❓ Minister McHale highlights positive developments in WA's foster care system, citing national recognition and increased funding, while acknowledging challenges and criticising negative publicity.
AnsweredQoN 322Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
Will the minister inform the house of any developments in the work done by the Department for Community Development in protecting children in foster care? Ms S.M. McHALE
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Wanneroo for her question and for her advocacy in this area. In recent weeks there has been some adverse or negative publicity around foster care, mostly, I would say, driven by opposition members in the upper house. It is time that we gave some positive recognition to the work that is happening in the Department for Community Development and, more importantly, to foster carers, who do a very difficult job. The government’s work in making foster care safer for children may not be readily recognised in our own state, but the work being developed in DCD is gaining national recognition. DCD is also being recognised as leading the way and being the best in the country in some areas. I will give a couple of examples to support that claim. Firstly, at the national Foster Care Conference, which will be held in July in Alice Springs, DCD has been invited to present its work around training of relative carers and general foster carers. This has come about because a number of other states have been asking DCD for examples of the work it has done and its training manuals, and from that it was invited to make a presentation at the national conference for foster carers in this nation. Secondly, the work of the department has been recognised by the Australian Foster Care Association, whose president wrote to the Director General of the Department for Community Development earlier this year. My note of the quote reads - . . . in respect of general practice and sector relationships, many of the standard operational practices in foster care, and the general support of carers in Western Australia are considered within foster care circles to currently be the best in the country. This government has focused very much and in a very considered way on how it can improve the safety, care and protection of children who come into the care of the state. The additional $10 million that the government has allocated in the budget for the next four years will strengthen the foster care system. We are doing things in new ways and we are improving our ability to protect children in care. However, the main problem for children who need foster care is the shortage of suitable foster carers. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Deputy Leader of the Opposition! Ms S.M. McHALE : There should be vigorous debate of this issue, but it does children no good if scaremongering makes it harder to find and keep good foster carers. I therefore use this opportunity to say that we should support foster carers and acknowledge the great work of the majority of foster carers in this system. I say to the minority of foster carers who are behaving inappropriately that we will weed them out of the system. We have better training and better processes for foster carers so that the safety of children will continue to increase, and we acknowledge the great work of foster carers.
Ms S.M. McHALE replied: I thank the member for Wanneroo for her question and for her advocacy in this area. In recent weeks there has been some adverse or negative publicity around foster care, mostly, I would say, driven by opposition members in the upper house. It is time that we gave some positive recognition to the work that is happening in the Department for Community Development and, more importantly, to foster carers, who do a very difficult job. The government’s work in making foster care safer for children may not be readily recognised in our own state, but the work being developed in DCD is gaining national recognition. DCD is also being recognised as leading the way and being the best in the country in some areas. I will give a couple of examples to support that claim. Firstly, at the national Foster Care Conference, which will be held in July in Alice Springs, DCD has been invited to present its work around training of relative carers and general foster carers. This has come about because a number of other states have been asking DCD for examples of the work it has done and its training manuals, and from that it was invited to make a presentation at the national conference for foster carers in this nation. Secondly, the work of the department has been recognised by the Australian Foster Care Association, whose president wrote to the Director General of the Department for Community Development earlier this year. My note of the quote reads - . . . in respect of general practice and sector relationships, many of the standard operational practices in foster care, and the general support of carers in Western Australia are considered within foster care circles to currently be the best in the country. This government has focused very much and in a very considered way on how it can improve the safety, care and protection of children who come into the care of the state. The additional $10 million that the government has allocated in the budget for the next four years will strengthen the foster care system. We are doing things in new ways and we are improving our ability to protect children in care. However, the main problem for children who need foster care is the shortage of suitable foster carers. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Deputy Leader of the Opposition! Ms S.M. McHALE : There should be vigorous debate of this issue, but it does children no good if scaremongering makes it harder to find and keep good foster carers. I therefore use this opportunity to say that we should support foster carers and acknowledge the great work of the majority of foster carers in this system. I say to the minority of foster carers who are behaving inappropriately that we will weed them out of the system. We have better training and better processes for foster carers so that the safety of children will continue to increase, and we acknowledge the great work of foster carers.
