17/03/2023

The Department for Child Protection has been working on a plan to support a consistent approach to service delivery based on a deep understanding of the needs of children and young people.

We have introduced gradual changes for several years now to the way that we deliver services, firstly as part of our investigation and assessment work, and now in the case management of young people under guardianship. We have informed this plan with a comprehensive analysis, informed by data and research, conducted by John Lynch and his team at the Adelaide University. This has helped us to anticipate current and future demands on our services taking account of changes that are happening in the community.  External reviews that have been undertaken in regard to the work of the Department, and most recently the Hyde Review and recommendations from recent Coronial hearings have clearly told us that wherever possible service delivery should be local to where children and carers live.

Two years ago we changed the service delivery model and merged “front end” resources so that undertaking investigations, protective interventions, reunification and case management was occurring from each location, excluding the Guardianship Hubs. This has helped us to understand how we can effectively transition away from the Guardianship Hubs at Hindmarsh, Inner South and Salisbury and introduce the delivery of all child protection services locally at every metropolitan office. The first step of this was to introduce Guardianship case management teams into front end offices to ensure that we understand the benefits and opportunities for consistent service delivery of this hybrid office model. To support the work that we do in our investigation and assessment work, the State Government has approved a significant increase in resources and this has resulted in the creation of six additional teams that have been allocated to priority areas, predominantly in the northern metro area. The final part of the plan is to understand the need for additional resources in the southern metro offices to better meet demand. To ensure a more consistent approach to the delivery of child protection services across the state, work has recently occurred to realign DCP office boundaries and in turn, identify opportunities to align case management responsibilities for children and young people to their local office.

Ensuring minimal disruption to children, young people, carers and families has been a key focus of this work and careful consideration is being given to each decision. We understand that there may be exceptions to consider in making changes to your case worker or the office you are aligned with and final decision making will take this into account.

In late March we will be making contact with carers, and where appropriate children and young people, where it is proposed that they will change office and/or case manager. We will let you know about any changes to your current case management arrangements, and will talk to you about an appropriate way to hand over important information to the new case manager about the child or young person in your care. Taking into account your views, this may include joint visits with the current and new case manager to support a smooth transition.

We understand that this may be causing you concern, and particularly whilst we finalise the allocation of cases to offices and are not able to give you definitive answers to your questions. We will provide you with more information as soon as we can, and when we inform you of any proposed changes impacting the children you care for we will also provide you with the contact details for the team supervisor and local office manager, who will be supporting transition plans and can respond to any concerns you have. Please contact the office manager if you would like to escalate any concerns with us.

We thank you for the valuable role you play in the lives of the young people in your care and we remain committed to keeping you informed and working in partnership with you into the future.