❓ A parliamentary question regarding the results of a foster carer recruitment campaign and concerns raised by the Community and Public Sector Union about the deployment of child protection workers to assist with recruitment.
AnsweredQoN 397Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
FOSTER CARE — RECRUITMENT CAMPAIGNS
Will the minister give an overview of the results of the foster carer recruitment campaign, and also comment on statements in The West Australian attributed to the Community and Public Sector Union? Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY
Will the minister give an overview of the results of the foster carer recruitment campaign, and also comment on statements in The West Australian attributed to the Community and Public Sector Union? Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the honourable member for his very important question. On 29 March 2009, the Department for Child Protection launched a major foster care campaign, utilising the song You Raise Me Up So I Can Stand on Mountains —that is what we want for all our children. We wanted to recruit 250 new general foster carers by 2010, but within that recruitment we would like to also attract emergency foster carers and short-term foster carers. Recruiting and attracting foster carers has been a major reform. As at 31 March 2008, 3 187 children were in the care of the chief executive officer, and 905 general carers were registered. This figure of children in care is anticipated to increase by eight per cent in 2008-09, following an increase of 13 per cent in 2007-08. Foster carers are desperately needed to ensure that these children have quality care. As at 1 May 2009, the campaign had prompted a total of 545 inquiries: 407 from the metropolitan area and 132 from the country, with six not specified. I have been on the radio asking for foster carers and talking about foster carers, and I have met some amazing foster carers during this campaign. They have such huge hearts to be able to take other children into their homes. I met one the other day who said to me, “Robyn, I have six children; another one won’t hurt. You can sign me up. My two little boys would love to have somebody here.” They are the type of people we are looking for. The Community and Public Sector Union was worried that child protection workers were being taken from the field to oversee the recruitment of new foster carers. My answer to that was that, to respond to people who are calling about being new foster carers in a professional and timely manner, some district staff will be temporarily deployed to undertake the assessments. This is evidence of the staff’s flexibility to realise this opportunity to meet a critical need. I say to the union that front-line services will not be affected, but because of this big influx we really need to have staff assessing the people who are calling in to be foster carers. There is nothing worse than wanting to do something and then having a big delay in somebody responding to an inquiry. I thank Hon Bruce Donaldson for the question.
Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY replied: I thank the honourable member for his very important question. On 29 March 2009, the Department for Child Protection launched a major foster care campaign, utilising the song You Raise Me Up So I Can Stand on Mountains —that is what we want for all our children. We wanted to recruit 250 new general foster carers by 2010, but within that recruitment we would like to also attract emergency foster carers and short-term foster carers. Recruiting and attracting foster carers has been a major reform. As at 31 March 2008, 3 187 children were in the care of the chief executive officer, and 905 general carers were registered. This figure of children in care is anticipated to increase by eight per cent in 2008-09, following an increase of 13 per cent in 2007-08. Foster carers are desperately needed to ensure that these children have quality care. As at 1 May 2009, the campaign had prompted a total of 545 inquiries: 407 from the metropolitan area and 132 from the country, with six not specified. I have been on the radio asking for foster carers and talking about foster carers, and I have met some amazing foster carers during this campaign. They have such huge hearts to be able to take other children into their homes. I met one the other day who said to me, “Robyn, I have six children; another one won’t hurt. You can sign me up. My two little boys would love to have somebody here.” They are the type of people we are looking for. The Community and Public Sector Union was worried that child protection workers were being taken from the field to oversee the recruitment of new foster carers. My answer to that was that, to respond to people who are calling about being new foster carers in a professional and timely manner, some district staff will be temporarily deployed to undertake the assessments. This is evidence of the staff’s flexibility to realise this opportunity to meet a critical need. I say to the union that front-line services will not be affected, but because of this big influx we really need to have staff assessing the people who are calling in to be foster carers. There is nothing worse than wanting to do something and then having a big delay in somebody responding to an inquiry. I thank Hon Bruce Donaldson for the question.
