Page 559 - Week 02 - Thursday, 21 February 2019
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We are also committed to recognising survivors of institutional child sexual abuse, and our jurisdiction was one of the first to join the national redress scheme, which commenced in the ACT on 1 July last year. This 10-year scheme offers support to survivors through access to psychological counselling, a direct personal response from the responsible institution, and a monetary payment of up to $150,000.
To ensure that the scheme is effectively implemented to support survivors, we have established a hub in the Justice and Community Safety Directorate to coordinate and monitor the provision of ACT responses to requests for information from the commonwealth Department of Social Services to help it to assess applications for redress.
Our out of home care system also continues to mature. The A step up for our kids out of home care strategy supports the development of new therapeutic, trauma-informed care and provides support for young people transitioning from care up to the age of 25 years. Our child at risk health unit provides specialist therapeutic services to children, young people and their families who have been affected by abuse or neglect and provides services for children under 10 years of age who are engaging in problematic sexual behaviour.
Additionally, the ACT has been actively working with other jurisdictions to finalise the national principles for child safe organisations. We have written to the Prime Minister providing our endorsement of the national principles, which will be a valuable resource to guide organisations in the development of child safe practices and cultures. We will work with the National Office for Child Safety to promote and implement the national principles across organisations and the community services sector who work with children and young people.
To build on these national principles, the ACT government is also undertaking work to understand how we can support the wider ACT community and organisations to strengthen their approaches to child safety and protect our children through the introduction of child safe standards.
In October 2018 we partnered with the ACT Public Advocate and Children and Young People Commissioner to conduct stakeholder forums to better understand organisational readiness to implement the child safe standards. These forums were attended by representatives of a wide range of community, sport, religious, residential and educational institutions and organisations that provide services to children and young people.
Importantly, the forums highlighted the range of processes and policies currently in place across organisations to protect the safety of children and young people, and the need for increased awareness of obligations to ensure compliance with the regulatory schemes operating in the territory.
Our education system already has a strong approach to upholding the rights of children and promoting child safety and wellbeing, with child safe standards embedded in Education Directorate policy and procedures. During 2019
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