To:
The Hon Katrine Hildyard MP
Minister for Child Protection
This annual report will be presented to Parliament to meet the statutory reporting requirements of Public Sector Act 2009 and the Children and Young People (Safety) Act 2017 and the requirements of Premier and Cabinet Circular PC013 Annual Reporting.
This report is verified to be accurate for the purposes of annual reporting to the Parliament of South Australia.
Submitted on behalf of the Department for Child Protection by:
Cathy Taylor
Chief Executive
Signed 30 September 2022
I am pleased to present the annual report for the South Australian Department for Child Protection (DCP) for the year 2021-22.
As a department we embraced the new government’s commitment to building the child protection system for the future, one that is equipped to respond to the challenges and complexities we face as a community. Working with our partners and the community and listening closely to those who are impacted by our efforts is critical to this.
Work has already started on actively and genuinely listening to the voices of children, young people, their carers and their communities and others, to inform our actions.
First and foremost, we need to place the voice of children and young people front and centre of everything we do. That’s why we are amplifying the voices of children and young people directly through new initiatives such as the Guardian for Children and Young People’s Community Visitor Program and CREATE’s work with young people on sibling connections and pathways to housing, study and work.
The department sponsored the 2022 CREATE Foundation Voices in Action conference. Held over four days the conference was an innovative and inspiring event where young people, carers, professionals and sector leaders came together to work on making improvements to the out of home care system for children and young people.
In June 2022, the government’s Country Cabinet visits started with a visit to the Limestone Coast. This included the first family based carer roundtable, which provided an opportunity for myself and the Minister to hear directly from carers about their experience of providing care and of working with the department, support agencies and other critical services supporting the children and young people in their care.
In recognition of the critical role that carers play and our commitment to continuously improving how we support them, we increased payment rates for foster and kinship carers. We have also been working alongside Connecting Foster and Kinship Carers SA (CFKCSA) and Child and Family Focus South Australia (CAFFSA) to embed the Statement of Commitment to carers in all that we do. Over the past year, we launched a carer newsletter, Caring Together, to share the latest news and information with carers. In addition, we commenced trials of new family based care models. We pursued reforms within the DCP Kinship Care Program to improve and enhance kinship carer supports, including expanding the program with an additional 16 FTEs. We also welcomed the commencement of the Independent Review into Foster and Kinship Carers as an opportunity to further improve our approach to family based carers.
On a national level, we co-led the development of Safe and Supported: the National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children 2021-2031 with the Commonwealth Government in collaboration with state and territory governments, SNAICC-National Voice for our Children, the Aboriginal Leadership Group and the National Coalition.
The plan provides the roadmap for transformative change in Child Protection across Australia and ensures that our efforts at the National and state levels are aligned and connected. As co-chair of the Child and Families Secretaries Working Group, we will continue our role in driving the implementation of Safe and Supported, including an Aboriginal specific Action Plan.
Core to our work going forward is our commitment to reducing the overrepresentation of Aboriginal children and young people in care. Over the past year, we supported an important community-led consultation process to design a model for a South Australian peak body for Aboriginal children and young people. Acknowledging the critical role of Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCOs) in ensuring culturally safe services are available to Aboriginal families, children and young people, we continued to increase our investment in ACCOs including establishing a new specific family group conferencing service for Aboriginal people in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands. As part of ongoing efforts through Closing the Gap, we are finding new ways to ensure that Aboriginal people are at the centre of decision making for Aboriginal children and young people. This will be key to our work going forward.
Through our partnerships with the sector and activities such as the Out of Home Care Heads of Industry Forums we have strengthened the way we work together to solve the challenges child protection faces. We have also worked with CAFFSA, the peak body for providers, to identify collaborative actions for the next 12 months.
We have continued to have open dialogue and work closely with the Commissioner for Aboriginal Children and Young People and the Guardian for Children and Young People. We look forward to working with the new Guardian for Children and Young People.
The department implemented a range of service improvements to better support young people’s move to independence. These included developing a new model for our supported independent living services, and conducting extensive consultation about post care services. We also supported an increased number of young people to remain with their family based carers after turning 18. The valuable insights gained through this consultation informed the development of the Next Steps Pilot Service as well as a new post-care service model. We are also increasing our investment in post-care services.
In 2021, we hosted the inaugural Child Protection Awards, in partnership with National Association for Prevention of Child abuse and Neglect (NAPCAN). This now annual event creates an opportunity to celebrate the significant contribution and outstanding achievements of children and young people, carers, volunteers, staff and organisations from across the child protection sector.
The Multicultural Services team were awarded with the Public Sector Award, in the Governor’s Multicultural Awards in 2021. The culturally responsive Child Placement Policy is one of the first of its kind in Australia and internationally, and prioritises the placement of children with carers of like cultural background. In addition to the Public Sector Award, DCP continued to be recognised with two staff from the department awarded with a 2021 Premier’s Excellence Award in the inaugural Making a Difference – Living the Public Sector Purpose Individual Award and the Public Sector Values Individual Award.
The COVID-19 pandemic continued to have a significant impact on all parts of the child protection system in 2021-22. While the sustained impact on children, families and the community, including our valued carers and staff continued to place pressure on the system we progressed improvements on a range of fronts.
As we look to the future, we will continue to learn and incorporate new knowledge and practice to deliver the best services we can for children, young people and families. Keeping vulnerable children and young people safe from harm and feeling safe, loved and cared for requires a connected whole of government and community approach. This will be a strong focus going forward.
Cathy Taylor
Chief Executive
Department for Child Protection
Our strategic focus
Our Purpose | The Department for Child Protection’s (DCP) purpose is to care for and protect at risk children and young people by working together to address abuse and neglect and to keep them safe from further harm. In all that we do, we value children’s voices and reflect their views. |
Our Vision | DCP’s vision is for all children and young people to grow up safe, happy, healthy and nurtured to reach their full potential. |
Our Values |
|
Our functions, objectives and deliverables | DCP has a leadership role in the South Australian Government’s child protection strategy – Safe and well: Supporting families, protecting children – which focuses on across government reform in 3 areas:
The department’s Strategic Plan sets out its key areas of focus:
|
Our organisational structure
Changes to the agency
During 2021, there were the following changes to the agency’s structure and objectives as a result of internal reviews or machinery of government changes.
- As part of a comprehensive Kinship Care Reform agenda, the DCP Kinship Care Program transitioned from the Out of Home Care Directorate to the Service Delivery and Practice Directorate to align kinship support with regional service delivery. As part of the reform an additional 16 staff FTE were allocated to enable quality service provision.
- Staff from the Kanggarendi Team were integrated into regional offices. This together with a 7.4 increase in staff FTE enabled an expansion of Aboriginal specific roles and greater support for Aboriginal children, young people and families.
- The Aboriginal Family Mapping Team transitioned from the Northern Region to the Aboriginal Practice Directorate and staffing increased by 3 staff FTE. This enabled an increased focus on Aboriginal staff taking a lead role in finding family for Aboriginal Children and Young People.
Our Minister
The Hon Katrine Hildyard MP is the Minister for Child Protection and is responsible for the care and protection of children and young people in South Australia. The Minister is also responsible for promoting the wellbeing of children and young people, and supporting early intervention where there may be a risk of harm.
