Wellington City Libraries Palm Tree Blossoming of Our Children - Kia Puawai Ngā Tamariki - 10th Australasian Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect

Inter-Departmental Collaboration for the care and protection of children � the South Australian experience


 

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Authors

Mary Ann Carver, Karen Dixon and Margaret Nippert.
 

Expected Speakers

Mary Ann Carver, Karen Dixon and Margaret Nippert
 

Organisations

Department of Health and Department for Families and Communities. South Australia
 
In 2003, following a review of Child Protection in South Australia Robyn Layton QC presented her report Our Best Investment. A State Plan to Protect and Advance the Interests of Children, to the Government of South Australia. In 2004 the Government responded by launching Keeping Them Safe: the South Australian Government's Child Protection Reform Program.
 Under the auspice of Keeping Them Safe two major initiatives have been developed and implemented across Government to improve the service response to vulnerable children and young people.

  1. Memorandum of Understanding: Child Protection Framework for the Provision of Services between the Department of Health and the Department for Families and Communities is a significant initiative in defining and implementing roles, responsibilities across the two Departments in a spirit of collaboration and partnership for vulnerable children and young people.
  2. Rapid Response:  Whole of Government Services to Children and Young People under the Guardianship of the Minister is a whole of government service delivery system to help children and young people in out of home care to receive the necessary supports and services to ensure their health, education and wellbeing.
The objective of these initiatives are to improve the care and protection of children in South Australia through a coordinated whole of government approach ensuring vulnerable children do not fall through service gaps and are better protected.

Each of the initiatives have been developed and implemented from a 'joined up' government methodology that includes the Ministerial, Senior Management and service delivery levels.

The results of these initiatives have been to generate significant paradigm shifts regarding children, families, vulnerability and protection within government agencies, particularly health services, statutory child protection services and education services.  The major changes have been in the way these services have viewed themselves in relation to who is responsible for child protection and what is the best response to vulnerable children and families. 

Of significance has been the improvement in relationships between Departments and between agencies, and how improved relationships are making possible child centred, holistic and coordinated service provision to vulnerable children and families.
 

Presentation

Paper
 

Bibliography

Our Best Investment.  A State Plan to Protect and Advance the Interests of Children.  Robyn Layton QC, The National Library of Australia Cataloguing - in- publication.  2003
 Keeping Them Safe, the South Australian Government' Child Protection Reform Program, May 2004, Government of SA, Adelaide. 
 Rapid Response: Whole of Government Services for Children and Young People under the Guardianship of the Minister 2005 - 2008.  June 2005 Government of SA Adelaide. 
 Memorandum of Understanding: Child Protection Framework for the Provision of Services between the Department of Health and the Department for Families and Communities. 2005.  Government of SA, Adelaide.