Family support and child protection system

Tabled Report 1: 2020–21

Tabled date

2020-08-04

Report year

2020-21

Community welfare Justice and public order

Entities audited

Not identified in the published HTML audit scope.

Recommendations

1. QAO's text Addressed to: establish minimum service-level requirements based on better practice for engaging with families requiring support by Intensive Family Support and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander wellbeing services. It

   establish minimum service-level requirements based on better practice for engaging with families requiring support by Intensive Family Support and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander wellbeing services. It should tailor these requirements to the demographics of each region 

2. QAO's text Addressed to: establish minimum service-level requirements based on better practice for engaging with families requiring support by Intensive Family Support and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander wellbeing services. It

   collaborate with family support services to monitor outcomes and increase consent rates and the quality of data captured in the Advice, Referrals and Case Management database 

3. QAO's text Addressed to: establish minimum service-level requirements based on better practice for engaging with families requiring support by Intensive Family Support and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander wellbeing services. It

   automate the transfer of those child harm reports that do not meet the threshold for investigation but the family may benefit from family support services between the Integrated Client Management System and the Advice, Referrals and Case Management database.

4. QAO's text Addressed to: establish a multi-disciplinary intake process for efficiently and effectively triaging all child harm reports. The intake process

   establish a multi-disciplinary intake process for efficiently and effectively triaging all child harm reports. The intake process should integrate information from all relevant agencies, including non-government organisations, to assess the cumulative risk and to facilitate a shared responsibility for triaging and responding to all child harm reports. This should prioritise the immediate safety of the child and not delay the Department of Child Safety, Youth and Women from immediately responding to a child harm report. 

5. QAO's text Addressed to: the Department of Education

   provides greater support and training to principals and teachers to assist them in determining the appropriate pathway to report concerns about a child's safety.

6. QAO's text Addressed to: the Department of Child Safety, Youth and Women

   enhances its existing model for responding to alleged harm or risk of harm by:

   • expanding its after-hours child safety protection services to ensure its child safety officers can better respond to child harm reports across the state in a timely manner 
   • providing adequate training, support and mentoring to child safety officers to enhance their decision-making skills, including an induction program for new staff.

7. QAO's text Addressed to: the Department of Child Safety, Youth and Women, in collaboration with the Queensland Family and Child Commission

   improve outcomes for children placed in out-of-home care. This includes: 

   • ensuring that children are placed in the most appropriate and stable type of care to meet their needs, rather than based on availability of care
   • improving the quality and availability of out-of-home care options available to children requiring care
   • reviewing the capability and capacity of carers, including the appropriateness of their experience, training, and qualifications
   • reviewing the contracts of out-of-home care providers to ensure they include appropriate key performance indicators and clearly outline expectations 
   • identifying opportunities to increase the number of Indigenous children placed with kin, Indigenous communities, or Indigenous carers.

8. QAO's text Addressed to: more clearly define the roles, purpose, and interrelationship of the Interdepartmental Committee and the Regional Child, Youth and Family Committees. This

   more clearly define the roles, purpose, and interrelationship of the Interdepartmental Committee and the Regional Child, Youth and Family Committees. This should include: 

   • expanding the role of the Interdepartmental Committee to provide greater leadership and strategic direction of the system 
   • ensuring the Interdepartmental Committee is working collaboratively with stakeholders and partners to resolve systemic issues and advance state and regional priorities, including through input from Regional Child, Youth and Family Committees.

9. QAO's text Addressed to: the Department of Child Safety, Youth and Women

   enhances its performance management by:

   • internally reporting the time taken to gather information and sight a child for all investigations (24-hour, five-day, and 10-day investigations)
   • more clearly defining the criteria for assessing the time taken to commence an investigation      
   • improving its publicly reported performance data by clearly identifying the basis of its measurements, including whether it is using business days or calendar days.

Authoritative report — Queensland Audit Office

Report PDF on QAO