Our Executive team
- Chief Executive
- Deputy Chief Executive
- Executive Director, Service Delivery and Practice
- Executive Director, Out of Home Care
- Executive Director, Strategy, Partnerships and Reform
- Director, Aboriginal Practice
- Director, Quality and Practice
- Regional Director, Northern Region
- Regional Director, Far North Far West Region
- Regional Director, Central Region
- Regional Director, Southern Region
- Director, Residential Care
- Chief Financial Officer
- Chief Human Resources Officer
- Chief Information Officer
- Director, Legal Services
Legislation administered by the agency
- Adoption Act 1988
- Adoption (General) Regulations 2018
- Child Protection Review (Powers and Immunities) Act 2002
- Children and Young People (Safety) Act 2017
- Children and Young People (Safety) Regulations 2017
- Children and Young People (Safety) (Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2017
- Children’s Protection Law Reform (Transitional Arrangements and Related Amendments) Act 2017 (administered by Department of Human Services)
- Commission of Inquiry (Children in State Care and Children on APY Lands) Act 2004
- Family and Community Services Act 1972
- Family and Community Services Regulations 2009
Other related agencies (within the Minister’s area/s of responsibility)
Minister for Women and the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence
- Office for Women, Department of Human Services https://dhs.sa.gov.au/
Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing.
- Office for Recreation, Sport and Racing https://www.orsr.sa.gov.au/
Performance at a glance
This year marks the third and final year of the Department for Child Protection’s 3-year Strategic Plan 2019-2022, which set an ambitious agenda in 2019, framed around seven departmental priorities:
- · Achieving practice excellence
- · Honouring the Aboriginal Child Placement Principle
- · Partnering with carers
- · Supporting our staff
- · Working together
- · Designing a care system based on need
- · Delivering quality and safety
The Strategic Plan has kept us on course to significantly progress improvements across all aspects of the child protection system, with an active agenda driven through a series of annual department-wide action plans. Alongside this, DCP’s third Aboriginal Action Plan in 2021-22 captured our efforts to further embed the Aboriginal Child Placement Principle in all parts of the department’s business and practice.
Notwithstanding high demand for child protection services, DCP has continued to improve on a range of fronts this includes:
- Increased response to screened-in notifications, which were investigated or referred for a response
- Increased the number of children placed in accordance with the Aboriginal Child Placement Principle
- Increased carer participation in annual case planning
- Supported an increased number of children and young people in care to access an National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) plan
- Increased procurement from ACCOs.
We recognise that a single government department alone cannot do the critical work of child protection. We have continued to advance both a whole-of-government and a whole-of-community approach to keeping children safe and breaking the intergenerational cycle of child abuse and neglect. Our non-government providers are critical partners and, throughout this year, DCP has hosted a regular series of Out of Home Care Heads of Industry Forums. These have strengthened our sector partnerships, and provided opportunities to work together, build understanding of the issues facing the sector and jointly develop solutions.
CHILDREN IN CARE | 30-Jun-18 | 30-Jun-19 | 30-Jun-20 | 30-Jun-21 | 30-Jun-22 |
Foster Care | 1434 | 1540 | 1641 | 1705 | 1669 |
Kinship Care | 1684 | 1852 | 2090 | 2247 | 2327 |
Guardianship Family Day Care | 29 | 28 | 40 | 41 | 35 |
Independent Living | 47 | 50 | 63 | 50 | 60 |
Residential Care | 408 | 415 | 413 | 604 | 649 |
The South Australian government joined the National Redress Scheme (NRS) in February 2019. Between February 2019 and 30 June 2022 DCP received 1017 Requests for Information (RFIs) in relation to 491 applicants. Approximately 25% of applicants identified as Aboriginal. Of the applications received by DCP, 288 have received an offer from the NRS. A total of 272 survivors have accepted an offer of redress and 14 survivors have sought and received a Direct Personal Response.
Agency contribution to whole of Government objectives
Agency’s contribution
- Recruited 201 new Child & Youth Workers into Residential Care.
- Continued our commitment to the Aboriginal Cadetship Program.
- Continued our commitment to supporting Aboriginal Traineeships as part of the South Australian Government's Skilling SA initiative.
- Commenced recruitment campaigns for roles within our country locations.
- Maintained Aboriginal employment at approximately 5%, and continued to develop the cultural capability of our workforce in line with the Aboriginal Child Placement Principle.
- Supported an Aboriginal community led consultation process to develop a model for a peak body for Aboriginal children and young people.
- Commenced trials of new models of family based care – Treatment Foster Care Oregon – Adolescents (SA) program and the Mockingbird Family carer support model.
- Pursued reforms within the Kinship Care Program to improve and enhance kinship carer supports, including expanding the program with an additional 16 FTEs.
- Hosted regular engagement with child protection Out of Home Care Heads of Industry to address key challenges and opportunities collectively.
- Increased procurement from ACCOs to 8.0% in 2021-22.
- Increased the number of children and young people in care receiving supports through the NDIS plan to 26.1% of all children in care.
- Secured new services and programs offering priority access to children and young people in care through a refreshed and expanded Investing in their future initiative, including:
- Scholarships for children in care through Catholic Education and other independent schools.
- Fee capped orthodontic treatment and post-care dental services.
- Commenced new Aboriginal specific family group conferencing services through Relationships South Australia (RASA) and Aboriginal Family Support Services (AFSS) to provide an opportunity to engage with and empower family and community to make informed decisions about what is best for children and young people. This includes a new family group conference program for Unborn Child Concerns.
