Following our preliminary examination of the State Budget released 1 December 2020, there is little ‘new news’ of direct relevance to the child protection sector to report. A scan of the budget papers reveals an abundant use of the word ‘continued’ to describe many of the financial investments with the words ‘additional funding’ making a far less frequent appearance.
It is, of course, pleasing to see a continuation of many of the investments previously made by the Government, such as the $166.6M allocation to continue implementation of the Supporting Families Changing Futures reforms to build the family support system. This will enable continuation of services such as Family and Child Connect, Intensive Family Support, Family Wellbeing Services and Next Step Plus. However, a greater number of (and more substantial) additional funding investments, such as the added $6M over four years to support the prevention of domestic and family violence, would have been welcomed.
PeakCare is especially disappointed that the Government did not follow the lead recently set by the Victorian Government when it announced that an amount of $75 million had been allocated within its budget to make “the landmark Home Stretch program universal – ensuring every young person in out‑of‑home care can receive support up to the age of 21, helping to make sure they have the stable foundation to begin their lives…. (by providing) … an accommodation allowance so a young person can remain living with their kinship or foster carer if they wish, or transition to supported independent living arrangements”. (Victorian Budget 2020/21 Putting People First Overview, p.42)
Read the following summary of those aspects of the Queensland budget which should be of particular interest to our Members and all who are involved in delivering child protection and related services. In addition to drawing your attention to a number of the listed budget items, the summary incorporates statements highlighting service commitments and priorities for 2020-21 held by several key government agencies. These commitments and priorities provide a framework for both anticipating matters that will receive focussed attention during oncoming months and for holding government agencies to account for their performance in relation to these matters.
After reviewing the summary, let us know your thoughts about what you are either pleased about or not so pleased about in relation to the 2020-21 budget. Do not forget that another budget – for the 2021-22 financial year- is due within a few short months. The comments you enter now may help to shape our advocacy about what our sector wishes to have addressed within the next budget.
Department of Children, Youth Justice and Multicultural Affairs
Child and Family Services
Government and departmental commitments and priorities for 2020-21 include:
- investing $166.6M to continue implementation of the Supporting Families Changing Futures reforms to build a family support system that provides support for families earlier and helps prevent escalation to the child protection system
- providing additional funding of $5.1M (as part of the above $166.6M investment) to continue the child protection litigation model to provide early, independent legal advice to child safety workers regarding child protection matters, and work collaboratively with staff in Service Centres and the independent Director of Child Protection Litigation to manage child protection order applications and proceedings
- providing additional funding of $760,000 over two years to develop and analyse options for regulating compliance with the Child Safe Standards, options for a Reportable Conduct Scheme, and to undertake whole-of-government annual reporting on implementation in response to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse recommendations
- continuing to lead and coordinate the Queensland Government’s participation in the National Redress Scheme and support the Truth, Healing and Reconciliation Taskforce to guide the implementation of the Government’s response to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse
- developing and implementing strategies to manage the increasing number of children and young people coming into care and staying longer in care relating to increased parental risk factors including use of Ice and the impact of COVID-19
- continuing to implement Our Way, a generational strategy for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families to eliminate the disproportionate representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in the child protection system by 2037
- continuing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Family Wellbeing services to make it easier for families to access culturally responsive support to improve their social, emotional, physical and spiritual wellbeing, and build their capacity to safely care for and protect their children
- continuing Intensive Family Support services to provide early intervention support for families and parents experiencing vulnerability who have more complex needs to ensure they receive the necessary support before Child Safety intervention
- continuing Family and Child Connect services that are local, community-based services to help families care for and protect their children at home, by connecting them to the right services to develop parenting skills and better manage child behaviour, build better relationships between family members, manage alcohol, drug or gambling problems and access housing, healthcare or other community or government services
- continuing the Next Step After Care (NSAC) program to support young people during and after transition to adulthood to live independently as adults, particularly with appropriate housing, support for mental health, parenting skills, higher education and training and job readiness
- continuing to partner with the Queensland Mental Health Commission, other agencies and community organisations to implement the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Healing Strategy to enhance the social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families impacted by intergenerational trauma, grief and loss
- continuing to fund and support effective care and transition services delivered by carers and non-government organisations
- continuing the Unify Program to replace the Integrated Client Management System, to improve multi-agency collaboration and information sharing to better support children and families in the child protection and youth justice systems, and
- completing initial improvements to the child safety Intake system, including an Information Technology solution for a single triage point being delivered under the Unify Program.
