More Queensland families seek support to keep kids safe
Published Saturday, 08 July, 2023 at 01:00 PM
Minister for Child Safety and Minister for Seniors and Disability Services
The Honourable Craig Crawford
More children in care are being placed with kin carers, encouraging their connection to country and culture
Queenslanders continue to step up in times of need, with 6,069 foster and kinship carer families caring for children throughout the state
Figures are based on the latest child safety data as at 31 March 2023
The number of children in care has increased to 11,626, according to the latest child safety data for the year ending 31 March 2023.
More children are being placed with kin with 47.1 per cent of children in care – or 5,481 – living with kinship carers, ensuring young people remain connected to country, culture and community.
When families are unable to care for their children safely at home, Queenslanders are continuing to step up with 6,069 foster and kinship carer families throughout the state.
The department received 33,599 notifications requiring investigation in the latest reporting period, with 93.5 per cent of 24-hour priority investigations commenced on time.
Additional family support services continue to provide critical support to families to ensure they can care for and protect children and young people.
Intensive Family Support services assisted 4,547 families in the year ending 31 March 2023, while 4,249 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families were supported by a Family Wellbeing Service in the same period.
The March data also includes some good news from last year’s My Life in Care survey of children’s experiences in care.
Close to 90 per cent (87.8 per cent) of children and young people in care who were surveyed said they feltsafe and secure where they lived, and almost 70 per cent (69.9 per cent) said they felt happy in care.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Child Safety Craig Crawford:
“The Queensland Government is committed to building a robust and responsive child safety system to keep all children safe.
“When home is no longer a safe space, everyday Queenslanders continue to do extraordinary things bybecoming foster and kinship carers, protecting our most vulnerable in their time of need.
“The latest child safety data shows caseloads are down to 15.8 cases per full-time child safety officer.
“A record child safety budget in 2023-24 will see 123 new child safety officers and support staff employed in priority locations so we can continue to drive down case numbers and ensure staff can deliver the best possible support for families and children.
“We remain focused on reducing the number of children in residential care, increasing the number of children with kinship carers, and addressing the over-representation of First Nations children in the child protection system.
“Child safety is everyone’s business, so let’s work together to keep Queensland children happy, healthy and thriving.”
Further information:
For more data information visit https://performance.cyjma.qld.gov.au/
For more information about Family and Child Connect call 32 FAMILY (13 32 64) or visit www.familychildconnect.org.au.
Anyone interested in becoming a foster carer should call the Foster Care Recruitment Line on 1300 550 877, visit ww.fcq.com.au or https://www.qld.gov.au/community/caring-child/foster-kinship-care/
For anyone interested in a career as a child safety officer, visit CSO Careers - CSO careers (cyjma.qld.gov.au)
ENDS
Media contact – Peter Michael, 0477 948 091