❓ The Minister for Child Protection outlines services available for children in Kununurra, including increased funding, staffing, youth outreach programs, parent support, and group homes, while acknowledging the need for further improvements.
AnsweredQoN 1006Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
DEPARTMENT FOR CHILD PROTECTION — KUNUNURRA
Can the minister provide information on what the Department for Child Protection has available for children in Kununurra? Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY
Can the minister provide information on what the Department for Child Protection has available for children in Kununurra? Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the Hon Alyssa Hayden for the question. There has been an 89 per cent increase in the budget allocation to the Kimberley over the past two years totalling about $5 million and enabling the employment of an additional 63 full-time equivalents. This includes 10 child protection workers in Kununurra working standard office hours, with a seven-day week, after-hours roster. The department provides a 24-hour statewide crisis care service, which is located in Perth. When people call the department after hours, the call bounces back to an officer who is on-call in the Kimberley. A Youth Outreach program has commenced in Kununurra to address the ongoing concerns of street-present young people at night. I will be going there to patrol the streets with the youth mentors, who work three nights a week from 9.00 pm to 1.00 am. This diversionary program supports young people to make safe decisions and encourages them off the street. The department currently chairs the steering committee of the newly established youth hub, based at the Kununurra Youth Centre, which also services surrounding communities. A youth meeting place lounge has been established at the youth centre and operates twice a week. The department recently introduced the parent support program in Kununurra that works with parents of children identified as not attending school or who are left unsupervised on the streets. Similar programs operate in Fitzroy Crossing, Halls Creek and Broome. The local police and the department’s district office have a good working relationship and frequently work together to solve individual children’s circumstances. Kununurra has an existing four-bedroom group home that regularly houses up to six children aged from zero to five years. The department is currently implementing plans for a new four-bedroom group home in Kununurra and an additional new four-bedroom group home in Wyndham, which may positively impact on the services in Kununurra. It is clear that more needs to be done. As I said, I will be going there later this month, or early next month, to see for myself what we can do in Kununurra. We have certainly made a good start and the department and other agencies are working cooperatively.
Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY replied: I thank the Hon Alyssa Hayden for the question. There has been an 89 per cent increase in the budget allocation to the Kimberley over the past two years totalling about $5 million and enabling the employment of an additional 63 full-time equivalents. This includes 10 child protection workers in Kununurra working standard office hours, with a seven-day week, after-hours roster. The department provides a 24-hour statewide crisis care service, which is located in Perth. When people call the department after hours, the call bounces back to an officer who is on-call in the Kimberley. A Youth Outreach program has commenced in Kununurra to address the ongoing concerns of street-present young people at night. I will be going there to patrol the streets with the youth mentors, who work three nights a week from 9.00 pm to 1.00 am. This diversionary program supports young people to make safe decisions and encourages them off the street. The department currently chairs the steering committee of the newly established youth hub, based at the Kununurra Youth Centre, which also services surrounding communities. A youth meeting place lounge has been established at the youth centre and operates twice a week. The department recently introduced the parent support program in Kununurra that works with parents of children identified as not attending school or who are left unsupervised on the streets. Similar programs operate in Fitzroy Crossing, Halls Creek and Broome. The local police and the department’s district office have a good working relationship and frequently work together to solve individual children’s circumstances. Kununurra has an existing four-bedroom group home that regularly houses up to six children aged from zero to five years. The department is currently implementing plans for a new four-bedroom group home in Kununurra and an additional new four-bedroom group home in Wyndham, which may positively impact on the services in Kununurra. It is clear that more needs to be done. As I said, I will be going there later this month, or early next month, to see for myself what we can do in Kununurra. We have certainly made a good start and the department and other agencies are working cooperatively.
I thank the Hon Alyssa Hayden for the question. There has been an 89 per cent increase in the budget allocation to the Kimberley over the past two years totalling about $5 million and enabling the employment of an additional 63 full-time equivalents. This includes 10 child protection workers in Kununurra working standard office hours, with a seven-day week, after-hours roster. The department provides a 24-hour statewide crisis care service, which is located in Perth. When people call the department after hours, the call bounces back to an officer who is on-call in the Kimberley. A Youth Outreach program has commenced in Kununurra to address the ongoing concerns of street-present young people at night. I will be going there to patrol the streets with the youth mentors, who work three nights a week from 9.00 pm to 1.00 am. This diversionary program supports young people to make safe decisions and encourages them off the street. The department currently chairs the steering committee of the newly established youth hub, based at the Kununurra Youth Centre, which also services surrounding communities. A youth meeting place lounge has been established at the youth centre and operates twice a week. The department recently introduced the parent support program in Kununurra that works with parents of children identified as not attending school or who are left unsupervised on the streets. Similar programs operate in Fitzroy Crossing, Halls Creek and Broome. The local police and the department’s district office have a good working relationship and frequently work together to solve individual children’s circumstances. Kununurra has an existing four-bedroom group home that regularly houses up to six children aged from zero to five years. The department is currently implementing plans for a new four-bedroom group home in Kununurra and an additional new four-bedroom group home in Wyndham, which may positively impact on the services in Kununurra. It is clear that more needs to be done. As I said, I will be going there later this month, or early next month, to see for myself what we can do in Kununurra. We have certainly made a good start and the department and other agencies are working cooperatively.