Youth Justice Services
Government and departmental commitments and priorities for 2020-21 include:
- providing funding of $86.5M over five years ($21.1 million per annum ongoing) to staff and operationalise the new 32 bed youth detention centre (now known as the West Moreton Youth Detention Centre) at Wacol
- continuing to provide appropriate staffing levels in the Brisbane Youth Detention Centre and the Cleveland Youth Detention Centre to ensure the safety of young people, visitors, staff, and the community
- continuing to provide cultural support in police watch houses to ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people are able to access appropriate support during normal routine processing
- providing funding of $5.7M over four years for On Country programs in Mount Isa, Townsville and Cairns which are designed and delivered by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to meet the specific needs of young people. This will promote life skills, improved behaviours, and the connection that young people have with their family and community to stop offending
- extending the innovative cross agency partnerships of the co-responder model with the Queensland Police Service to Mackay, from existing resources, to deal with or divert high risk young people
- continuing the trial of Family Led Decision Making which empowers and supports families to identify and address their child’s needs and appropriate resources within their family and community to stop re-offending. This program targets the small number of high risk, recidivist offenders who are responsible for a significant proportion of all offending by young people, to find strategies to address their behaviour, using the personal knowledge of their family members
- extending services for a Mount Isa Youth Transitional Hub which provides a safe environment for police to refer young people who do not have appropriate accommodation or safe home environments. The hub will also deliver support services based on culturally appropriate assessments of risk and need, and engage other local service providers to deliver intensive and specialised support to the young people and their families, and
- extending the Conditional Bail Program which provides an intensive program of support as part of a young person’s release on bail extending the Intensive Case Management program, which delivers intervention strategies to reduce and prevent offending.
Department of Communities, Housing and Digital Economy
Community Services
Government and departmental commitments and priorities for 2020-21 include, amongst others:
- addressing immediate needs of community members experiencing vulnerability, through partnering with community organisations to fund food rescue, school breakfast programs, goods donation services, emergency relief for food and essential household costs and supporting communities in drought
- developing capacity of individuals to improve their lives and reach their full potential including services such as Financial Literacy and Resilience, Queensland Community Support Scheme, Generalist Counselling, and Public Intoxication Support Services
- helping communities embed cohesiveness, build strength and thrive through funding over five years from 2019-20 matching Australian Government funding for the continuation of Logan Together ($3.8M) and establishing place-based approaches in Gladstone and Rockhampton ($3.9M)
- funding of $1.5M to 12 organisations for Community Connect Workers and $1.7M for 15 Neighbourhood and Care Army Connect workers through the network of 125 Neighbourhood and Community Centres
- administering grants programs that support a range of community projects and initiatives, such as supports to communities impacted by drought and relief to individuals and families in crisis across the state
- implementing the second social cohesion action plan – Thriving Cohesive Communities: Action Plan for Queensland 2019-2021 (Stage 2) – with an emphasis on young people (12-25 years) and on addressing economic exclusion, and
- leading the delivery of the human and social recovery function following disasters including access to emotional, social, psychological and practical support, administer disaster recovery funding for individuals / families and not for profit organisations, coordinate and mobilise the Queensland Government Ready Reserve workforce, continue the Disability Inclusive Risk Reduction (DIDRR) project to enable increased disaster resilience, continue to support whole of government disaster management planning and governance, and continue to work with key Queensland government partners to respond to COVID-19, including supporting people in hotel quarantine.
