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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2022-06-01 Daily Xml
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Children in Care

Ms CLANCY (Elder) (15:12): My question is to the Minister for Child Protection. How will the Malinauskas Labor government ensure the voices of children and young people in care are heard by government?

The Hon. K.A. HILDYARD (Reynell—Minister for Child Protection, Minister for Women and the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence, Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing) (15:12): I thank the member for this question, and I acknowledge her deep commitment to improving things for children at risk and also acknowledge her for opening her heart and home as a foster carer.

Building a better child protection system is complex. Ensuring the safety of children and young people requires a comprehensive whole-of-community response. First and foremost, to improve outcomes we must ensure that the voice of children and young people is at the core of everything that we do. That is why the Malinauskas government will be amplifying the voices of children and young people directly through a range of measures.

This government is absolutely committed to placing children and young people at the heart of efforts to strengthen families and improve the child protection system. This means that we will seek to ensure that we understand children's and young people's experiences, views and ideas when it comes to decisions that affect them. I am proud that this government is committing additional funding to improve advocacy as well as support for children and young people in care and leaving care.

We have already confirmed an additional $800,000 to the CREATE Foundation over the next four years to support transition from care with a focus on pathways for young people to access study, work and housing options. As minister, I have committed to work with CREATE and others to develop a structured mechanism for me as the minister to hear directly from children and young people in care. I was so honoured to meet with children and young people via CREATE who had a care experience prior to the election. I was so incredibly impressed by their courage and resilience, and the advice that they gave me was utterly invaluable and I take this opportunity to thank them for that advice.

We are providing funding for the Guardian for Children and Young People to undertake the role of the Child and Young Person's Visitor, a crucial role that the previous government refused to fund in an ongoing way. We also intend to continue to support the DCP youth advisory group, No Capes for Change committee, to provide opportunities for young people in care or with a care experience to have their voice amplified.

We are determined to work to address the over-representation of First Nations children in the child protection system. We are working on a range of strategies toward the Closing the Gap target to reduce its over-representation. My department is also working with SNAICC, the national representative body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, to ensure that the voice of Aboriginal children and young people is strengthened.

We received outstanding advice and representations of the views of young people in care from advocates such as the Guardian for Children and Young People and the two excellent children's commissioners. I thank each of them for the immense contributions that they have made to the positive changes in the areas of education, health, juvenile justice and child protection and wellbeing for the benefit of the children and young people in South Australia.

I am committed to listening to children and young people in care, or with a care experience, who represent themselves and others with pride and distinction. As mentioned, I will be doing this through a series of regular opportunities as well as regular meetings with their representative bodies to ensure that they are at the heart of everything that we do.

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