❓ Hon. Stephen Dawson asks about child protection worker caseloads and leave arrangements. The Minister provides data on caseloads, leave numbers, and workload management practices, indicating average caseloads are within acceptable limits.
AnsweredQoN 348Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
CHILD
PROTECTION WORKERS
348. Hon STEPHEN DAWSON to the
Minister for Child Protection:
(1) By region,
as at 1 March 2015, how many child protection workers were managing cases and
how many had the following allocation of case numbers —
(a) 17;
(b) 18;
(c) 19; and
(d) 20 and above?
(2) By region,
how many child protection workers were on annual or long service leave, and was
each position backfilled by a substantive officer?
PROTECTION WORKERS
348. Hon STEPHEN DAWSON to the
Minister for Child Protection:
(1) By region,
as at 1 March 2015, how many child protection workers were managing cases and
how many had the following allocation of case numbers —
(a) 17;
(b) 18;
(c) 19; and
(d) 20 and above?
(2) By region,
how many child protection workers were on annual or long service leave, and was
each position backfilled by a substantive officer?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the honourable member for some notice of this
question.
(1) As at 28
February 2015, when workload management data is extracted, the total number of full-time
equivalents available for case management is 520.83. Current average statewide
caseloads are 12.42 cases per worker. This is well below the agreed number of
cases as set out in the industrial relations order. The breakdown of allocated
case numbers is as follows —
(a) thirty;
(b) twenty-four;
(c) two; and
(d) four.
Workload data is collected and
ratified monthly, and when a worker is identified as carrying more than 1.8
cases the district is contacted and requested to have the worker's case
load adjusted. Case intensity and complexity is determined via supervision
between a team leader and case worker, and taken into account in determining
caseloads for individual staff. Commonly, when caseloads exceed 18, it is the
result of data entry issues.
(2) A total of 24
child protection workers were on annual or long service leave as at 1 March
2015. Details are as follows —
Country Services: East Kimberley,
two; goldfields, one; Murchison, one; Peel, two; Pilbara, one; wheatbelt, two.
Metropolitan Services: Armadale,
four; Cannington, two; crisis care, four; Midland, one; Mirrabooka, one; Perth,
one; Rockingham, two.
The department does not formally
record relief arrangements for short-term leave absences. Line managers are
responsible for coordinating leave management within their respective teams.
This includes workload management while staff are absent on leave.
question.
(1) As at 28
February 2015, when workload management data is extracted, the total number of full-time
equivalents available for case management is 520.83. Current average statewide
caseloads are 12.42 cases per worker. This is well below the agreed number of
cases as set out in the industrial relations order. The breakdown of allocated
case numbers is as follows —
(a) thirty;
(b) twenty-four;
(c) two; and
(d) four.
Workload data is collected and
ratified monthly, and when a worker is identified as carrying more than 1.8
cases the district is contacted and requested to have the worker's case
load adjusted. Case intensity and complexity is determined via supervision
between a team leader and case worker, and taken into account in determining
caseloads for individual staff. Commonly, when caseloads exceed 18, it is the
result of data entry issues.
(2) A total of 24
child protection workers were on annual or long service leave as at 1 March
2015. Details are as follows —
Country Services: East Kimberley,
two; goldfields, one; Murchison, one; Peel, two; Pilbara, one; wheatbelt, two.
Metropolitan Services: Armadale,
four; Cannington, two; crisis care, four; Midland, one; Mirrabooka, one; Perth,
one; Rockingham, two.
The department does not formally
record relief arrangements for short-term leave absences. Line managers are
responsible for coordinating leave management within their respective teams.
This includes workload management while staff are absent on leave.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.