Agency specific objectives and performance
Agency objectives | Indicators | Performance |
|---|---|---|
Achieving practice excellence Staff are supported to develop and use best practice in their work with children, young people, families and carers | Increase staff participation in learning and professional development | Mandatory training completion rates have continued to increase. The frequency of cultural footprint training, has increased from last financial year. There has been increased participation in Skilling SA with a 50% increase from 2020-21 and the second cohort of the department's internal talent development program (Accelerated Development). |
Increase case plans for children and young people in care | As at 30 June 2022, 96.2% of children and young people had an approved and completed case plan. | |
Increase response to screened-in notifications | 72.9% were investigated or referred for a response compared to last year's reported response of 65.4%. | |
Honouring the Aboriginal Child Placement Principle We will address the disproportionate number of children in care by involving Aboriginal families and communities in decisions about the care of their children | Increase Aboriginal employment | Aboriginal employment maintained at 5% in June 2022. DCP remains committed to increased recruitment of Aboriginal trainees and cadets. The development of an Aboriginal Workforce Strategy commenced during 2021-22. |
Increase and expanded procurement from Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations | Increased procurement of ACCOs to 8.0% in 2021-22. | |
Increase number of children placed in accordance with the Placement Principle | As at 30 June 2022, the number of Aboriginal children and young people placed in accordance with the Aboriginal Child Placement Principle was 1,133 (64.5%) compared to last year’s reported response of 1,092 (65.2%). | |
Partnering with carers Carers are respected and valued as partners in the care team and are supported to meet the needs of children and young people in their care | Increase net number of foster carers (at least 50 new foster carers above annual attrition) | Primarily due to a result of COVID-19, there was a net decrease of 46 primary foster carers for the 2021-22 financial year down to 1,412 from 1,458 in 2020-21. |
Increase carer participation in annual case planning | As at 30 June 2022, the rate of carer participation in Annual Reviews was 95.5%. An increase from 71.5% in 2020-21. | |
Increase proportion of carers who have a child in their care | As at 30 June 2022, the percentage of approved primary foster carers who have had at least one child placed in their care was 70.5%, an increase from 67.3% in 2021. Excluding emergency/respite/specialist respite carers at 30 June 2022, this increases to 81%. | |
Supporting our staff We recruit, develop and support our staff with systems, processes and workplaces that enable them to be effective and efficient in their work and maintain their wellbeing | Increase work health and safety | Work Health and Safety and Injury Management (WHSIM) policies and procedures have been developed to support safe work practices, including fatigue management, infection control, Workplace Hazard and Risk Management Procedure and Cultural Safety Procedure. |
Increase digitisation of services | Increased the uptake and enabled broader embedding of the Digital Workspace Electronic Document Record Management System (EDRMS) for electronic recordkeeping across the department. Commenced the digitisation of all historical adoption records from microfiche archives into the Digital Workspace EDRMS to enable rapid retrieval and ongoing accessibility. Creation of a SharePoint COVID-19 hub with improved reporting mechanisms to capture COVID-19 positive workers or children/young people, close contact workers and vaccination status. Streamlined the digitisation of forms across the department. | |
Increase engagement with the I WORK FOR SA Your Voice Survey | Over 1500 people across the department shared their views and experiences in the 2021 I Work For SA (IWFSA) Your Voice Survey, a 64% response rate. The department implemented a department-wide I Work For SA (IWFSA) action plan which was published within the department and lodged with the Office of the Commissioner for Public Sector Employment. In accordance with the overall results,the action plan communicated a number of initiativestargeted at specific areas such as wellbeing, leadership and engagement and are updated and tracked against deliverable dates. Other supporting tools included developing and implementing a toolkit to support local action planning and providing support to managers/directors with local action plans where required. Implementation of Teamgage will occur later in 2022, which will allow the department to pulse survey staff and provide monthly metrics to measure and report progress. | |
Working together We team up with our service partners to improve outcomes for families, children, young people and carers | Increase stakeholder engagement | The department has worked actively to increase direct communication with carers. This includes:
Enhanced our partnership with our non-government providers through:
Commenced hosting regional conversations to hear directly from children and young people in care, carers, providers and staff. |
Increase participation of children in education, training and employment | 56 young people completed the South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE) in 2021 compared to 62 in 2020, and 51 in 2019. DCP and the Department for Education have continued to work together and committed to a second joint plan of action, to support children in care to actively participate and achieve in their education. | |
Increase family engagement in support services | DCP recognises a whole-of-system response based on early intervention and support is key to reducing demand for a statutory child protection response and to providing effective support for vulnerable children and their families. In the 2021-22 financial year, DCP continued to build upon Family Group Conference services (FGC) (with 119 FGCs convened for 220 children in 2021-22), family reunification services, Intensive Family Services through Department of Human Services (DHS), and supported the introduction of a multi-agency approach for Social Impact Investments such as the Newpin Program and Resilient Families Program. | |
Reduce rate of children coming into care | DCP has worked with DHS to implement a Child and Family Support System which aims to support vulnerable families to safely care for their children at home and reduce the need for children and young people to come into care. During the | |
Designing a care system based on need The individual needs of children and young people are well understood and inform the services and support we provide | Reduce average length of stay per child in emergency care placements | The Placement and Support Packages (PaSP) model continues to provide short-term, individualised and targeted support specific to the needs to children and young people. |
Increase percentage of children placed in family based care | As at 30 June 2022, 85.0% of children and young people in care resided in family based placements. | |
Reduce number of children who experience more than 2 placements | As at 30 June 2022, 84.2% of children and young people aged 2-17 years who have been in care for 24 months or more have experienced 1 or 2 placements within the previous 2 years. | |
Delivering quality and safety We are accountable and transparent in the services we provide and invest to strengthen quality and safety | Reduce time taken to finalise investigations of serious care concerns | There has been a 49% increase in the number of serious care concern investigations closed in 2021-22 compared to 2020-21. |
Increase percentage of complaints resolved within policy timeframes | In 2021-22, 96.5% of complaints were resolved within policy timeframes compared to 98.9% in 2020-21. | |
Improve outcomes in quarterly performance reviews | As above. |
Corporate performance summary
- During 2021-22, DCP continued to progress and deliver on key corporate initiatives, including having:
- Co-led the development of Safe and Supported: the National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children 2021-2031 with the Commonwealth government in collaboration with state and territory governments, SNAICC-National Voice for our Children, the Aboriginal Leadership Group and the National Coalition.
- Supported a community-led consultation process to develop a model for a peak body for Aboriginal children and young people.
- Increased procurement from ACCOs to 8.0% in 2021-22.
- Contracted an ACCO to deliver an Aboriginal specific family group conferencing service.
- Implemented the Family Led Decision Making Framework, with a focus on Aboriginal families.
- Established a new program in the APY Lands to deliver culturally responsive services for kinship carer families of Aboriginal children and young people.
- Worked alongside CFKCSA and CAFFSA to embed the Statement of Commitment across services for carers.
- Increased the base and respite payments by $50 to general foster and kinship carers.
- Pursued reforms within the Kinship Care Program to improve and enhance kinship carer supports and expanded the FTE by 16.
- Expanded the range of resources on the DCP Carer website and launched the Caring Together newsletter for foster and kinship carers.
- Commenced a trial of the Treatment Foster Care Oregon – Adolescents (SA) program with specially-trained carers supporting young people aged 12 to 17 with the aim to return to family or be placed with a stable, long-term foster carer.
- Commenced a trial of the Mockingbird Family carer support model, establishing ‘constellations’ of carers who live in a similar area to provide ongoing peer support, access to shared resources and respite care.
- Re-commissioned family reunification services with nine service providers, including two Aboriginal-specific services, commencing on 1 July 2021 to provide practical and therapeutic support to families.
- Implemented a new model of Supported Independent Living Services, supporting young people in care from the age of 16 years to live in independent shared housing in the community with pathways to sustainable ongoing accommodation when they leave care.
- Developed and launched the Next Steps Pilot Program to support people aged 17 to 21 years moving from residential care into adult life and independence.
- Undertook consultation with young people, carers, staff and service providers to re‑design post care services.
- Consolidated the coordination and management of the Stability in Family Based Care and Over 18 Education Initiative programs, supporting young people to remain with family based carers after they turn 18.
- Continued the multi-year implementation of the Sanctuary model of therapeutic care for DCP residential care, with over 700 staff having now completed training.
- Reviewed and refreshed DCP residential care properties, increasing the number of properties and providing dwellings more tailored to the needs of children and young people.
- Established a Significant Incident Reporting Unit, enabling central coordination and monitoring of all significant incident reports.
- Hosted the inaugural SA Child Protection Awards, recognising the outstanding achievements of children and young people, carers, volunteers, staff and organisations from across the child protection sector.