Housing and Homelessness Services
Government and departmental commitments and priorities for 2020-21 include, amongst others:
- responding to the COVID-19 pandemic to assist vulnerable Queenslanders and contribute to Queensland’s economic recovery
- delivering enhanced housing and homelessness service offerings across the housing and homelessness continuum, including delivery of additional brokerage, emergency accommodation, and outreach services to ensure vulnerable Queenslanders can access the services required during the pandemic
- providing one-off assistance packages including the COVID-19 Rental Grant Program and the Seniors and Accessibility Assistance initiative
- commencing construction of additional social housing homes through the Works for Tradies initiative
- implementing urgent legislative changes including the Justice and Other Legislation (COVID-19 Emergency Response) Amendment Act 2020 and the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation (COVID-19 Emergency Response Regulation 2020)
- delivering improved housing outcomes for Queenslanders through continued implementation of the Queensland Housing Strategy 2017-27 and its Action Plans
- delivering additional social and affordable housing in identified growth areas across the State through the Housing Construction Jobs Program
- providing coordinated housing and homelessness responses with government and non-government housing, homelessness and other human service providers, that enhance integration of local services across nine locations (Redlands, Moreton Bay, Mackay, Logan, Gold Coast, Cairns, Brisbane, Sunshine Coast and Townsville) and improve housing and life outcomes for people with complex needs, including people experiencing homelessness
- continuing to transform our service delivery of person-centred services that reflect the changing needs of our customers
- continuing pathway planning for customers with service offerings that meet customers housing and support needs
- enhancing our service offer to customers including those experiencing domestic and family violence by delivering housing services through a collaborative approach with government and non-government partners
- engaging with customers to improve service responses and promote participation and inclusion in the community, including through our tenant engagement program – TenantConnect.
- continuing to partner with community and affordable housing sector to leverage growth of housing supply, support a pipeline of employment, and improve community housing supply through Partnering for Growth
- delivering improved housing outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Queenslanders through continued implementation of the Queensland Housing Strategy 2017-2027 and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Housing Action Plan 2019-2023
- auspicing the development of an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Housing Body to work with Indigenous Community Housing Organisations and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Councils to improve Indigenous housing outcomes and strengthen sector capacity
- working in partnership with Queensland Health to develop housing solutions that support improved health outcomes
- continuing to reform Queensland’s rental laws to provide better protections for tenants and rental property owners, and improve housing stability in the rental market
- developing place-based, community-led local housing plans with communities to identify and respond to local priorities
- supporting vulnerable people, including young people, families and adults, to access and sustain safe and secure housing through investing in specialist homelessness services across Queensland
- delivering Partnering for Impact to reduce homelessness in Queensland, broadening our partnerships with the homelessness sector to achieve better outcomes for vulnerable Queenslanders
- completing implementation of reforms to regulatory frameworks for retirement villages and manufactured homes and increasing consumer protections and providing certainty for industry, and
- developing and delivering an enhanced disability response to better meet the diverse needs of individuals, challenge traditional thinking around housing for people with a disability and promote innovative and inclusive housing responses
Department of Education
Early Childhood Education and Care
Government and departmental commitments and priorities for 2020-21 include, amongst others:
- providing an additional $55.7M over two years from 2020-21 to support the early childhood workforce and universal access to kindergarten for children in the year before school
- investing $26.2M in 2020-21 to support the operation of Early Years Places in more than 50 locations across Queensland
- providing $12M over four years from 2020-21 to expand the Remote Kindergarten Program
- investing an additional $26.5M over two years from 2019-20 for regulation of the early childhood sector and to drive continual improvement in the regulation of early childhood education and care, and
- continuing to pilot KindyLinQ, an early learning program for 3-year-old children and their families in 40 locations experiencing high levels of vulnerability.
School education
Government and departmental commitments and priorities for 2020-21 include, amongst others:
- employing 6,190 new teachers and 1,139 teacher-aides over the next four years and providing a new Turn to Teaching paid internship program
- investing $100M over three years to employ up to 464 additional wellbeing professionals in Queensland state schools and trial the placement of a General Practitioner in up to 20 state secondary schools
- investing $8M over four years to create Homework Hubs at 120 state schools, and
- continuing support to engage young people into education, employment or training through initiatives such as Link & Launch, FlexiSpaces, Regional Youth Engagement Hubs, and a Digital Engagement Strategy.
