Residential Care Facilities

In reply to Ms SANDERSON (Adelaide) (25 September 2015).

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

The late stage reunification initiative seeks to address a service gap by engaging young people in residential care, commercial care and their families to reunify them. The late stage reunification program will be structured to maximise family contact and involvement in case planning in order to strengthen the prospect of reunification.

I am pleased to note that dedicated project staff have been appointed to this program, and the development of a service model is underway. Work is also progressing to identify those young people and their families that have good prospects for reunification.