I thank the honourable member for his very important question. On 29 March 2009, the Department for Child Protection launched a major foster care campaign, utilising the song You Raise Me Up So I Can Stand on Mountains —that is what we want for all our children. We wanted to recruit 250 new general foster carers by 2010, but within that recruitment we would like to also attract emergency foster carers and short-term foster carers. Recruiting and attracting foster carers has been a major reform. As at 31 March 2008, 3 187 children were in the care of the chief executive officer, and 905 general carers were registered. This figure of children in care is anticipated to increase by eight per cent in 2008-09, following an increase of 13 per cent in 2007-08. Foster carers are desperately needed to ensure that these children have quality care. As at 1 May 2009, the campaign had prompted a total of 545 inquiries: 407 from the metropolitan area and 132 from the country, with six not specified. I have been on the radio asking for foster carers and talking about foster carers, and I have met some amazing foster carers during this campaign. They have such huge hearts to be able to take other children into their homes. I met one the other day who said to me, “Robyn, I have six children; another one won’t hurt. You can sign me up. My two little boys would love to have somebody here.” They are the type of people we are looking for. The Community and Public Sector Union was worried that child protection workers were being taken from the field to oversee the recruitment of new foster carers. My answer to that was that, to respond to people who are calling about being new foster carers in a professional and timely manner, some district staff will be temporarily deployed to undertake the assessments. This is evidence of the staff’s flexibility to realise this opportunity to meet a critical need. I say to the union that front-line services will not be affected, but because of this big influx we really need to have staff assessing the people who are calling in to be foster carers. There is nothing worse than wanting to do something and then having a big delay in somebody responding to an inquiry. I thank Hon Bruce Donaldson for the question.
Foster carers are desperately needed to ensure that these children have quality care. As at 1 May 2009, the campaign had prompted a total of 545 inquiries: 407 from the metropolitan area and 132 from the country, with six not specified. I have been on the radio asking for foster carers and talking about foster carers, and I have met some amazing foster carers during this campaign. They have such huge hearts to be able to take other children into their homes. I met one the other day who said to me, “Robyn, I have six children; another one won’t hurt. You can sign me up. My two little boys would love to have somebody here.” They are the type of people we are looking for. The Community and Public Sector Union was worried that child protection workers were being taken from the field to oversee the recruitment of new foster carers. My answer to that was that, to respond to people who are calling about being new foster carers in a professional and timely manner, some district staff will be temporarily deployed to undertake the assessments. This is evidence of the staff’s flexibility to realise this opportunity to meet a critical need. I say to the union that front-line services will not be affected, but because of this big influx we really need to have staff assessing the people who are calling in to be foster carers. There is nothing worse than wanting to do something and then having a big delay in somebody responding to an inquiry. I thank Hon Bruce Donaldson for the question.
The Community and Public Sector Union was worried that child protection workers were being taken from the field to oversee the recruitment of new foster carers. My answer to that was that, to respond to people who are calling about being new foster carers in a professional and timely manner, some district staff will be temporarily deployed to undertake the assessments. This is evidence of the staff’s flexibility to realise this opportunity to meet a critical need. I say to the union that front-line services will not be affected, but because of this big influx we really need to have staff assessing the people who are calling in to be foster carers. There is nothing worse than wanting to do something and then having a big delay in somebody responding to an inquiry. I thank Hon Bruce Donaldson for the question.
Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY replied: I thank the honourable member for his very important question. On 29 March 2009, the Department for Child Protection launched a major foster care campaign, utilising the song You Raise Me Up So I Can Stand on Mountains —that is what we want for all our children. We wanted to recruit 250 new general foster carers by 2010, but within that recruitment we would like to also attract emergency foster carers and short-term foster carers. Recruiting and attracting foster carers has been a major reform. As at 31 March 2008, 3 187 children were in the care of the chief executive officer, and 905 general carers were registered. This figure of children in care is anticipated to increase by eight per cent in 2008-09, following an increase of 13 per cent in 2007-08. Foster carers are desperately needed to ensure that these children have quality care. As at 1 May 2009, the campaign had prompted a total of 545 inquiries: 407 from the metropolitan area and 132 from the country, with six not specified. I have been on the radio asking for foster carers and talking about foster carers, and I have met some amazing foster carers during this campaign. They have such huge hearts to be able to take other children into their homes. I met one the other day who said to me, “Robyn, I have six children; another one won’t hurt. You can sign me up. My two little boys would love to have somebody here.” They are the type of people we are looking for. The Community and Public Sector Union was worried that child protection workers were being taken from the field to oversee the recruitment of new foster carers. My answer to that was that, to respond to people who are calling about being new foster carers in a professional and timely manner, some district staff will be temporarily deployed to undertake the assessments. This is evidence of the staff’s flexibility to realise this opportunity to meet a critical need. I say to the union that front-line services will not be affected, but because of this big influx we really need to have staff assessing the people who are calling in to be foster carers. There is nothing worse than wanting to do something and then having a big delay in somebody responding to an inquiry. I thank Hon Bruce Donaldson for the question.
