BANKSIA HILL DETENTION
CENTRE — YOUNG PARENTS
1571. Hon ALISON XAMON to the Leader of the House
representing the Minister for Child Protection:
I refer to the answer to question
on notice 1107 to the Minister for Corrective Services, answered on 12 June
2018.
(1) Does the Department
of Communities work with the Department of Justice to identify children in the
youth justice system who are parents?
(2) If no to (1),
why not?
(3) If yes to
(1), is parenting support offered to these young people?
(4) If no to (3),
why not?
Hon SUE
ELLERY replied:
(1) Yes. The
Department of Communities has a co-located worker at the Banksia Hill Detention
Centre who actively works with the Department of Justice to identify children
in care or young people who are part of an open child protection case. The
co-located worker encourages engagement, in the best interests of the child, in
care planning and/or pre-birth planning if applicable.
(2) Not
applicable.
(3) The
Department of Communities provides a range of parenting support programs for
parents whose child or children are in
contact or at risk of contact with the statutory child protection system, and
may be accessed by young parents in
contact with the youth justice system. When individual circumstances warrant
specific parenting support—for example, for the purposes of
reunification—the Department of Communities works closely with the
Department of Justice to strengthen parenting capacity.
(4) Not
applicable.