Guardian for Young People finds 100 children languished in emergency accommodation for more than 100 days

ONE hundred children have languished in emergency accommodation for more than 100 days, a critical report by the Guardian for Young People in state care reveals.

• Hundreds of kids spending months in emergency care, including hotels

ONE hundred children have languished in emergency accommodation for more than 100 days, a critical report by the Guardian for Young People in state care reveals.

It warns that children removed from unsafe parents remain at great risk if they are housed for long periods in rented hotel rooms, apartments or caravans.

They are more likely to run away, miss school and feel isolated, the report states.

Guardian Amanda Shaw’s report, tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, shows that, as of June 27 this year, 100 children had stayed in emergency accommodation, supervised by paid carers, for more than 100 days.

“While the quality of day-to-day care varies hugely, the instability and uncertainty for children is universal,” she warns.

Ms Shaw added that, prior to August 2014, the state’s child protection agency had provided data on children who had lived in emergency accommodation for 60 days or more.

Amanda Shaw

But, since then, data has only been available on stays of more than 100 days, which makes comparisons with previous years impossible.

During the 2015-16 financial year, an average of 68 children at any one time had been in “temporary” care for more than 100 days.

A spokeswoman for the new Child Protection Department — which on Tuesday replaced Families SA, in line with Nyland Royal Commission recommendations — conceded it was “of concern” that so many children remained in emergency care for so long.

The spokeswoman said a campaign to attract more foster carers would enable more children to live with families.

“Within the first month of the Choose to Care campaign, more than 220 families inquired about becoming foster carers,” she said.

The year-long campaign should “make a significant difference to the number of children in commercial care and ... the duration of stays in commercial care”.

Ms Shaw’s report also reveals:

HER office investigated 11 “serious” cases involving wards of the state but details were not outlined.

ALMOST 10 per cent of children in state care do not have a dedicated child protection worker assigned to their case.

ABORIGINAL children make up 33 per cent of children in state care and 47 per cent of young people in youth detention.

Opposition child protection spokeswoman Rachel Sanderson said it was “scandalous” that 100 children had been in emergency care for more than 100 days.