Like what you've read?

On Line Opinion is the only Australian site where you get all sides of the story. We don't
charge, but we need your support. Here�s how you can help.

  • Advertise

    We have a monthly audience of 70,000 and advertising packages from $200 a month.

  • Volunteer

    We always need commissioning editors and sub-editors.

  • Contribute

    Got something to say? Submit an essay.


 The National Forum   Donate   Your Account   On Line Opinion   Forum   Blogs   Polling   About   
On Line Opinion logo ON LINE OPINION - Australia's e-journal of social and political debate

Subscribe!
Subscribe





On Line Opinion is a not-for-profit publication and relies on the generosity of its sponsors, editors and contributors. If you would like to help, contact us.
___________

Syndicate
RSS/XML


RSS 2.0

Focus on 'prevention' abusing kids

By Jeremy Sammut - posted Wednesday, 9 November 2011


In other words, and incontrovertibly, many damaged children in OOHC are victims of the system that is failing to protect them. And child protection failures are swamping the OOHC system and imposing heavy burdens on state budgets.

The number of children in Australia aged 0–17 requiring overnight government-subsidised alternative home-based 'foster care' and 'kinship care' or non-home based 'residential care' almost doubled from 17,000 children in June 2001 to nearly 36,000 in June 2010. Total national real spending (adjusted for inflation) on OOHC has also significantly increased in all jurisdictions in the past decade, and topped $1.7 billion in 2009–10, an increase of over 180% since 2000–01.

All state and territory OOHC systems are under strain and face similar family preservation-related demand and cost pressures.

Advertisement

These pressures include not only increasing numbers of children needing care and longer times being spent in care, but also greater demand from children with high or complex needs. This has led to substantial rises in the real cost of services due to increased spending on 'special need' loadings for foster carers and expanded provision of additional specialist support service packages for high needs children in both home-based and non-home based settings (so-called 'treatment' or 'therapeutic' focused foster and residential care programs).

Growth in the size, scale and cost of the system is the reason policymakers support what are perceived to be lower cost alternatives. 'Early intervention' and family support programs designed to support children and families in the parental home and prevent entries into care are thus attracting increasing public funding.

National expenditure on intensive family preservation services has therefore increased by 317% since 2000–01 and reached nearly 11% ($277 million) of all other spending on child welfare services in 2009–10, or 16% of OOHC expenditure.

But the best form of 'early intervention' and 'prevention' of abuse for many children would be early and permanent removal, preferably by means of adoption by suitable families.

Jeremy Sammut is a research fellow at The Centre for Independent Studies. His report, Do Not Damage and Disturb: On Child Protection Failures and the Crisis in Out of Home Care in Australia, is available at

  1. Pages:
  2. 1
  3. Page 2
  4. All


Discuss in our Forums

See what other readers are saying about this article!

Click here to read & post comments.

18 posts so far.

Share this:
reddit this reddit thisbookmark with del.icio.us Del.icio.usdigg thisseed newsvineSeed NewsvineStumbleUpon StumbleUponsubmit to propellerkwoff it

About the Author

Jeremy Sammut is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Independent Studies. Jeremy has a PhD in history. His current research for the CIS focuses on ageing, new technology, and the sustainability of Medicare. Future research for the health programme will examine the role of preventative care in the health system and the management of public hospitals. His paper, A Streak of Hypocrisy: Reactions to the Global Financial Crisis and Generational Debt (PDF 494KB), was released by the CIS in December 2008. He is author of the report Fatally Flawed: the child protection crisis in Australia (PDF 341KB) published by the CIS in June 2009.

Other articles by this Author

All articles by Jeremy Sammut

Creative Commons LicenseThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

Article Tools
Comment 18 comments
Print Printable version
Subscribe Subscribe
Email Email a friend
Advertisement

About Us Search Discuss Feedback Legals Privacy