FOSTER CARE REFRESH PROJECT
645. Hon NICK GOIRAN to the parliamentary secretary representing the
Minister for Child Protection:
I refer to the Foster care
refresh project and the actionable items listed in the report, one of which
is to develop and publish resources, using a variety of communication
platforms, to communicate existing information more clearly on the costs for
children in care covered by the Department of Communities and entitlements of
children leaving care, including special guardianship orders.
(1) How many special guardianship
orders were sought by carers in 2020?
(2) How is the information regarding
costs in care covered by Communities currently communicated?
(3) Has anything
been done to address the payment inconsistencies cited by carers on page 19 of
the report?
(4) If yes to
(3), will the minister table the most recent briefing note covering this issue
she has received?
Hon SAMANTHA ROWE replied:
I thank the member for some notice of the question. I provide
the following answer on behalf of Minister for Child Protection.
(1) In 2020,
the Department of Communities submitted 89 applications for special
guardianship orders. All applications for SGOs are recorded in the client
system as being applications made by Communities.
(2) All
details regarding foster care subsidies, clothing allowance, special needs
loading and special-purpose funding are detailed in chapter 3.5 ''Subsidies
and case management costs'' of the Casework practice manual. The
CPM is external facing and able to be accessed by the public. Senior child
protection worker placement services have
the responsibility of supporting carers and are available in each district.
They are able to be contacted by any carer who has queries regarding
policy, processes and entitlements in relation to a child in their care. Young
people leaving the CEO's care are provided with a copy of their leaving
care plan, which details their entitlements post-care. They are also encouraged
to download and use the Sortli app, which also records this information. When a
special guardian has been granted financial entitlements, such as a continuing
subsidy, this is detailed in their court order.
(3)–(4)
This action is being progressed as part of the Foster care refresh project,
which was tabled in Parliament on 19 August 2021. As a direct action of the Foster
care refresh project, Communities is undertaking an interjurisdictional
comparative analysis of carer subsidies across Australian and relevant
jurisdictions. It is intended that this work
will inform the appropriate level of subsidies within the context of a best-practice
model of carer support with a focus on carers in remote areas.
The PRESIDENT: Members, both that question and
answer are good examples of why we have standing order 105, whereby the question must be concise, and standing
order 106, whereby the answer must also be concise. I note the question sometimes necessitates a longer answer,
but I remind members to view standing orders 105 and 106 at their
earliest convenience.