Department of Justice and Attorney-General
Justice Services
Government and departmental commitments and priorities for 2020-21 include, amongst others:
- responding to justice issues arising from recommendations of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse
- continuing to implement priority recommendations made by the Queensland Family and Child Commission regarding the blue card system
- providing ongoing support for the new online blue card application and organisational portal in response to the Government’s ‘No Card, No Start’ commitment
- commencing the implementation of the Queensland Family and Child Commission’s recommendations to develop a strategy and action plan to improve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander access to blue cards, with a focus on increasing cultural capability within Blue Card Services and improving the support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander blue card applications
- implementing and monitoring the comprehensive cross-agency strategy and action plan developed to address the under-registration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander births
- continuing to embed appropriate diversion and intervention programs to support defendants in the criminal justice system to address the underlying causes of offending including the continuation of the Murri Courts in 15 locations and the Queensland Drug and Alcohol Court in Brisbane, and
- embedding domestic and family violence related policy and legislative reforms relevant to the justice portfolio, such as the specialist domestic and family violence courts.
Legal and Prosecution Services
Government and departmental commitments and priorities for 2020-21 include, amongst others:
- continuing to support the community by addressing claims for serious child physical abuse and psychological abuse, and
- efficiently and effectively dealing with child protection matters referred by the Department of Children, Youth Justice and Multicultural Affairs to ensure fair, timely and consistent outcomes for the protection of children, only taking action that is warranted in the circumstances.
Women and Violence Prevention
Government and departmental commitments and priorities for 2020-21 include:
- continuing to provide Domestic and Family Violence services and lead efforts to prevent and respond to domestic and family violence, including engaging community and corporate stakeholders
- providing additional funding of $6M over four years and $1.5M ongoing to support vulnerable populations to prevent domestic and family violence
- continuing to support domestic and family violence victims and help manage an increase in demand for domestic, family and sexual violence services arising from the COVID-19 pandemic
- continuing to support new and expanded services to prevent and respond to youth sexual violence, including community education activities and place-based trials to respond to young people who have experienced sexual violence or are engaging in early sexual offending behaviour
- continuing to support intervention services to hold perpetrators to account, help break the cycle of abusive behaviour and reduce domestic and family violence
- continuing to provide sexual assault and women’s health and wellbeing services, including implementing the Prevent, Support, Believe – Queensland’s Framework to Address Sexual Violence and addressing violence against women in all its forms, and
- continuing to lead the Queensland Women’s Strategy to encourage government, the private sector and the wider Queensland community to take significant action to achieve gender equality in Queensland continuing to facilitate the Women on Boards initiative to increase the number of women on boards in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors
Queensland Human Rights Commission
Government and departmental commitments and priorities for 2020-21 include, amongst others:
- supporting justice and self-determination of Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples by providing a culturally appropriate Commission experience, and working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to strengthen understanding of rights and remedies
- maintaining an effective complaints process to manage the assessment and resolution of complaints under both the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 and Human Rights Act 2019 and reducing the current backlog of complaints
- continuing to support the implementation of the Human Rights Act 2019 by delivering training to public entities, developing resources for vulnerable Queenslanders including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and people with disability, and intervening where appropriate in proceedings involving human rights issues to provide expert assistance to courts and tribunals
- gathering qualitative and quantitative data about the impact of the Human Rights Act 2019 for publication in the annual report, and
- increasing institutional transparency by supporting pathways for people in closed facilities to understand their rights and access to QHRC services, including providing training and resources to community visitors, official visitors, independent patient rights advocates, and developing resources for prisoners, young people in detention and children in residential care
Provision of Legal Services
Government and departmental commitments and priorities for 2020-21 include, amongst others:
- providing community legal education and information
- delivering duty lawyer services – in criminal, family, domestic violence, child protection, anti-discrimination, employment and administrative law, and
- providing representation in courts and tribunals – including criminal law, family law, child protection, domestic violence, specialist courts, mental health and some civil law matters
Queensland Family and Child Commission
Government and departmental commitments and priorities for 2020-21 include:
- presenting evidence about the performance of the child protection system through systems evaluations, examining trends in data and by reviewing areas of interest within the child protection and family support system
- monitoring the implementation of previous recommendations from systems reviews of the child protection system
- using evidence to inform and influence improvements for young Queenslanders and their families through policy and advocacy
- developing strong partnerships between government, non-government service providers and academic experts aimed to improve the delivery of child protection services in Queensland
- facilitating improvements to the child protection and family support system, culture, capability and capacity
- promoting the shared responsibility of families and communities to protect and care for young Queenslanders to protect, strengthen and support families
- delivering initiatives to prevent child deaths and serious injuries via use and maintenance of the Queensland Child Deaths Register and advocating for research into lead causes of death or harm and facilitating access to the data for researchers, and
- hosting the independent Child Death Review Board.
