indicating that children and young people are having a greater say in decisions and feel that they are being heard. Cultural planning has increased for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people in the ACT, exceeding the national average.
Lastly, a number of indicators related to the implementation of a therapeutic trauma-informed care system show that the ACT compares positively with national averages. However, it is noted that the delivery of trauma-informed practice training to staff and carers needs to be reviewed to improve completion rates. In reviewing the baseline report, I have asked that the directorate and KPMG explore the development of indicators that can provide more insight into the experiences of foster and kinship carers, who are the backbone of the out of home care system.
As I have said previously, reform of this nature takes time. A step up for our kids aims to create generational change, to break the cycle of intergenerational harm and improve long-term outcomes for families, children and young people. Changes of this nature and scale are not able to be evidenced in the first 18 months of a reform program.
At the time of production of the baseline report, a considerable number of measures remained under development. This was due to the complexity of the measures, the system and practice changes required to develop meaningful indicators and the time required to implement changes necessary to capture the data. Many of these have since been established and data is now being captured.
As I mentioned earlier, a key focus of the strategy has been investment in intensive parenting and family preservation supports. This aims to prevent children and young
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