Wednesday, 23 February 2022

Commission for Children and Young People

Report 2020–21

Ms MAXWELL (Northern Victoria) (17:38): I rise to speak on the Commission for Children and Young People 2020–21 annual report. Firstly, I would like to congratulate the commissioner on her continued advocacy for the safety and wellbeing of young people, particularly the most vulnerable in our society. I have had a number of meetings with the commissioner and always find them very informative and extremely collaborative. The commissioner’s approach is one of understanding and empathy for the complex nature of working with vulnerable children and families but firm on the standards that must be upheld to ensure a child’s safety and understanding that transparent oversight is integral to improving the system.

I note the commissioner is publishing the status of progress of the recommendations, including the government’s response. This is important for transparency. The state coroner has recently done the same, and this is something I would like to see more of across all government agencies. The commission has a significant role in monitoring the safety and wellbeing of children and young people in contact with the justice system. Derryn Hinch’s Justice Party was recently briefed by the department on the youth justice strategy, and there are a number of markers that are moving in the right direction. Of course some still have a way to go.

The number of isolations imposed due to staff shortages has decreased in youth justice centres by around half in Parkville and Malmsbury. The number of isolations due to a child’s behaviour has also decreased significantly in both facilities, as has the number of assault incidents and behaviour-related incidents.

There is a shift to an intensive case management approach and diversions through the Children’s Court Youth Diversion Service. The commissioner continues to advocate for appropriate mental health and therapeutic supports for young people, particularly those in residential care. I spoke of this approach in my contribution to the Children, Youth and Families Amendment (Child Protection) Bill 2021. The out-of-home care system must be based on therapeutic and trauma-informed responses. It is fundamental to the care of these children and their families. It should also be a key feature of the youth justice system. The Out of Sight inquiry recommended embedding trauma-informed responses across care providers, child protection and police. It also recommended the statewide rollout of the child sexual exploitation enhanced response model, and a similar model to combat criminal exploitation. The commissioner did not review prosecution rates or policy as part of that inquiry, but stakeholders suggested that directing resources to disrupting offenders is an important part of this work. I hope the Victorian government will accept all recommendations when responding to the commissioner’s report.

There continue to be systemic gaps and failures that compromise the safety of children in contact with child protection. We have a committed workforce, but the frameworks for communication, information sharing, risk assessments and response desperately need further reform. Some of this work is advancing and will make improvements to a system that has been described by so many as broken.

There are some systemic issues that still need to be urgently addressed. Examples where children are the subject of multiple reports to child protection over time yet do not have an active case open despite serious concern for their safety are simply baffling. The In Our Own Words report recommended that the department establish mechanisms for workers to have case loads that allow for regular face-to-face contact with children and young people. There should be a single point of contact for children in care, and the commissioner notes little progress in those areas. Similarly, patterns of repeated early case closures and a failure to follow up disengaged families is something that must be prioritised. This work has not progressed, and the department is still unable to track whether referrals to Child First, Orange Door and intensive family support result in families engaging with these services.

Urgent too is developing practice advice for children involved with child protection who are identified as at risk of suicide, as well as a suicide-prevention strategy. Flexible support for mental health and substance use is needed for people who have left care. The government says new local mental health and wellbeing services will address this need with a $40.4 million investment.

I imagine that there will be more sobering reports to come from the commissioner’s future inquiries, but this important work must continue and be embraced by the department. As the commissioner said:

While progress continues to be made, we cannot accept that better is good enough—the stakes are just too high.

Anything less than supporting these children and their families is simply not enough.