I thank the member for Wanneroo for her question and for her advocacy in this area. In recent weeks there has been some adverse or negative publicity around foster care, mostly, I would say, driven by opposition members in the upper house. It is time that we gave some positive recognition to the work that is happening in the Department for Community Development and, more importantly, to foster carers, who do a very difficult job. The government’s work in making foster care safer for children may not be readily recognised in our own state, but the work being developed in DCD is gaining national recognition. DCD is also being recognised as leading the way and being the best in the country in some areas. I will give a couple of examples to support that claim. Firstly, at the national Foster Care Conference, which will be held in July in Alice Springs, DCD has been invited to present its work around training of relative carers and general foster carers. This has come about because a number of other states have been asking DCD for examples of the work it has done and its training manuals, and from that it was invited to make a presentation at the national conference for foster carers in this nation. Secondly, the work of the department has been recognised by the Australian Foster Care Association, whose president wrote to the Director General of the Department for Community Development earlier this year. My note of the quote reads - . . . in respect of general practice and sector relationships, many of the standard operational practices in foster care, and the general support of carers in Western Australia are considered within foster care circles to currently be the best in the country. This government has focused very much and in a very considered way on how it can improve the safety, care and protection of children who come into the care of the state. The additional $10 million that the government has allocated in the budget for the next four years will strengthen the foster care system. We are doing things in new ways and we are improving our ability to protect children in care. However, the main problem for children who need foster care is the shortage of suitable foster carers. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Deputy Leader of the Opposition! Ms S.M. McHALE : There should be vigorous debate of this issue, but it does children no good if scaremongering makes it harder to find and keep good foster carers. I therefore use this opportunity to say that we should support foster carers and acknowledge the great work of the majority of foster carers in this system. I say to the minority of foster carers who are behaving inappropriately that we will weed them out of the system. We have better training and better processes for foster carers so that the safety of children will continue to increase, and we acknowledge the great work of foster carers.
In recent weeks there has been some adverse or negative publicity around foster care, mostly, I would say, driven by opposition members in the upper house. It is time that we gave some positive recognition to the work that is happening in the Department for Community Development and, more importantly, to foster carers, who do a very difficult job. The government’s work in making foster care safer for children may not be readily recognised in our own state, but the work being developed in DCD is gaining national recognition. DCD is also being recognised as leading the way and being the best in the country in some areas. I will give a couple of examples to support that claim. Firstly, at the national Foster Care Conference, which will be held in July in Alice Springs, DCD has been invited to present its work around training of relative carers and general foster carers. This has come about because a number of other states have been asking DCD for examples of the work it has done and its training manuals, and from that it was invited to make a presentation at the national conference for foster carers in this nation. Secondly, the work of the department has been recognised by the Australian Foster Care Association, whose president wrote to the Director General of the Department for Community Development earlier this year. My note of the quote reads - . . . in respect of general practice and sector relationships, many of the standard operational practices in foster care, and the general support of carers in Western Australia are considered within foster care circles to currently be the best in the country. This government has focused very much and in a very considered way on how it can improve the safety, care and protection of children who come into the care of the state. The additional $10 million that the government has allocated in the budget for the next four years will strengthen the foster care system. We are doing things in new ways and we are improving our ability to protect children in care. However, the main problem for children who need foster care is the shortage of suitable foster carers. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Deputy Leader of the Opposition! Ms S.M. McHALE : There should be vigorous debate of this issue, but it does children no good if scaremongering makes it harder to find and keep good foster carers. I therefore use this opportunity to say that we should support foster carers and acknowledge the great work of the majority of foster carers in this system. I say to the minority of foster carers who are behaving inappropriately that we will weed them out of the system. We have better training and better processes for foster carers so that the safety of children will continue to increase, and we acknowledge the great work of foster carers.
Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Deputy Leader of the Opposition! Ms S.M. McHALE : There should be vigorous debate of this issue, but it does children no good if scaremongering makes it harder to find and keep good foster carers. I therefore use this opportunity to say that we should support foster carers and acknowledge the great work of the majority of foster carers in this system. I say to the minority of foster carers who are behaving inappropriately that we will weed them out of the system. We have better training and better processes for foster carers so that the safety of children will continue to increase, and we acknowledge the great work of foster carers.