- Strengthened partnerships with the sector through activities such as the Out of Home Care Heads of Industry to address key challenges and opportunities together.
- Commenced work on new government commitments that give greater voice to children and young people in care including committed funding for the Community Visitor Program for young people in residential care and will be developing future housing, work and study pathways through a partnership with CREATE.
Employment opportunity programs
Program name | Performance |
|---|---|
Aboriginal Employment | DCP has continued to work toward delivering on the commitments outlined in the Aboriginal Employment Strategy 2019-2022. At 30 June 2022, DCP employed 132 people (5%) who identify as Aboriginal, compared to 121 employees at 30 June 2021. |
Skilling SA Signature Project | DCP continues to actively contribute to the South Australian Government Skilling SA Signature Project, supporting the employment of trainees and upskilling of employees in the public sector. During the 2021-22 financial year, the department has successfully commenced 33 Contracts of Training under this initiative. |
Disability Employment | Following the release of the department’s Disability Access and Inclusion Plan 2020-2024in 2020-2021, DCP continued to implement steps to improve outcomes for children and young people, carers and the workforce. The plan outlines the department’s commitment to increasing disability employment in the organisation and supporting employees with disability. As at 30 June 2022, DCP have a total of 32 employees who have declared they have a disability. |
Gender Equality & Respect | DCP has continued to implement the actions outlined in its Gender Equality & Respect Action Plan, demonstrating commitment and actions to support gender equality. DCP has been re-accredited as a White Ribbon Accredited Workplace for a further 3 years (April 2024), reaffirming our commitment to ending gendered violence against women, and supporting employees in our workplace who may be experiencing domestic violence. |
Diversity & Inclusion | DCP respects and values the diversity of its employees, clients and partners, and is committed to a diverse and inclusive workforce. DCP continued the implementation of the three key priorities of the Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan 2020-2022. |
Agency performance management and development systems
Performance management and development system | Performance |
|---|---|
Performance Development Plans | As at 30 June 2022, 58.6% of employees had recorded a Performance Development Plan (PDP) completed within the previous six months. Compliance rates are reported to leaders and monitored on a monthly basis. DCP is committed to improving performance and implemented a new Performance Management System as part of the Human Capital System, Pledge, in June 2022. This is a wholly online system capturing PDP conversations. |
Work health, safety and return to work programs
Program name | Performance |
|---|---|
Injury Management | The department has increased its early intervention initiatives by linking in with additional Rehabilitation Consultants to facilitate timely and sustainable recovery from work injuries. |
Management of WHS risks | The department has transitioned to the new WHS reporting system – GOV Safety – to enable more streamlined hazard and incident reporting for the workforce. A number of WHSIM policies and procedures have been developed or renewed to support safe work practices including: Agency Worker WHS Incident, Hazard, Injury Reporting Procedure, Asbestos Safety Procedure, Consultation and Communication Procedure, Fatigue Management Procedure, Infection Control Procedure, Management of work related injury/illness Procedure, Performance review and continuous improvement Procedure, Workplace Hazard and Risk Management Procedure, and Cultural Safety Procedure. |
Workplace injury claims | Current year | Past year | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
Total new workplace injury claims | 133 | 121 | + 10% |
Fatalities | 0 | 0 | 0% |
Seriously injured workers* | 1 | 0** | +100% |
Significant injuries (where lost time exceeds a working week, expressed as frequency rate per 1000 FTE) | 35.28 | 30.2 | + 17% |
*Number of claimants assessed during the reporting period as having a whole person impairment of 30% or more under the Return to Work Act 2014 (Part 2 Division 5).
**Consistent with what was published in the 2020-21 DCP Annual Report (claims can subsequently be backdated).
Work health and safety regulations | Current year 2021-22 | Past year 2020-21 | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
Number of notifiable incidents (Work Health and Safety Act 2012, Part 3) | 6 | 2 | 200% |
Number of provisional improvement, improvement and prohibition notices (Work Health and Safety Act 2012 Sections 90, 191 and 195) | 0 | 0 | 0% |
Return to work costs** | Current year 2021-22 | Past year 2020-21 | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
Total gross workers compensation expenditure ($) | 7,767,966 | 6,047,219 | + 28% |
Income support payments – gross ($) | 2,699,000 | 2,042,450 | + 32% |
**Before third party recovery.
Data for previous years is available at: https://data.sa.gov.au/data/dataset/work-health-safety-and-return-to-work-performance-for-dcp
Executive employment in the agency
Executive classification | Number of executives |
|---|---|
EXECOF | 1 |
SAES 2 | 3 |
SAES 1 | 8 |
Data reflects the number of employees under an executive contract as at 30 June 2022, this figure does not include vacancies or persons employed on executive backfill arrangements (non-executive contracts) at this date.
Data for previous years is available at: https://data.sa.gov.au/data/dataset/executive-employment-in-the-department-for-child-protection
The Office of the Commissioner for Public Sector Employment has a workforce information page that provides further information on the breakdown of executive gender, salary and tenure by agency.
Financial performance at a glance
The following is a brief summary of the overall financial position of the department. The information is unaudited. Full audited financial statements for 2021-2022 are attached to this report.
Statement of Comprehensive Income | 2021-22 Actual $000s | Past year 2020-21 $000s | Variation $000s
|
|---|---|---|---|
Total Income | 703 718 | 614 117 | 89 601 |
Total Expenses | 702 150 | 628 632 | 73 518 |
Net Result | 1 568 | (14 515) | 16 083 |
Total Comprehensive Result | 3 450 | (13 432) | 16 882 |
Statement of Financial Position | 2021-22 Actual $000s | 2020-21 Actual $000s | Variation $000s
|
|---|---|---|---|
Current assets | 47 957 | 37 824 | 10 133 |
Non-current assets | 45 606 | 44 649 | 957 |
Total assets | 93 563 | 82 473 | 11 090 |
Current liabilities | 71 111 | 62 171 | 8 940 |
Non-current liabilities | 52 212 | 54 422 | (2 210) |
Total liabilities | 123 323 | 116 593 | 6 730 |
Net assets | (29 760) | (34 120) | 4 360 |
Consultants disclosure
The following is a summary of external consultants that have been engaged by the agency, the nature of work undertaken, and the actual payments made for the work undertaken during the financial year.
Consultancies with a contract value below $10,000 each
Consultancies | Purpose | $ Actual payment |
|---|---|---|
All consultancies below $10,000 each – combined | N/A | N/A |
Consultancies with a contract value above $10,000 each
Consultancies | Purpose | $ Actual payment |
|---|---|---|
Arney Chong Consulting | Independent inquiry into Foster and Kinship care in South Australia | $47, 000 |
Monash University | Evaluation of the Sanctuary model in Residential Out of Home Care | $22, 000 |
Total | $69, 000 |
Data for previous years is available at: https://data.sa.gov.au/data/dataset/consultants-utilised-in-department-for-child-protection
See also the Consolidated Financial Report of the Department of Treasury and Finance for total value of consultancy contracts across the South Australian Public Sector.
Contractors disclosure
The following is a summary of external contractors that have been engaged by the agency, the nature of work undertaken, and the actual payments made for work undertaken during the financial year.
