SA Government undertakes significant action to implement child protection reform

The South Australian Government is taking significant action to implement child protection and family support reforms, with Minister for Child Protection, Katrine Hildyard issuing several comprehensive directions to the Department for Child Protection for policy and practice changes.

• Elevating ‘best interests’ as a new guiding principle in all procedures, manuals of practice, training materials and professional development assessment processes, whilst always retaining ‘safety’ as the primary, prevailing and foundational principle for protecting children.
• Privileging the voices of children and young people so that they are more meaningfully and appropriately involved when decisions are made about their care.
• Working with the relevant peak bodies, to inform implementation of the full Aboriginal Child Placement Principle to the standard of ‘active efforts’.
• Expanding family group conferencing, with the intention that, as planned increases in capacity allow, they will be convened for all Aboriginal families.
• Ensuring carers are offered the opportunity to attend the annual reviews of children in their care and requiring case plans to be considered at the review.
• Introducing specific Quality of Care guidelines for replacing care concerns and assessing reports of harm to children.
• Developing complaint guidelines for children, carers and birth families to respond within 60 days to feedback on DCP services and decisions.
• Developing a new statement of commitment for children and birth families.
• Providing a copy of the Charter of Rights to all children in care.
• Commencing development of a State Strategy for children and young people.