The SPEAKER : Order, Deputy Leader of the Opposition! Ms S.M. McHALE : There should be vigorous debate of this issue, but it does children no good if scaremongering makes it harder to find and keep good foster carers. I therefore use this opportunity to say that we should support foster carers and acknowledge the great work of the majority of foster carers in this system. I say to the minority of foster carers who are behaving inappropriately that we will weed them out of the system. We have better training and better processes for foster carers so that the safety of children will continue to increase, and we acknowledge the great work of foster carers.
Ms S.M. McHALE : There should be vigorous debate of this issue, but it does children no good if scaremongering makes it harder to find and keep good foster carers. I therefore use this opportunity to say that we should support foster carers and acknowledge the great work of the majority of foster carers in this system. I say to the minority of foster carers who are behaving inappropriately that we will weed them out of the system. We have better training and better processes for foster carers so that the safety of children will continue to increase, and we acknowledge the great work of foster carers.
Ms S.M. McHALE replied: I thank the member for Wanneroo for her question and for her advocacy in this area. In recent weeks there has been some adverse or negative publicity around foster care, mostly, I would say, driven by opposition members in the upper house. It is time that we gave some positive recognition to the work that is happening in the Department for Community Development and, more importantly, to foster carers, who do a very difficult job. The government’s work in making foster care safer for children may not be readily recognised in our own state, but the work being developed in DCD is gaining national recognition. DCD is also being recognised as leading the way and being the best in the country in some areas. I will give a couple of examples to support that claim. Firstly, at the national Foster Care Conference, which will be held in July in Alice Springs, DCD has been invited to present its work around training of relative carers and general foster carers. This has come about because a number of other states have been asking DCD for examples of the work it has done and its training manuals, and from that it was invited to make a presentation at the national conference for foster carers in this nation. Secondly, the work of the department has been recognised by the Australian Foster Care Association, whose president wrote to the Director General of the Department for Community Development earlier this year. My note of the quote reads - . . . in respect of general practice and sector relationships, many of the standard operational practices in foster care, and the general support of carers in Western Australia are considered within foster care circles to currently be the best in the country. This government has focused very much and in a very considered way on how it can improve the safety, care and protection of children who come into the care of the state. The additional $10 million that the government has allocated in the budget for the next four years will strengthen the foster care system. We are doing things in new ways and we are improving our ability to protect children in care. However, the main problem for children who need foster care is the shortage of suitable foster carers. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Deputy Leader of the Opposition! Ms S.M. McHALE : There should be vigorous debate of this issue, but it does children no good if scaremongering makes it harder to find and keep good foster carers. I therefore use this opportunity to say that we should support foster carers and acknowledge the great work of the majority of foster carers in this system. I say to the minority of foster carers who are behaving inappropriately that we will weed them out of the system. We have better training and better processes for foster carers so that the safety of children will continue to increase, and we acknowledge the great work of foster carers.
I thank the member for Wanneroo for her question and for her advocacy in this area. In recent weeks there has been some adverse or negative publicity around foster care, mostly, I would say, driven by opposition members in the upper house. It is time that we gave some positive recognition to the work that is happening in the Department for Community Development and, more importantly, to foster carers, who do a very difficult job. The government’s work in making foster care safer for children may not be readily recognised in our own state, but the work being developed in DCD is gaining national recognition. DCD is also being recognised as leading the way and being the best in the country in some areas. I will give a couple of examples to support that claim. Firstly, at the national Foster Care Conference, which will be held in July in Alice Springs, DCD has been invited to present its work around training of relative carers and general foster carers. This has come about because a number of other states have been asking DCD for examples of the work it has done and its training manuals, and from that it was invited to make a presentation at the national conference for foster carers in this nation. Secondly, the work of the department has been recognised by the Australian Foster Care Association, whose president wrote to the Director General of the Department for Community Development earlier this year. My note of the quote reads - . . . in respect of general practice and sector relationships, many of the standard operational practices in foster care, and the general support of carers in Western Australia are considered within foster care circles to currently be the best in the country. This government has focused very much and in a very considered way on how it can improve the safety, care and protection of children who come into the care of the state. The additional $10 million that the government has allocated in the budget for the next four years will strengthen the foster care system. We are doing things in new ways and we are improving our ability to protect children in care. However, the main problem for children who need foster care is the shortage of suitable foster carers. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Deputy Leader of the Opposition! Ms S.M. McHALE : There should be vigorous debate of this issue, but it does children no good if scaremongering makes it harder to find and keep good foster carers. I therefore use this opportunity to say that we should support foster carers and acknowledge the great work of the majority of foster carers in this system. I say to the minority of foster carers who are behaving inappropriately that we will weed them out of the system. We have better training and better processes for foster carers so that the safety of children will continue to increase, and we acknowledge the great work of foster carers.