I thank the honourable member for his very important question. On 29 March 2009, the Department for Child Protection launched a major foster care campaign, utilising the song You Raise Me Up So I Can Stand on Mountains —that is what we want for all our children. We wanted to recruit 250 new general foster carers by 2010, but within that recruitment we would like to also attract emergency foster carers and short-term foster carers. Recruiting and attracting foster carers has been a major reform. As at 31 March 2008, 3 187 children were in the care of the chief executive officer, and 905 general carers were registered. This figure of children in care is anticipated to increase by eight per cent in 2008-09, following an increase of 13 per cent in 2007-08. Foster carers are desperately needed to ensure that these children have quality care. As at 1 May 2009, the campaign had prompted a total of 545 inquiries: 407 from the metropolitan area and 132 from the country, with six not specified. I have been on the radio asking for foster carers and talking about foster carers, and I have met some amazing foster carers during this campaign. They have such huge hearts to be able to take other children into their homes. I met one the other day who said to me, “Robyn, I have six children; another one won’t hurt. You can sign me up. My two little boys would love to have somebody here.” They are the type of people we are looking for. The Community and Public Sector Union was worried that child protection workers were being taken from the field to oversee the recruitment of new foster carers. My answer to that was that, to respond to people who are calling about being new foster carers in a professional and timely manner, some district staff will be temporarily deployed to undertake the assessments. This is evidence of the staff’s flexibility to realise this opportunity to meet a critical need. I say to the union that front-line services will not be affected, but because of this big influx we really need to have staff assessing the people who are calling in to be foster carers. There is nothing worse than wanting to do something and then having a big delay in somebody responding to an inquiry. I thank Hon Bruce Donaldson for the question.
Foster carers are desperately needed to ensure that these children have quality care. As at 1 May 2009, the campaign had prompted a total of 545 inquiries: 407 from the metropolitan area and 132 from the country, with six not specified. I have been on the radio asking for foster carers and talking about foster carers, and I have met some amazing foster carers during this campaign. They have such huge hearts to be able to take other children into their homes. I met one the other day who said to me, “Robyn, I have six children; another one won’t hurt. You can sign me up. My two little boys would love to have somebody here.” They are the type of people we are looking for. The Community and Public Sector Union was worried that child protection workers were being taken from the field to oversee the recruitment of new foster carers. My answer to that was that, to respond to people who are calling about being new foster carers in a professional and timely manner, some district staff will be temporarily deployed to undertake the assessments. This is evidence of the staff’s flexibility to realise this opportunity to meet a critical need. I say to the union that front-line services will not be affected, but because of this big influx we really need to have staff assessing the people who are calling in to be foster carers. There is nothing worse than wanting to do something and then having a big delay in somebody responding to an inquiry. I thank Hon Bruce Donaldson for the question.
The Community and Public Sector Union was worried that child protection workers were being taken from the field to oversee the recruitment of new foster carers. My answer to that was that, to respond to people who are calling about being new foster carers in a professional and timely manner, some district staff will be temporarily deployed to undertake the assessments. This is evidence of the staff’s flexibility to realise this opportunity to meet a critical need. I say to the union that front-line services will not be affected, but because of this big influx we really need to have staff assessing the people who are calling in to be foster carers. There is nothing worse than wanting to do something and then having a big delay in somebody responding to an inquiry. I thank Hon Bruce Donaldson for the question.
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