Department of Seniors, Disability Services and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships
Disability Services
Government and departmental commitments and priorities for 2020-21 include, amongst others:
- Client focused preparation and planning which successfully minimises COVID-19 interruptions to service delivery
- Continuing quality accommodation support and respite services that align to the Human Services Quality Framework
- Additional funding of $2.6M to continue provision of services to support people with disabilities, including support for All Abilities Queensland, management of complaints and investigations, National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) performance monitoring and approval for guide, hearing and assistance dogs
- Provide funding of $8.9M over two years to support the implementation of a nationally consistent NDIS worker screening system to enhance safeguards as part of the NDIS implementation in Queensland.
- Provide funding of $7M for community transport services
- Monitoring performance, value for money and client outcomes from the NDIS
- Providing continuity of support for clients ineligible for the NDIS
- Providing $3.4M additional funding to support people with disability through preparation of positive behaviour support plans and consideration of applications for short-term use of restrictive practices
- Administering a $20M investment over three years to 2022 negotiated with the Commonwealth, through the Disability Connect and Outreach Program, to assist vulnerable and hard to reach Queenslanders with disability to gain access to the NDIS
- Working across Queensland and Commonwealth Government and with disability stakeholders to ensure COVID-19 responses and resources meet the needs of people with disability and ensure prior planning protects their safety and wellbeing
- Actioning responses and communications relevant to people with disability and the National Redress Scheme in response to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse
- Working with Department of Justice and Attorney-General to implement Queensland’s plan to respond to domestic and family violence against people with disability, and
- Leading whole of government response to the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships – Economic Participation
Government and departmental commitments and priorities for 2020-21 include, amongst others:
- working across government to implement the Moving Ahead strategy to increase Aboriginal peoples’ and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ participation in the economy through building a more skilled and diverse workforce, a focus on the needs of young people, and building partnerships with industry
- delivering the Youth Employment Program to assist and support young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Year 12 graduates and other job ready candidates, in post-school transitions to work, study or training (job ready candidates are those who have completed a Certificate III or higher qualification), and
- influencing schools, tertiary institutions and non-government organisations to support school leavers and graduates directly into work, further education or training
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships – Community Participation
Government and departmental commitments and priorities for 2020-21 include, amongst others:
- establishing a non-statutory committee, as part of the Government’s response to progress the Path to Treaty, that will provide expert advice and guidance on options to progress Path to Treaty in Queensland
- commencing the implementation of the new National Agreement on Closing the Gap that has been developed in partnership with Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and facilitating building the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled sector
- contributing to the national Indigenous Voice co-design forum. Working with remote and discrete Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, government and other stakeholders to deliver on the Queensland Government’s response to the Queensland Productivity Commission’s Final Report of the Inquiry into service delivery in remote and discrete Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, known as Local Thriving Communities
- continuing social reinvestment, a community led, outcomes-based funding model in Queensland’s remote and discrete Indigenous communities
- working with council, local leadership and service providers to continue to implement a strategy that focuses on restoring community strength and healing on the ground in Aurukun
- establishing the implementation team to operationalise the Meriba Omasker Kaziw Kazipa (Torres Strait Islander Traditional Child Rearing Practice) Act 2020, including the appointment of the Commissioner
- tabling the annual Queensland Closing the Gap Snapshot Report Card and statement to Parliament on progress against Closing the Gap targets
- leading the implementation of the Certificate IV in Indigenous Cultural Capability Training