In recent weeks there has been some adverse or negative publicity around foster care, mostly, I would say, driven by opposition members in the upper house. It is time that we gave some positive recognition to the work that is happening in the Department for Community Development and, more importantly, to foster carers, who do a very difficult job. The government’s work in making foster care safer for children may not be readily recognised in our own state, but the work being developed in DCD is gaining national recognition. DCD is also being recognised as leading the way and being the best in the country in some areas. I will give a couple of examples to support that claim. Firstly, at the national Foster Care Conference, which will be held in July in Alice Springs, DCD has been invited to present its work around training of relative carers and general foster carers. This has come about because a number of other states have been asking DCD for examples of the work it has done and its training manuals, and from that it was invited to make a presentation at the national conference for foster carers in this nation. Secondly, the work of the department has been recognised by the Australian Foster Care Association, whose president wrote to the Director General of the Department for Community Development earlier this year. My note of the quote reads - . . . in respect of general practice and sector relationships, many of the standard operational practices in foster care, and the general support of carers in Western Australia are considered within foster care circles to currently be the best in the country. This government has focused very much and in a very considered way on how it can improve the safety, care and protection of children who come into the care of the state. The additional $10 million that the government has allocated in the budget for the next four years will strengthen the foster care system. We are doing things in new ways and we are improving our ability to protect children in care. However, the main problem for children who need foster care is the shortage of suitable foster carers. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Deputy Leader of the Opposition! Ms S.M. McHALE : There should be vigorous debate of this issue, but it does children no good if scaremongering makes it harder to find and keep good foster carers. I therefore use this opportunity to say that we should support foster carers and acknowledge the great work of the majority of foster carers in this system. I say to the minority of foster carers who are behaving inappropriately that we will weed them out of the system. We have better training and better processes for foster carers so that the safety of children will continue to increase, and we acknowledge the great work of foster carers.
Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Deputy Leader of the Opposition! Ms S.M. McHALE : There should be vigorous debate of this issue, but it does children no good if scaremongering makes it harder to find and keep good foster carers. I therefore use this opportunity to say that we should support foster carers and acknowledge the great work of the majority of foster carers in this system. I say to the minority of foster carers who are behaving inappropriately that we will weed them out of the system. We have better training and better processes for foster carers so that the safety of children will continue to increase, and we acknowledge the great work of foster carers.
The SPEAKER : Order, Deputy Leader of the Opposition! Ms S.M. McHALE : There should be vigorous debate of this issue, but it does children no good if scaremongering makes it harder to find and keep good foster carers. I therefore use this opportunity to say that we should support foster carers and acknowledge the great work of the majority of foster carers in this system. I say to the minority of foster carers who are behaving inappropriately that we will weed them out of the system. We have better training and better processes for foster carers so that the safety of children will continue to increase, and we acknowledge the great work of foster carers.
Ms S.M. McHALE : There should be vigorous debate of this issue, but it does children no good if scaremongering makes it harder to find and keep good foster carers. I therefore use this opportunity to say that we should support foster carers and acknowledge the great work of the majority of foster carers in this system. I say to the minority of foster carers who are behaving inappropriately that we will weed them out of the system. We have better training and better processes for foster carers so that the safety of children will continue to increase, and we acknowledge the great work of foster carers.
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