Contractors with a contract value below $10,000
Contractors | Purpose | $ Actual payment |
|---|---|---|
All contractors below $10,000 each – combined | Various | $87,745 |
Contractors with a contract value above $10,000 each
Contractors | Purpose | $ Actual payment |
|---|---|---|
Hays Specialist Recruitment | HR – Short term staffing | $701,556 |
Hudson Global Resources (Aust) Pty Ltd | HR – Short term staffing | $631,321 |
SRA Information Technology Pty Ltd | Professional services – ICT services | $536,660 |
Talent International (SA) Pty Ltd | HR – Short term staffing | $229,970 |
Randstad Pty Ltd | HR – Short term staffing | $186,617 |
Fujifilm Business Innovations | Professional services – ICT services | $134,054 |
DFP Recruitment Services | HR – Short term staffing | $111,629 |
Timetarget Pty Ltd | Professional services – ICT services | $99,763 |
NEC Australia Pty Ltd | Professional services – ICT services | $79,552 |
Insync Solutions Pty Ltd | Professional services – ICT services | $76,500 |
Objective Corporation Ltd | Professional services – ICT services | $60,928 |
Health Safety Environment Australia Pty Ltd | Professional services –Respirator fit testing | $57,795 |
Kornar Winmil Yunti Aboriginal Corporation | Professional services – Collaborative Intervention | $57,559 |
Chamonix IT Management Consulting (SA) Pty Ltd | Professional services – ICT services | $51,421 |
FSE Consulting | Professional Services – Contract reform | $46,080 |
Paul Nixon Associates Ltd | Professional services –Evaluation Services | $45,900 |
B Pragmatic Pty Ltd | HR – Short term staffing | $39,716 |
KKIT | Professional services – ICT services | $36,030 |
Greencap – NAA Pty Ltd | Professional services –Respirator fit testing | $35,300 |
Edge Recruitment (SA) Pty Ltd | HR – Short term staffing | $30,881 |
Women’s Safety Services SA | Professional services – Collaborative Intervention | $30,331 |
Fragile to Agile (Asia Pac) Pty Ltd | Professional services – ICT services | $29,000 |
NEC IT Services Australia Pty Ltd | Professional services – ICT services | $27,446 |
Austhealth Corporate Pty Ltd | Professional services –Respirator fit testing | $25,910 |
Maxima Training Group Aust Ltd | HR – Short term staffing | $24,371 |
360edge Pty Ltd | Professional services – Human Resources | $24,338 |
Martine Hawkes | Professional services –Evaluation Services | $23,547 |
Chantelle Schutz | Professional services –Evaluation Services | $20,975 |
Franca Petrone | Professional services – Redress Direct Personal Response Services | $19,024 |
Gordon McIntyre Consulting | HR – Short term staffing | $16,100 |
Keito Events Pty Ltd | Professional services – Event Management | $15,340 |
Joy Woodhouse Consultancy | Professional services – Human Resources | $15,220 |
Zed Management Consulting | Professional services –Evaluation Services | $15,091 |
Datacom Systems (Au) Pty Ltd | Professional services – ICT services | $14,170 |
Hayley Wilson | Professional services –Evaluation Services | $14,015 |
Unified Solutions Group Pty Ltd | Professional services – ICT services | $12,200 |
Henderson Horrocks Risk Services Pty Ltd | Professional services – Human Resources | $10,906 |
Contour Management | Professional services – Architecture | $10,768 |
Donna Mayhew Consulting | Professional services –Evaluation Services | $10,671 |
Total | $3,608,655 |
Data for previous years is available at: https://data.sa.gov.au/data/dataset/contractors-utilised-by-dcp
The details of South Australian Government-awarded contracts for goods, services, and works are displayed on the SA Tenders and Contracts website. View the agency list of contracts.
The website also provides details of across government contracts.
Risk and audit at a glance
The DCP Internal Audit and Risk team continued to work with all areas of the department in reviewing and updating the strategic and operational risk registers.
During 2021-22, the DCP Risk Assessment Matrix was reviewed and updated to better reflect risk environments and operations of the agency.
Internal audit reviews were undertaken in line with DCP’s three-year internal audit plan and in line with a revised Strategic Risk Register. During 2021, the Internal Audit and Risk team revised and updated the Strategic Risk Register, which utilises a risk prioritisation methodology that applies the assessed risk likelihood and consequence scores from the Strategic and Operational Risk Registers, combined with a number of other factors to determine a risk prioritisation score for each identified audit area.
Following the review and update of the Internal Audit Framework (Charter) in
2020-21, Internal Audit Methodology and associated templates were updated to incorporate stronger and clearer links to the current requirements and guidance of the Institute of Internal Auditors International Professional Practices Framework (IIA IPPF).
Fraud detected in the agency
Category/nature of fraud | Number of instances |
|---|---|
Falsifying a medical certificate in order to support an application for sick leave. | 1 |
Making false statements in case notes and government vehicle log books regarding attendance. | 1 |
Falsifying start times (in-house log books) for another staff member | 1 |
NB: Fraud reported includes actual and reasonably suspected incidents of fraud.
Strategies implemented to control and prevent fraud
DCP is committed to the prevention, detection and control of fraud, corruption and other criminal conduct, misconduct and maladministration in connection with the activities of the department. Fraud risks are identified as part of the department’s risk management activities and are captured in a Fraud Risk Register.
The DCP Fraud and Corruption Control Framework, adopted from the South Australian Public Sector Fraud and Corruption Control policy, aligns with Australian Standard – AS 8001:2008 Fraud and Corruption Control. It is designed to assist in the prevention, detection and response to activities labelled or defined as fraud.
DCP continued to implement the framework through corporate and operational activities to prevent and detect fraud, including regular review of financial management policies and procedures, a comprehensive internal audit program, undertaking strategic and operational risk assessments, and raising the general awareness of fraud amongst staff.
The DCP Internal Audit and Risk Team carried out operational risk assessments across key areas of the business, with regular reviews of fraud risks pertinent to specific business functions. Operational risk registers were continually assessed and updated, in line with the updated Risk Assessment Matrix. Fraud risks continued to be captured through operational risk workshops and through the Fraud Risk Register.
DCP addresses any suspected, alleged or proven instances of fraud, corruption or other criminal conduct, misconduct or maladministration by employees or other public officers, including through:
- Investigation by appropriately skilled and experienced personnel who are independent of the business unit in which the alleged conduct occurred
- Reporting to the Office for Public Integrity or Ombudsman
- Involvement of other authorities such as South Australia Police
- Compliance with the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2018.
Data for previous years is available at: https://data.sa.gov.au/data/dataset/fraud-detected-in-the-department-for-child-protection
Public interest disclosure
Number of occasions on which public interest information has been disclosed to a responsible officer of the agency under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2018:
0
Data for previous years is available at: https://data.sa.gov.au/data/dataset/public-interest-disclosures-for-the-department-for-child-protection
Note: Disclosure of public interest information was previously reported under the Whistleblowers Protection Act 1993 and repealed by the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2018 on 1/7/2019.
