October 2002

Initiatives support child protection

A new State Government report will tackle pressures in Victoria’s child protection system, with a series of new and innovative initiatives.

Community Services Minister Bronwyn Pike outlined the new measures—contained in the Integrated Strategy for Child Protection and Placement report—which form part of the Government’s $60 million child protection strategy.

‘The child protection system now deals with 37,000 reports a year but many issues are more closely linked to family welfare than potential child abuse.

‘Nevertheless, every call must be given attention.

‘This has meant that many families come to the attention of Child Protection when welfare services are more suitable to their needs, while Child Protection workers are under increasing pressure to assess the volume of calls.

‘Management of these pressures has required extra resources in the short term.

‘Hence, the immediate recruitment of 60 new Child Protection workers will help manage a key pressure point—the increasing number of children notified due to family violence, parents’ drug and alcohol abuse and psychiatric, intellectual or physical disability.

‘The medium-to-long term the goal is to prevent abuse and divert low-risk cases away from the emergency child protection system and into adequate welfare support.’

Major initiatives to manage future demand and divert vulnerable children and families to appropriate welfare support include:

• Short-term—$16.8 million over four years will fund 60 new child protection and caseworkers;

• Medium-term prevention—a $14.8 million four-year investment will fund six projects across Victoria aimed at better helping families when stresses could become child protection issues. About 850 families a year will be helped with sustained, intensive and often in-home support;

• Long-term—$20 million over four years will provide intensive therapy and immediate help for up to 1,300 children a year who have suffered physical or sexual abuse. In the long-term, therapy will also help abused children relate positively to their own children as adults.

• Long-term—$7.6 million three-year Best Start project aims to ensure socio-economically disadvantage parents and children receive a mix of welfare, health, education, preschool and social supports to improve family functioning and optimise children’s development;

• Indigenous Prevention and Support—funds doubled to $2.4 million a year to support a new protocol to ensure Aboriginal workers are involved in decisions when Aboriginal children enter the Child Protection system. The protocol ensures cultural sensitivity in investigations.