Child Protection

In reply to Ms SANDERSON (Adelaide) (26 February 2015).

The Hon. S.E. CLOSE (Port Adelaide—Minister for Education and Child Development, Minister for the Public Sector): I have been advised:

Social workers at the Child Abuse Report Line (CARL) are responsible for receiving reports of suspected child abuse or neglect, assessing whether each report meets the threshold for statutory child protection intervention and, if so, identifying the type and urgency of response indicated.

If a matter is assessed as meeting the threshold for follow up, it is transferred to the relevant Families SA Office for response. Section 19 and Section 26 of the Children's Protection Act 1993 provide Families SA with the mandate to undertake an investigation to consider whether a child has been harmed, and/or is at risk of future harm. It is the policy of Families SA that in undertaking an investigation an investigating worker should interview and/or sight the child or young person and interview the current parent/s or caregiver/s and discuss the allegations with them. Investigations may also include interviewing or gathering information from people who are personally or professionally connected with the child. This includes teachers, doctors, child care workers and extended family members.

In the process of investigating and assessing concerns for a child, Families SA staff may proactively contact and ask questions of a range of people in the child's life immediate and extended family and networks, and involved service providers.