Royal Commission report into child protection system expected to make more than 100 recommendations

THE woman who will hand down her long-awaited Royal Commission report into the child protection system today says it is time to “give all our children the life they deserve”.

Royal Commissioner Margaret Nyland’s report will be submitted on Friday and is expected to contain at least 100 recommendations aimed at reforming SA’s child protection system.

• FINDINGS: Commissioner Nyland to submit report on August 5
• RECOMMENDATION: Families SA to be separated from Education Department
• McCOOLE: Families SA paedophile testifies before Royal Commission

THE woman who will hand down her long-awaited Royal Commission report into the child protection system today says it is time to “give all our children the life they deserve”.

Royal Commissioner Margaret Nyland will deliver her report to the Governor at 4pm.

Ministers will consider the report over the weekend and discuss it at a Cabinet meeting on Monday before it is released publicly.

Ms Nyland released a statement this morning saying that authorities will need to act swiftly on some of her recommendations but others will require time and consultation.

She also thanked the hundreds of witnesses who gave evidence to her inquiry, including children in state care.

“Many ... have been abused and neglected, not only by their families but by the system that was supposed to protect them,” Ms Nyland wrote.

“It is time for that to change. It is time for all of us to work together to give all our children the life they deserve.”

Ms Nyland’s report is expected to make at least 100 recommendations and run to about 1000 pages across two volumes, as revealed on Thursday on Advertiser.com.au

Earlier, the father of a victim of paedophile carer Shannon McCoole called for surveillance cameras to be installed in state-run homes where children are cared for by paid staff.

The royal commission was sparked by the arrest of McCoole, a former Families SA carer, two years ago.

He was later convicted of heinous sexual offences against seven young children in his care between January 2011 and June 2014.

Former Families SA carer Shannon McCoole was arrested two years ago.

The father of a young boy abused by McCoole in a state-run home told The Advertiser that he wanted to see surveillance cameras installed in common areas of those facilities, such as the kitchen, loungeroom and yard.

“They can monitor what’s going on in the house and if the worker is (out of view) in the child’s bedroom for a long time then you know something is going on,” he said.

“That is not invading privacy but something like that would be a good thing in those houses.”

The father, who cannot be named, also called for more unannounced visits by authorities to check on children in state-run homes and funding to support at-risk parents to better care for their children at home.

McCoole’s ability to slip through the Families SA background screening process will prompt recommendations from Ms Nyland about how to tighten the net.

Other topics expected to be addressed include:

CHANGES to the way reports of suspected child abuse or neglect are made.

HOW quickly decisions are made to permanently remove children from their parents.

FOSTER carer recruitment, support, payment and rights.

THE dual — and conflicting — roles of social workers required to support at-risk families and investigate allegations against them.

WHETHER South Australia should establish a Commissioner for Children and Young People.

HOW children in state care should be supported once they turn 18.

WHETHER adoption should be allowed in more circumstances.

Ms Nyland released interim recommendations in June to separate Families SA from the larger Education and Child Development Department and to hire a new chief executive with qualifications in the field — both points that the Government accepted.

Recruitment is under way.

The State Budget allocated $1 million to form an internal unit to respond to the commission’s findings.

Ms Nyland released a statement on Friday morning thanking people who had made submissions and provided evidence to her inquiry.

Statement by Margaret Nyland

At 4pm today I will deliver the Child Protection Systems Royal Commission report to the Governor His Excellency the Honourable Hieu Van Le AC.

This follows a two year inquiry by my Commission into the adequacy of the child protection system in South Australia.

Some of these recommendations will need to be put into place in the near future to ensure the safety and wellbeing of children at risk of harm, abuse or neglect.

Others will require medium to long term planning and it will be important to engage the community in the implementation process.

I thank the many people who came forward with their concerns, thoughts and suggestions about how to create a better system for the vulnerable children and young people of our community.

I am particularly grateful to the children who shared their stories with us.

Many children in state care have been abused and neglected, not only by their families but by the system that was supposed to protect them.

It is time for that to change.

It is time for all of us to work together to give all our children the life they deserve.