Act or Regulation | Requirement |
|---|---|
Children and Young People (Safety) Act 2017 | Part 4 – Additional Reporting Obligations of the Chief Executive Section 156(1) The Chief Executive must, not later than 30 September in each year, submit to the Minister a report setting out: (a) the following information in respect of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people: (i) the extent to which case planning in relation to such children and young people includes the development of cultural maintenance plans with input from local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and organisations: (ii) the extent to which agreements made in case planning relating to supporting the cultural needs of such children and young people are being met (being support such as transport to cultural events, respect for religious laws, attendance at funerals, providing appropriate food and access to religious celebrations); (iii) the extent to which such children and young people have access to a case worker, community, relative or other person from the same Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander community as the child or young person |
DCP’s capacity to report on section 156(1)(a)(ii) and (iii) is in development. As at 30 June 2022:
- The rate of case plan completion for Aboriginal children and young people in care is 94.9%.
- 92.9% of Aboriginal children and young people in care have a current and approved Aboriginal Cultural Identity Support Tool.
Act or Regulation | Requirement |
|---|---|
Children and Young People (Safety) Act 2017 | Part 4 – Additional Reporting Obligations of the Chief Executive Section 156(1) The Chief Executive must, not later than 30 September in each year, submit to the Minister a report setting out: (b) the following information relating to case workers and children and young people in care: (i) whether a case worker has been allocated to each child and young person in care; (ii) whether each child and young person in care has had face to face contact with their allocated case worker at least once in each month, and, if not, the extent to which those targets have been achieved; and (c) whether each child or young person under the guardianship of the Chief Executive until they are 18 years of age has a case plan that is developed, monitored and reviewed as part of a regular 6 monthly planning cycle and, if not, the extent to which that target has been achieved; and (d) the emergence of any recurring themes in the matters referred to in a preceding paragraph; and (e) the following information relating to recommendations of the Child Protection Systems Royal Commission (being information relating to the preceding financial year): (i) the extent to which any outstanding recommendations have been implemented; (ii) if a decision was made to implement a particular recommendation that the government, or the Minister or Chief Executive, had previously indicated would not be implemented – the reasons for that decision and the manner in which the recommendation is to be implemented; (iii) if a decision was made not to implement a particular recommendation that the government, or the Minister or Chief Executive, had previously indicated would be implemented – the reasons for that decision; and (f) the number, and general nature, of placements of children and young people under section 77; and (g) any other matter prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this paragraph |
- As at 30 June 2022, all children and young people in care were allocated to a Primary Assigned Case Worker.
- DCP has implemented the Data & Analytics Hub with internal reporting capabilities, with the intention to better support service provision through access to enhanced data analysis and operational reporting including monitoring how many children and young people have had face to face contact with their allocated case worker at least once in each month.
- As at 30 June 2022, 96.2% of children and young people had a current and approved case plan.
- In the period from 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022, 16 recommendations of the Child Protection Systems Royal Commission were completed. As at 30 June 2022, 238 recommendations were completed in total and 18 recommendations were yet to be completed (noting 4 recommendations were not accepted).
- DCP has reported on section 156(1)(e) in the form of the Safe and well: 2022 Annual Report, which is a comprehensive multi-agency response to the implementation of the Child Protection Systems Royal Commission recommendations available on the DCP website via the following link: https://www.childprotection.sa.gov.au/child-protection-initiatives/system-reform/safe-and-well.
- The government’s implementation of Royal Commission recommendations is currently under review by Ms Kate Alexander.
- At the beginning of the 2021-22 financial year, 393 children and young people were placed with a temporary carer.
- Of these 393 children and young people:
- 330 children and young people remain in care as at 30 June 2022
- 63 children and young people are no longer in care as at 30 June 2022.
Reporting by the Minister for Child Protection
Act or Regulation | Requirement |
|---|---|
Children and Young People (Safety) Act 2017 | Section 15 – Additional annual reporting obligations (1) The Minister must, not later than 30 September in each year, prepare a (a) detailing the role of the Minister, and the extent to which the Minister has performed the Minister's functions, in respect of the operation of this Act for the financial year ending on the preceding 30 June; |
This annual report details the role of the Minister and the extent to which the Minister has performed the Minister’s functions for the 2021-22 financial year. In addition, the Minister has:
- committed to improving the South Australian child protection system and its capacity to meet the needs of children, young people, families, carers and communities.
- established a program of carer roundtables, to work collaboratively with carers to build on the supports available, including specialist support for carers of children with complex needs and the timely provision of information through the online carer platform.
- funded the role of Child and Young Person’s Visitor to promote and advocate for the best interests of children and young people who are under the guardianship, or in the custody, of the DCP Chief Executive, living in DCP residential care.
- committed to a number of important services to be delivered across the child protection sector including:
- funding to extend post-care services and to develop a comprehensive support program for young people leaving care to become independent adults and improve the long-term life outcomes experienced by care leavers,
- actively working for young people with a disability to ensure that there are NDIS plans in place to support their smooth transition to post-care supports,
- investment in the CREATE Foundation to improve advocacy and support for young people in care by providing greater opportunities and pathways to access housing, study and work,
- delivery of Family Reunification Services to reunite families with children and young people who have been in care,
- funding the Next Steps pilot to assist young people transition to adulthood,
- confirmation of family group conferencing including an Aboriginal-specific service to support vulnerable families,
- provision of carer payments for young people 18 and over in family based care placements.
Act or Regulation | Requirement |
|---|---|
Children and Young People (Safety) Act 2017 | Section 15 – Additional annual reporting obligations (1) (b) setting out the following information relating to the provision of family support services and intensive family support services to children and young people who are at risk and their families: (i) the extent to which such services were provided by, or on behalf of, the State (including statistical data relating to the number of times such services were provided) during the financial year ending on the preceding 30 June; (ii) the amount of resources allocated for the provision of such services by or on behalf of the State – (A) during the financial year ending on the preceding 30 June; and (B) during the current financial year; (iii) the extent to which the allocated resources were, in fact, spent on the provision of such services during the financial year ending on the preceding 30 June. |
The following information summarises the delivery of programs/services that relate to the provision of family support services and intensive services to children and young people who are at risk and their families.
