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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-09-08 Daily Xml
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CHILD ABUSE

241 The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD (25 March 2009). Can the Minister for Families and Communities advise—

1. Optimally, how long should Families SA take to respond to Tier 1 complaints of child abuse or neglect?

2. In 2008, what percentage of complaints were investigated within that timeframe?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for State/Local Government Relations, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Government Enterprises, Minister Assisting the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Energy): The Minister for Families and Communities has advised:

The practice standard requires that Families SA staff commence an investigation of a Tier 1 notification within 24 hours and record the outcomes of such an investigation within six weeks. An investigation may be conducted solely by Families SA social workers, or may be jointly investigated by Families SA social workers and SA Police officers. Tier 1 investigations may also include a forensic investigation conducted by Health SA Child Protection Service medical practitioners and/or psychologists. Where SA Police or SA Health Child Protection Services need to be involved, completion is usually expected to take more than six weeks.

The Client Information System (CIS) used by Families SA shows that in 2008 a response was commenced within 24 hours for 84 per cent of Tier 1 notifications.

Data from Families SA CIS indicates that 73 per cent of the 2008 Tier 1 matters had the investigation finalised and investigation outcomes entered onto CIS within six weeks from the receipt of the notification (the Families SA practice standard).

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