FOSTER CARE —
ABUSE ALLEGATIONS
889. Hon NICK GOIRAN to the Leader of the House representing
the Minister for Child Protection:
I refer to the minister's
answer to my question without notice 734 on 30 August 2018 in which she
informed the house that children remain in the care of a male foster carer in
Newman, notwithstanding that he has been served with a restraining order and
has been the subject of a departmental carer review since 13 June.
(1) Was the review suspended on 11 July
2018?
(2) Was the review reactivated on 30
August 2018?
(3) Was one extension granted to 30 September
2018?
(4) Is the review now complete?
(5) If yes to (4), when was it
completed and what was the outcome?
Hon SUE
ELLERY replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
The guidelines informing the
practice of conducting carer standard of care assessments is contained online
within the Department of Communities' casework practice manual at
section 2.1.5, as tabled on 11 September 2018 in response to question without
notice 752.
(1) Yes. A carer
standard of care assessment may be suspended when there are issues or allegations
that have arisen requiring further immediate assessment.
(2) Yes. When
additional assessments are finalised, a carer standard of care assessment may
be reactivated, taking into consideration the findings of related assessments.
(3) Yes. When
additional assessments identify further issues requiring consideration in the
carer standard of care assessment, the district director may approve extension
of reporting time frames. In complex cases when there are no immediate safety
concerns, there is potential for changing circumstances and additional
information to impact on the time required to complete the carer standard of
care assessment.
(4) Yes.
(5) The review
was completed prior to 30 September 2018. The allegation of child sex abuse was
not substantiated.
When a carer standard of care
assessment has been completed, the Department of Communities must develop,
implement and document an appropriate response. This may include a carer
support plan, which will detail provisions such as carer supports from the district
or external providers; carer training; and ongoing supervision. A carer support
plan has been developed for the carers associated with this case.