Program/ Service | Description and Summary of Outcomes in 2020-21 | Financial Information | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
2021-22 Budget $m | 2020-21 Actual expenditure $m | 2020-21 Budget $m | ||
Child Wellbeing Practitioners | Child Wellbeing Practitioners deliver services to children and families to improve the safety and wellbeing of children who are identified as vulnerable and/or at risk of child protection within the state’s public-school system. There were 479 families with 1,256 associated children supported during 2021-22 (excluding country teams).² In country teams, Child Wellbeing Practitioners and Family Practitioners were integrated - data is reported separately under Safer Family Services Country Teams. | 5.127 | 4.632 | 5.043¹ |
Childhood Sexual Abuse Counselling Service | Commencing on 1 June 2021, the Childhood Sexual Abuse Counselling Service provides counselling statewide to survivors of childhood sexual abuse, including family members. 771 participants were supported between 1 July 2021 and 30 June 2022. | 0.465 | 0.453 | 0.453 |
Community Services Support Program (CSSP) - Family Support and Early Intervention | CSSP Family Support and Early Intervention services aim to improve child development outcomes in vulnerable families, and to prevent crises or problems escalating within vulnerable families that can lead to family conflict and family breakdown. Services include the Sole Parenting Program funded through the former Community Support Program. 2,448 individuals were provided with family support and early intervention between 1 July 2021 and 30 June 2022. These services expire in December 2022, with a tender to be released for new services commencing 1 January 2023. | 2.039 | 4.078 | 4.078 |
Family by Family | Family by Family is delivered by a non-government organisation to children and families who are assessed as vulnerable to child abuse and neglect and who are at risk of being involved in the statutory child protection system. There were 206 families with 406 associated children supported during 2021-22. | 1.794 | 1.750 | 1.750 |
Family Practitioners | Family Practitioners deliver a statewide service to children and families where child protection risks have been identified, to support children’s overall safety and wellbeing within the state’s Children’s Centres. There were 376 families with 820 associated children supported during 2021-22 (excluding country teams).² In country teams, Child Wellbeing Practitioners and Family Practitioners were integrated - data is reported separately under Safer Family Services Country Teams. | 3.636 | 3.240 | 3.582¹ |
GFGSA Village | Commencing on 1 July 2021, Grandparents for Grandchildren (GFGSA) Village mutual support program assists grandparent and kinship carers and the children in their care through a network of local ‘Village’ support groups across South Australia. 151 individuals were supported between 1 July 2021 and 30 June 2022. | 0.200 | 0.200 | 0.150 |
Intensive Family Services | Intensive Family Services are delivered by non-government organisations and provide earlier, intensive and targeted support to families involving children aged 0-18 years with multiple and complex needs who have been identified as high to very high risk of entering the statutory child protection system. There were 823 families with 2,032 associated children supported during 2021-22.² | 12.067 | 11.772 | 11.772 |
Northern Adelaide Intensive Support Pilot | The Northern Adelaide Intensive Support Pilot is delivered by a non-government organisation to provide services to families whose children have been assessed by the Department for Child Protection (DCP) as being at imminent risk of having their child or children placed in out of home care. The pilot program is funded to 31 December 2022. There were 22 families with 55 associated children supported during 2021-22. | 0.687 | 1.346 | 1.340 |
Pathways Service | Commencing on 31 March 2021, Pathways is a centralised triage service that provides a single point of entry for families in need of intensive support. The service also captures family complexity data to inform system reform and matches families to appropriate services. Pathways processed 3,506 referrals during 2021-22, with 1,598 (45.6%) of these referrals allocated to services for the provision of support. | 0.957 | 1.494 | 0.942 |
Prisoner Kids Family Care Team | Commencing on 1 July 2021, this service is delivered by a non-government organisation to support the families and children of people who have been incarcerated. 78 individuals received support between 1 July 2021 and 30 June 2022. | 0.177 | 0.172 | 0.172 |
Resilient Families Program | Commencing on 1 July 2021, the Resilient Families Program is a Social Impact Investment initiative being delivered by a non-government organisation to provide services to families whose children have been assessed by DCP as being at imminent risk of having their children placed in out-of-home care. There were 58 families consisting of 143 associated children supported during 2021-22. | 1.75 | 1.75 | 1.75 |
Safe Start | Safe Start teams work with children and families to provide a coordinated, targeted and culturally appropriate earlier intervention approach to improve the safety, health, development and education outcomes where risk factors exist. Safe Start is led by DHS in Northern Adelaide, Southern Adelaide and the Limestone Coast, and by Relationships Australia SA (non-government partner) in Western Adelaide and the Inner North (commenced May 2022).From May 2022, DHS also commenced a new service in the Whyalla/Port Augusta region. There were 338 clients with 764 associated children supported during 2021-22.² | 3.377 | 2.559 | 2.708 |
Safer Family Services Country Teams ³ | In country teams, Child Wellbeing Practitioners and Family Practitioners were integrated into Safer Family Services Country Teams. There were 388 families and 967 associated children supported during 2021-22 through the integrated Country Teams.² | 4.077 | 3.082 | 4.015 |
Strong Start | Strong Start is a government led service in Northern and Southern Adelaide to support first time mothers experiencing multiple complexities in their lives, to create a safe and nurturing environment for their baby. There were 125 families with 156 associated children supported during 2021-22.² | 1.555 | 1.518 | 1.529 |
Tiraapendi Wodli (Justice Reinvestment Port Adelaide) | Tiraapendi Wodli is an Aboriginal community led approach aimed at increasing the strength and resilience of Aboriginal families living in Port Adelaide and Enfield. The Initiative is currently led by the Australian Red Cross, in collaboration with Justice Reinvestment SA. A new iteration of the Tiraapendi Wodli Priority Action Plan 2022-2023 identifies actions to strengthen local community capacity and deliver improvements across a range of indicators in education, child protection, justice, and family safety. 210 individuals and their families were provided with support during 2021-22. | 0.433 | 0.422 | 0.422 |
Western Adelaide Intensive Support Pilot | The Western Adelaide Intensive Support Pilot is delivered by a non-government organisation to provide services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families whose children have been assessed by DCP as being at imminent risk of having their child or children placed in out-of-home care. The variance between the 2021-22 Actual Expenditure and 2021-22 Budget is due to the service being extended by 15 months from 1 April 2022 to 30 June 2023. There were 19 families consisting of 53 associated children supported during 2021-22. | 1.057 | 1.035 | 0.769 |
¹ The 2021-22 Budget was revised to reflect a reallocation to the integrated Safer Family Services Country Teams. The budget for Child Wellbeing Practitioners was also revised due to the establishment of the Pathways Service.
² Supported defined as cases open as of 30 June 2021 and those accepted into Program/Service from 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022.
³ In 2020-21, the budget and expenditure for the integrated Safer Family Services Country Teams were included under Child Wellbeing Practitioners, Family Practitioners, CFARN (DHS) (now Safe Start) and Strong Start.
- Data in the above table has been sourced from DHS internal reporting systems.
