Minister for Child Protection, Hon Katrine Hildyard MP has received Dr Fiona Arney's Foster and Kinship Carer Inquiry report.
The Inquiry was tasked with examining complaint mechanisms, consultation processes and information sharing related to foster and kinship care before providing recommendations to Government.
In total it received 206 submissions from stakeholders, including 149 from individual foster and kinship carers.
The Government will refer recommendations requiring legislative change to the ongoing review of the Children and Young People (Safety) Act 2017. The State Government will also immediately be pursuing:
- The establishment of a Carer Council that will provide advice to Government directly through the Minister for Child Protection and help inform the design of policy, practice and future legislative reforms
- Removal of the "deficit in care" grounds in regard to care concerns. Children's safety and wellbeing must always be paramount. We have listened to the message provided by carers about the problems with the current model and will progress changes to the model going forward.
- Prioritisation of the adjustment of the model of respite support through work with our partner agencies to help ensure flexible respite is available.
Other recommendations are being actively considered.
The Inquiry was commissioned by the former Government and conducted in line with amendments to the Children and Young People (Safety) Act 2017 that passed in late 2021.
Owing to concerns raised at the Inquiry's inception about both its scope and resourcing, Minister Hildyard will continue to further listen to feedback from carers and other stakeholders, including through upcoming forums with carers in January.
The full report is now available online.
Quotes
Attributable to Katrine Hildyard
Thank you very much to the 149 carers who provided individual submissions to the Inquiry, and to the thousands of carers who do so much with and for children and young people in this State, opening their hearts, homes and lives to them.
I remain committed to listening to foster and kinship carers and will be convening forums in January to directly hear from them once they have had a chance to read and consider the report. My round tables with carers will also continue.
All of the recommendations are being actively considered. Any that will require legislative reform will be referred to the review of the Children and Young People (Safety) Act 2017. We will also act to progress recommendations relating to care concerns, flexibility in respite care and the establishment of a Carer Council.
I again thank carers and their representatives and other stakeholders for their submissions. I look forward to speaking further with them about the report and next steps at the upcoming forums.
I also thank Dr Arney and her team for their countless hours of work in undertaking the Inquiry and providing the report.
