Page 3560 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 18 September 2019
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Submissions will be made public where respondents have provided their express permission for the publication of their submission and where these submissions do not include the disclosure of personal information about another person. These submissions will soon be publicly available on the Justice and Community Safety Directorate’s website, which is the first element of my amendment as circulated.
Like all decisions and processes in out of home care, this consultation is well informed by the inclusion of the views of people with lived experience in the system—importantly, children and young people. While every effort has been taken to make this discussion paper and process as accessible as possible, I acknowledge that it remains a very complex issue. Indeed, the discussion paper points out in great detail that there is no consistency across jurisdictions in how these matters are handled, and there are many options for how we go forward with the establishment of both better codified internal review mechanisms and also external review mechanisms.
For this reason, I am very pleased that both the CREATE Foundation and the Children and Young People Commissioner, as part of the Human Rights Commission, who are experts in engaging with and reflecting the voices of children and young people, have made submissions to the process.
As I have said, the CREATE Foundation performs an incredibly important role as the national consumer body representing the voices of children and young people in the out of home care system and young people who have transitioned from care up to the age of 25. In the ACT, CREATE is a partner in the delivery of A step up for our kids, the ACT government’s out of home care strategy.
CREATE is funded under the strategy to deliver the children and young people engagement support service. The service includes encouraging and enabling children and young people in care to participate and contribute to community life; empowering children and young people in care to build self-confidence, self-esteem and skills that enable them to have a voice and be heard; empowering children and young people in care to fully participate in society; encouraging children and young people in care to develop communities of peer support; encouraging children and young people in care to participate in decision-making; and encouraging children and young people’s talents, hopes and dreams.
CREATE staff and representatives of the CREATE young consultants program had a face-to-face meeting with the independent consultant, Mr Peter Muir, during the review period. Hence my amendment removes the request that the government remind Mr Muir that it is important to listen to the voices of children and young people. Mr Muir needs no reminding of this. Mr Muir reported that he was touched and grateful to meet with these young people and to listen to their views on these important issues.
Young consultants are young people with a lived experience of out of home care in the ACT who work with CREATE to ensure that the voices of children and young people are heard and their perspectives are included in decision-making. I particularly value my regular meetings with CREATE young consultants and CREATE staff. It is incredibly important to hear directly from children and young people about their
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