Act or Regulation | Requirement |
|---|---|
Children and Young People (Safety) Act 2017 | Section 15 – Additional annual reporting obligations (1) (b) The Minister must, not later than 30 September in each year, prepare a report –:(iv) bench-marking the resources referred to in subparagraph (ii) and (iii) against those allocated and spent by other States and Territories in the provision of such services during the financial year ending on the preceding 30 June; |
The Report on Government Services (ROGS) details this information. It is published in January each year and is available from https://www.pc.gov.au/research/ongoing/report-on-government-services
Act or Regulation | Requirement |
|---|---|
Children and Young People (Safety) Act 2017 | Section 15 – Additional annual reporting obligations (1) (c) providing any other information required by the regulations for the purposes of this paragraph. |
| Indicators of Performance | Performance 2021-22 | Performance Comparison to |
|---|---|---|---|
Responding to notifications | Total calls made to the Call Centre | 61,328 | In 2021-22, the number of calls to the Call Centre decreased by 8.2% from 2020-21 (66,833). In 2021-22, 81.4% of calls to the Call Centre were answered, a 1.4 percentage point increase on the 80.0% (53,474) answered in 2020-21. |
Responding to notifications | Number of calls answered | 49,934 | |
Responding to notifications | Average wait time to the Child Abuse Report Line | 11 min 04 sec | The average wait time to the Child Abuse Report Line (CARL) in 2021-21 was 45 seconds less than 2020-21 (11 min 49 sec). |
Responding to notifications | Number of eCARL submissions | 43,031 | There were 1,751 (4.2%) more eCARL submissions in 2021-22 than in 2020-21 (41,280). |
Responding to notifications | Total number of notifications referred for an alternative response | 18,197 | Of the 18,197 notifications referred:
|
Child protection responses | Number of notifications | 80,374 (18,600 notifications for Aboriginal children and young people) | In 2021-22, there were 199 (0.2%) more notifications received than in 2020-21 (80,175). There were 3,725 (9.7%) fewer notifications screened-in for further assessment and response in 2021-22, than in 2020-21 (38,473). Of the 2021-22 notifications, 43.2% were screened-in compared to 48.0% screened-in for Notifications for Aboriginal children comprised 23.1% of all notifications in 2021-22 compared to 23.4% (18,754) in 2020-21 and 26.6% of screened-in notifications compared to 28.0% (10,782) in 2020-21. |
Child protection responses | Number of screened-in notifications | 34,748 (9,248 screened-in notifications for Aboriginal children and young people) | |
Children placed on child protection orders | Total children placed on orders | 1,895 (686 Aboriginal children and young people) | The number of children admitted to an order decreased by 833 (30.5%) compared to 2020-21 (2,728). Aboriginal children comprised 36.2% of children admitted to an order in 2021-22 compared to 33.9% (925) in 2020-21. |
Children placed on child protection orders | Children placed on orders for first time | 809 (312 Aboriginal children and young people) | The number of children admitted to an order for the first time decreased by 204 (20.1 %) from 2020-21 (1,013). In 2021-22, 42.7% of children were admitted to an order for the first time, compared to 37.1% in 2020-21. Aboriginal children comprised 38.6% of children admitted to an order for the first time in 2021-22 compared to 33.1% (335) in |
Children placed on child protection orders | Total children on a 12-month order at 30 June 2022 | 495 (191 Aboriginal children and young people) | At 30 June 2022, 55 Aboriginal children comprised 38.5% (191) of children on a 12 month order at 30 June 2022 compared to 34.0% (187) in 2021. |
Children placed on child protection orders | Total children on an order until 18 years of age under Guardianship of the Chief Executive | 4,057 (1,550 Aboriginal children and young people) | The number of children on a Guardianship of the Chief Executive to 18 years order at 30 June 2022 increased by 150 (3.8%) from 30 June 2021 (3,907). Aboriginal children comprised 38.2% of children on an order to 18 years at 30 June 2021 compared to 37.9% (1,480) in 2021. |
Children in care | Number of children (0-17 years) in care at 30 June 2022 | 4,740 (1,756 Aboriginal children and young people) | The number of children aged 0-17 years in care at 30 June 2022 increased by 94 (2.0%) to a total of 4,740 compared to 30 June 2021 (4,646). The proportion of children in family based care has decreased by 0.9% (85.0%) from 2021 (85.9%). Family based care includes foster, kinship, specific child only and family day care. The number of Aboriginal children aged 0-17 years in care at 30 June increased by 81 (4.8%) in 2022 from 2021 (1,675). Aboriginal children comprise 37.0% of the 0-17 year old in care population at 30 June 2022, compared to last year's reported response of 36.0%. |
Child Protection Reform – Implementing A Fresh Start | Refer to Child Protection Systems Royal Commission reporting on our website | ||
Figures may be different from those nationally reported, due to timing and the reconciliation process.
Number of public complaints reported
Complaint categories | Sub-categories | Example | Number of Complaints 2021-22 |
|---|---|---|---|
Professional behaviour | Staff attitude | Failure to demonstrate values such as empathy, respect, fairness, courtesy, extra mile, cultural competency. | 13 |
Professional behaviour | Staff competency | Failure to action service request, poorly informed decisions, incorrect or incomplete service provided. | 9 |
Professional behaviour | Staff knowledge | Lack of service specific knowledge, incomplete or out-of-date knowledge. | 0 |
Communication | Communication quality | Inadequate, delayed or absent communication with customer. | 342 |
Communication | Confidentiality | Customer’s confidentiality or privacy not respected, information shared incorrectly. | 14 |
Service delivery | Systems/technology | System offline, inaccessible to customer, incorrect result/information provided, poor system design. | 12 |
Service delivery | Access to services | Service difficult to find, location poor, facilities/ environment poor standard, not accessible to customers with disabilities. | 11 |
Service delivery | Process | Processing error, incorrect process used, delay in processing application, process not customer responsive. | 118 |
Policy | Policy application | Incorrect policy interpretation, incorrect policy applied, conflicting policy advice given. | 3 |
Policy | Policy content | Policy content difficult to understand, policy unreasonable or disadvantages customer. | 0 |
Service quality | Information | Incorrect, incomplete, out dated or inadequate information, not fit for purpose. | 54 |
Service quality | Access to information | Information difficult to understand, hard to find or difficult to use, not plain English. | 14 |
Service quality | Timeliness | Lack of staff punctuality, excessive waiting times (outside of service standard), and timelines not met. | 0 |
Service quality | Safety | Maintenance, personal or family safety, duty of care not shown, poor security service/ premises, poor cleanliness. | 103 |
Service quality | Service responsiveness | Service design doesn’t meet customer needs, poor service fit with customer expectations. | 5 |
Total | 698 |
Count is inclusive of 4 general enquiries and 5 feedback.
Note: the allocation of sub-category is driven by the content of the complaint. Therefore these figures relate to the complainants’ views of the department.
Public complaints received by the Complaints and Feedback Management Unit (CFMU), Executive Services.
Additional Metrics | Total |
|---|---|
Number of positive feedback comments | 0 |
Number of negative feedback comments | 35 |
Total number of feedback comments | 35 |
% complaints resolved within policy timeframes | 96.5% |
Data for previous years is available at: https://data.sa.gov.au/data/dataset/public-complaints-received-by-dcp-complaints-unit
DCP notes that Dr Fiona Arney is leading the Independent Inquiry into Foster and Kinship Care, which includes consideration of existing complaint mechanisms as they relate to foster and kinship care. The department’s Complaints Policy and Procedure is published on the intranet and internet in order to assist accessing information more readily.
Service Improvements
- The department’s Complaints Policy and Procedure is published on the intranet and internet in order to assist accessing information more readily.
- Internal Review process and procedure have been reviewed and updated.
- Policy and practice guidance is in accordance with the principles in the Australian/New Zealand Standard: Guidelines for Complaint Management in Organisations (AS/NZA 10002:2014) and is subject to regular review.
- The department’s commitment to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s access to and understanding of complaints process is evidenced through policy and procedures containing a statement setting out a culturally safe and responsive practice.
- Performance reporting is captured by Complaints and Feedback Management Unit to ensure key performance targets are monitored.
- Complaints and Feedback Management Unit provide feedback to Regional Directors and the Senior Executive Group regarding trends and issues that are identified.
Compliance Statement
Department for Child Protection is compliant with Premier and Cabinet Circular 039 – complaint management in the South Australian public sector | Y |
Department for Child Protection has communicated the content of PC 039 and the agency’s related complaints policies and procedures to employees. | Y |