Foster and Kinship Carer Assessments

In reply to Ms STINSON (Badcoe) (16 May 2019).

The Hon. R. SANDERSON (Adelaide—Minister for Child Protection): I have been advised:

The Department for Child Protection (DCP) directly manages kinship carer assessments. When the Children and Young People (Safety) Act 2017 came into full effect on 22 October 2018, it introduced new requirements for carers. The department is committed to increasing family-based care, including kinship care, and ensuring the assessment of these carers is processed in a timely way.

Foster carer assessments are managed by non-government service providers. These assessments are being undertaken within defined timeframes.

DCP does not have a backlog of child protection investigations. When a notification of alleged child abuse and/or neglect is assessed as meeting the threshold for child protection intervention, the relevant DCP regional office reviews the notification to assess what response is most appropriate to address the risk to the child or young person. This may be an investigation, however section 32(3) of the Children and Young People (Safety) Act 2017 also enables alternative responses and referral of cases to other State Government authorities for intervention.