New child protection centre for Maryborough
Published Tuesday, 28 August, 2007 at 11:35 AM
Minister for Child Safety
The Honourable Desley Boyle
Maryborough’s new Child Safety Service Centre was officially opened today, providing a bigger, brighter space for children, staff and families.
The centre, at 161 Bazaar St, Maryborough, was officially opened by Child Safety Parliamentary Secretary Julie Attwood.
“Child Safety Service Centres are the bases for our frontline staff who work directly with children who have been abused or neglected or are at risk,” Mrs Attwood said.
“In the 2005-06 financial year, the Maryborough Child Safety Service Centre recorded 542 notifications of harm, or risk of harm, to children and young people within the service centre’s district.
“Of those notifications, there were 166 confirmed cases of harm or risk of harm,” she said.
Mrs Attwood said the new office was purpose-built for Child Safety by Maryborough company The Green Group and would be leased to the department.
“We paid $810,000 for the fit-out to make it comfortable for staff, as well as foster carers and children,” she said.
“There’s rooms for family meetings and for foster carers to meet among themselves, as well as off-street parking.”
The Maryborough centre was previously co-located in State Government offices at the corner of Albert and Adelaide streets, Maryborough.
Mrs Attwood said the new centre employed 36 officers and had the capacity to accommodate up to 45 staff.
The Maryborough centre covers Maryborough, Hervey Bay and Gayndah and the area South to Curra and North to Howard.
Maryborough Child Safety Service Centre manager Lyn Healy said the new office would most benefit the children, young people and families at risk and the community that supported them.
“The centre offers spacious and bright meeting rooms in which to hold meetings with community and government partners including Indigenous organisations, foster care agencies and child and youth mental health services,” Ms Healy said.
Ms Healy said the local Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect (SCAN) team met weekly at the centre. The team is made up of representatives from community and government agencies including the Yoorana Domestic Violence and Resource Service, the Wide Bay Sexual Assault Service, Queensland Police, Queensland Health and Education Queensland.
“The regular meetings with SCAN assist the department to make timely decisions taking into consideration information provided by other agencies involved in the welfare and protection of children and young people,” she said.
The new Maryborough centre is part of the Department of Child Safety’s $30 million plan to improve offices across Queensland.
New service centres will open in the next few months at Nerang and Woodridge, as well as Branch Offices at Murgon and Weipa.
Centres which have recently become operational are located at Caloundra, Ipswich North and Ipswich South, Loganlea, Edmonton, Kingaroy, Gladstone, Atherton, Redcliffe, Beaudesert, Labrador, Thursday Island Branch Office, Toowoomba North and Toowoomba South, as well as a Central Queensland Zonal Office.
Ends
Media contact: 3224 7477
28 August 2007
The centre, at 161 Bazaar St, Maryborough, was officially opened by Child Safety Parliamentary Secretary Julie Attwood.
“Child Safety Service Centres are the bases for our frontline staff who work directly with children who have been abused or neglected or are at risk,” Mrs Attwood said.
“In the 2005-06 financial year, the Maryborough Child Safety Service Centre recorded 542 notifications of harm, or risk of harm, to children and young people within the service centre’s district.
“Of those notifications, there were 166 confirmed cases of harm or risk of harm,” she said.
Mrs Attwood said the new office was purpose-built for Child Safety by Maryborough company The Green Group and would be leased to the department.
“We paid $810,000 for the fit-out to make it comfortable for staff, as well as foster carers and children,” she said.
“There’s rooms for family meetings and for foster carers to meet among themselves, as well as off-street parking.”
The Maryborough centre was previously co-located in State Government offices at the corner of Albert and Adelaide streets, Maryborough.
Mrs Attwood said the new centre employed 36 officers and had the capacity to accommodate up to 45 staff.
The Maryborough centre covers Maryborough, Hervey Bay and Gayndah and the area South to Curra and North to Howard.
Maryborough Child Safety Service Centre manager Lyn Healy said the new office would most benefit the children, young people and families at risk and the community that supported them.
“The centre offers spacious and bright meeting rooms in which to hold meetings with community and government partners including Indigenous organisations, foster care agencies and child and youth mental health services,” Ms Healy said.
Ms Healy said the local Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect (SCAN) team met weekly at the centre. The team is made up of representatives from community and government agencies including the Yoorana Domestic Violence and Resource Service, the Wide Bay Sexual Assault Service, Queensland Police, Queensland Health and Education Queensland.
“The regular meetings with SCAN assist the department to make timely decisions taking into consideration information provided by other agencies involved in the welfare and protection of children and young people,” she said.
The new Maryborough centre is part of the Department of Child Safety’s $30 million plan to improve offices across Queensland.
New service centres will open in the next few months at Nerang and Woodridge, as well as Branch Offices at Murgon and Weipa.
Centres which have recently become operational are located at Caloundra, Ipswich North and Ipswich South, Loganlea, Edmonton, Kingaroy, Gladstone, Atherton, Redcliffe, Beaudesert, Labrador, Thursday Island Branch Office, Toowoomba North and Toowoomba South, as well as a Central Queensland Zonal Office.
Ends
Media contact: 3224 7477
28 August 2007