Extra child safety staff relieving work pressure in Mackay

Child and family services continue to be boosted in North Queensland with eight new child safety staff already on the ground and around 34 more on their way over the next two years to help keep vulnerable children as safe as possible.

On Thursday the State Government released a comprehensive review on the operation of the state’s Child Safety system.

Minister for Child Safety Shannon Fentiman said the review had identified the impact of the LNP’s devastating job cuts that saw Child Safety Officer numbers in Queensland going backwards.

Between June 2012 and June 2014 there were 130 fewer regional support staff and child safety officers in Queensland – this was the regional frontline impact of the combination of 225 permanent positions being cut and 177 temporary contracts not being renewed by the LNP. 

Here in North Queensland we lost 15 regional support staff and child safety officers

The Queensland Government is acting to repair the damage done by these LNP cuts by employing over 400 additional staffwho are either on the ground now or commencing over the next two years.

“These are life-saving jobs. Already two new staff are working here at the Mackay Child Safety Service Centre,” Ms Fentiman said.  

“We have increased the Mackay Child Safety Service Centre operating budget by more than 15 per cent from 2016-17 to 2017-18.”

This has seen caseloads reduce at the Mackay Child Safety Service Centre from 24.7 as at 30 June 2016 to 20.7 as at 31 March 2017.

“With our new investment this year we will see even more improvements for people in Mackay, and we already know that eight of these new regional staff will be employed at the Mackay Child Safety Service Centre in the next year.

“There will also be one new staff member at the regional office.”

Ms Fentiman said the review was commissioned by the Queensland Family and Child Commission, and it has not only helped identify pressure points but also made sure our $200 million investment in additional staff had the right mix of staff required to respond.

“This includes employing extra staff to form state-wide relief pools to backfill officers on leave and creating new senior positions to provide career pathways to keep experienced staff at the frontline,” Ms Fentiman said.

Ms Fentiman said the reports also reinforce what we already know about the complexity of families we are working with, including the devastating effects of the insidious drug Ice.

“It’s no surprise that the LNP’s irresponsible cuts to staff have been felt the hardest in areas now responding to the scourge of ice use in regional corridors around Queensland,” Ms Fentiman said.

“Our child safety staff are dedicated and hard-working people and the work they are doing is increasingly complex. Staff are working more intensively with families to overcome issues such as Ice abuse and that work is taking longer.”

ENDS

Media Contact:          Ron Goodman                       07 3719 7511