- continuing to participate in the National Redress Scheme by providing high quality research responses to applications and requests associated with the National Redress Scheme (NRS)
- contributing to the development of the national Strategic Plan to inform the expenditure of Queensland’s $9.3M contribution to support the new National Agreement on Closing the Gap and co-designing the Queensland Closing the Gap Action Plan
- jointly leading, with the Department of Children, Youth Justice and Multicultural Affairs, the implementation of the Queensland Government’s Our Way strategy and action plan to reduce Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander overrepresentation in the child protection system and family support reforms
- working with Department of Justice and Attorney-General to implement the Queensland Government’s response to the Not Now Not Ever: Putting an End to Domestic and Family Violence in Queensland report to ensure government funded services provide inclusion and equity of access to meet the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and communities, including support for two discrete Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander communities to develop action plans and one community to develop a social reinvestment project to celebrate strong families and address domestic and family violence
- working with Department of Justice and Attorney-General and other agencies and communities to implement Queensland’s Framework for Action – Reshaping our Approach to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Domestic and Family Violence to respond to Recommendation 20 from the Domestic and Family Violence Death Review and Advisory Board Annual Report 2016-2017, which called for a specific strategy to address family violence issues experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and communities, and
- continuing to work with the Queensland Mental Health Commission and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stakeholders to deliver an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth mental health and suicide prevention program, as part of the Shifting Minds suicide prevention flagship program, and building cultural capability across government under the Queensland Government Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Capability Framework.
Department of Employment, Small Business and Training
Training and Skills
Government and departmental commitments and priorities for 2020-21 include, amongst others:
- commencing implementation of new future skilling initiatives, including Equipping TAFE for Our Future, TAFE Priority Skills Fund, Pre-Apprenticeship Support, Social Enterprise Jobs Fund, First Nations Training Strategy and Workforce Transition Support Program
- promoting training pathways in skills areas of high demand with the free TAFE for under 25s initiative, which extends the Free Apprenticeships for under 21s to include people aged under 25 years, and
- delivering the JobTrainer Fund, in partnership with the Australian Government to prioritise no or low fee training for jobseekers, school leavers and young people.
Queensland Police Service
Government and departmental commitments and priorities for 2020-21 include, amongst others:
- continuing to implement the recommendations from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse and the Queensland Family and Child Commission, including establishing an online sexual assault reporting form, developing and implementing the QPS child death review processes, and implementation of new offences relating to prevention and reporting of child sexual offences
- continuing the highly successful Project Booyah program, a QPS led collaborative and transformative early intervention program for disconnected and/or at-risk young people, and Youth Co-Responder Teams, that support the Queensland Government’s Working Together Changing the Story Youth Justice Strategy 2019-23 and the four pillars: Intervene early, Keep children out of Court, Keep children out of custody and Reduce re-offending, and
- continuing to support the implementation of the Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Strategy 2016-2026 and the Government response to the report from the Special Taskforce on domestic and family violence in Queensland.
Health
Queensland Mental Health Commission
During 2020–2021, the Commission’s work will focus on:
- finalising a renewed whole-of-sector alcohol and other drugs plan for Queensland
- improved lived experience, family, and carer opportunities in influencing reform
- an integrated cross-sectoral approach for the best start and early intervention
- a collaborative sectoral approach for improving mental health, AOD and suicide prevention
- a systematic approach to Mental Health Wellbeing Impact Assessment
- reducing stigma and improving social inclusion and advocacy for human rights protection, and
- a sector wide needs analysis to support the growth, development, and sustainability of the mental health nongovernment community services sector.
