Children in State Care

172 The Hon. L.A. CURRAN ().3 November 2022). How many children under the care of the Minister for Child Protection have been reunified with parents in the last six months against the wishes of their interim carers?

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries): The Minister for Child Protection has advised:

Data is not collected in a manner which allows the Department for Child Protection (DCP) to report on this.

The department is committed to a safe and planned approach to family reunification and undertakes thorough assessments to determine reunification viability. These assessments also take into account the best interests of the child. DCP case plans set out agreed goals for families, including the areas of parental change required for reunification to safely proceed.

During the periods where children and young people are in care, foster and kinship carers often form close bonds with the children and young people for whom they are caring, which can sometimes make reunification difficult. Complex issues that families grapple with can also make reunification difficult.