“Broken” child protection system failing to respond to state’s vulnerable

NSW Communities Minister warns the “broken” child protection system is in need of “significant reform”

NSW Families and Communities Minister Kate Washington has warned the “broken” child protection system is in need of “significant reform”. Picture: NCA NewsWire

Services to protect NSW’s most vulnerable people are failing as the Department of Communities and Justice is confronted by acute staff shortages and the responsible minister warns that the ­“broken” child protection system is in need of “significant reform”.

With the state’s unemployment rate hovering at near 50-year lows, a severe demand for labour in conjunction with a protracted lack of funding for ­government services has left the DCJ grappling with an exodus of child protection caseworkers.

According to NSW government data, the vacancy rate for full-time case workers had jumped from 4 per cent in September last year to 6 per cent in the December quarter but based on recent resignation numbers, industry sources suggested the current figure could be well in excess of 10 per cent.

The shortfall was having ­severe impacts on the department’s ability to respond to demand for services.

As of late March, more than 9000 child protection reports had not been assessed by a DCJ caseworker, data obtained by The Australian showed.

Employees in certain professions – including police, teachers and doctors – are compelled under the law to lodge a report if they suspect a child may have been abused or neglected.

The staffing crisis is acute in rural parts of NSW, particularly in Aboriginal communities in the state’s far west.

While DCJ data from September last year put the caseworker vacancy rate in the far west, ­Murrumbidgee and western NSW at 1 per cent, ­sources said this was nowhere near an ­accurate representation of the situation on the ground. NSW Families and Communities Minister Kate Washington said there were no easy solutions to resolving the crisis but the government was committed to reforming the system.

“Caseworkers are essential frontline staff, and they deserve to be supported in their critical roles protecting children,” she told The Australian.

“We have inherited a broken child protection system that needs significant reform.

“It won’t be fixed overnight, but we are determined to fix it.”

A DCJ spokeswoman said there were currently 2333 funded caseworker positions, but sources have indicated this was “hundreds” of staff below optimal, with about 2500 necessary to meet the department’s caseworker workload.

The problem is not isolated to child protection services, however – the state’s domestic violence line is also struggling with staffing shortages, meaning the line is being forced to abandon between five and 25 calls a day.

Sometimes the figure is as high as 50.

Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Minister Jodie Harrison said the DV hotline was an essential resource for women and children facing domestic and family violence and the Minns government was focused on supporting them.

The alarming figures come just five months after the NSW government ordered a review into the state’s out-of-home care services after a Children’s Court magistrate delivered a damning indictment of the sector.

The assessment from magistrate Tracy Sheedy in late Nov­ember came after she laid out the “unconscionable” treatment of two boys who allegedly could not attend school because they were too cold and hungry, despite their care provider having sought $77,000 a month to care for them.