Your thoughts
What are your thoughts about the 2020-21 budget? What you are either pleased about or not so pleased about? Do not forget that another budget – for the 2021-22 financial year- is due within a few short months. The comments you enter now, anonymously if you prefer, may help to shape our advocacy about what our sector wishes to have addressed within the next budget.
I share PeakCare’s disappointment that Queensland did not follow the lead set by Victoria in enabling young people up to the age of 21 to remain living with their foster or kinship carers if they choose or to transition to supported independent living arrangements. As I have heard Lindsay Wegener say before, when a child is in the care of the State, the State must act like any good parent would. A good parent does not turn away from their child simply because they have turned 18 or 19 years of age.
Young people transitioning from care in Queensland deserve the same opportunities as their peers in other parts of Australia. As well as the great news from Victoria, state governments in South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia have also made commitments supporting extended care to 21 years.
This isn’t just about Queensland lagging behind, as a state, in the current care of our young people – though we’re certainly at risk of doing that – but about the the intergenerational social and financial impacts for Queensland into the future as many of these young people struggle with homelessness, early parenthood, unemployment and physical or mental health issues.
Since we are talking about Queensland following the lead set by other States and Territories, it would have been good to see Queensland following the lead set by the ACT government in lifting the age of criminal responsibility. An investment in researching and developing alternative responses to the criminalisation of children including their incarceration in youth detention, would have been welcomed news. In the long term, these alternative responses will both save taxpayer dollars and better serve the interests of these children and the community.
Thank you PeakCare for highlighting features of the State Budget that are of interest to our sector. I am also surprised about the absence of measures to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of the QFCC. The QFCC should be made subject to the same level of accountability as other government agencies. Why would they not want to include measures that can showcase the impact of their work?
More $ on family support and less $ spent on inappropriately placing children in residential care
I am disappointed that no investment has been made in supporting the care of children who are living with relatives outside of the statutory child protection system. I appreciate that the Commonwealth Government has some obligations for financially supporting their care, but the reality is that we are falling between the cracks of Commonwealth and State Government responsibilities. If it were not for grandparents, aunties and uncles, brothers and sisters stepping up to provide care of these children, they would end up in the care of the State.
It is disappointing that the QLD government did not follow the lead of Victoria in extending care to 21. Care leavers face many obstacles including homelessness, unemployment, contact with the justice system and poor educational outcomes along with limited social supports. There is a great deal of research that demonstrates that extending care and support can drastically reduce these negative outcomes and for every dollar spent, Deloitte estimates that the government would save $2.69 in improved social outcomes. As the ‘corporate parent’ of young people in state care, it is important that the government provides the supports needed for these vulnerable young people, to ensure they have the best life outcomes.
I am disappointed that additional support was not provided for YP transitioning to adulthood, these young people deserve the right to have the same opportunity of “parental support” as children who are not in care.
I am pleased that the funding for early intervention services continued however, as there is a current shortage, I fear that the current budget does not adequately fund services nor provide the resources to create additional supports.
I am also disappointed that the budget does not prioritise kinship carers (both statutory and non-statutory) as this cohort have at best minimal support in a very complex arena.
It is disappointing that there is no mention of kinship/relative care when we have alarming rates of children entering care and we are discussing permanency options. For the past 18 months there has been a finding kin trial (outcome based payments) that is achieving amazing outcomes for children in care, connecting and placing them with extended family from residentials. With 50% of children in statutory care and the over representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children the QLD government needs to invest in this practice. In Victoria there is a stand alone peak body for kinship care advocating for the rights of all relative carers, including those who are not involved with child protection services and are saving both the state and federal governments considerable amounts of money. Children need connection for self worth and a sense of identity. I would really like to see the Home Stretch campaign embedded in QLD – what child/young person is ready to live independently at 18 years. Again, connection and sense of belonging are fundamental to the human experience.