A Youth Outreach program has commenced in Kununurra to address the ongoing concerns of street-present young people at night. I will be going there to patrol the streets with the youth mentors, who work three nights a week from 9.00 pm to 1.00 am. This diversionary program supports young people to make safe decisions and encourages them off the street. The department currently chairs the steering committee of the newly established youth hub, based at the Kununurra Youth Centre, which also services surrounding communities. A youth meeting place lounge has been established at the youth centre and operates twice a week. The department recently introduced the parent support program in Kununurra that works with parents of children identified as not attending school or who are left unsupervised on the streets. Similar programs operate in Fitzroy Crossing, Halls Creek and Broome. The local police and the department’s district office have a good working relationship and frequently work together to solve individual children’s circumstances. Kununurra has an existing four-bedroom group home that regularly houses up to six children aged from zero to five years. The department is currently implementing plans for a new four-bedroom group home in Kununurra and an additional new four-bedroom group home in Wyndham, which may positively impact on the services in Kununurra. It is clear that more needs to be done. As I said, I will be going there later this month, or early next month, to see for myself what we can do in Kununurra. We have certainly made a good start and the department and other agencies are working cooperatively.
The department currently chairs the steering committee of the newly established youth hub, based at the Kununurra Youth Centre, which also services surrounding communities. A youth meeting place lounge has been established at the youth centre and operates twice a week. The department recently introduced the parent support program in Kununurra that works with parents of children identified as not attending school or who are left unsupervised on the streets. Similar programs operate in Fitzroy Crossing, Halls Creek and Broome. The local police and the department’s district office have a good working relationship and frequently work together to solve individual children’s circumstances. Kununurra has an existing four-bedroom group home that regularly houses up to six children aged from zero to five years. The department is currently implementing plans for a new four-bedroom group home in Kununurra and an additional new four-bedroom group home in Wyndham, which may positively impact on the services in Kununurra. It is clear that more needs to be done. As I said, I will be going there later this month, or early next month, to see for myself what we can do in Kununurra. We have certainly made a good start and the department and other agencies are working cooperatively.
The department recently introduced the parent support program in Kununurra that works with parents of children identified as not attending school or who are left unsupervised on the streets. Similar programs operate in Fitzroy Crossing, Halls Creek and Broome. The local police and the department’s district office have a good working relationship and frequently work together to solve individual children’s circumstances. Kununurra has an existing four-bedroom group home that regularly houses up to six children aged from zero to five years. The department is currently implementing plans for a new four-bedroom group home in Kununurra and an additional new four-bedroom group home in Wyndham, which may positively impact on the services in Kununurra. It is clear that more needs to be done. As I said, I will be going there later this month, or early next month, to see for myself what we can do in Kununurra. We have certainly made a good start and the department and other agencies are working cooperatively.
The local police and the department’s district office have a good working relationship and frequently work together to solve individual children’s circumstances. Kununurra has an existing four-bedroom group home that regularly houses up to six children aged from zero to five years. The department is currently implementing plans for a new four-bedroom group home in Kununurra and an additional new four-bedroom group home in Wyndham, which may positively impact on the services in Kununurra. It is clear that more needs to be done. As I said, I will be going there later this month, or early next month, to see for myself what we can do in Kununurra. We have certainly made a good start and the department and other agencies are working cooperatively.
It is clear that more needs to be done. As I said, I will be going there later this month, or early next month, to see for myself what we can do in Kununurra. We have certainly made a good start and the department and other agencies are working cooperatively.
Hon ROBYN McSWEENEY replied: I thank the Hon Alyssa Hayden for the question. There has been an 89 per cent increase in the budget allocation to the Kimberley over the past two years totalling about $5 million and enabling the employment of an additional 63 full-time equivalents. This includes 10 child protection workers in Kununurra working standard office hours, with a seven-day week, after-hours roster. The department provides a 24-hour statewide crisis care service, which is located in Perth. When people call the department after hours, the call bounces back to an officer who is on-call in the Kimberley. A Youth Outreach program has commenced in Kununurra to address the ongoing concerns of street-present young people at night. I will be going there to patrol the streets with the youth mentors, who work three nights a week from 9.00 pm to 1.00 am. This diversionary program supports young people to make safe decisions and encourages them off the street. The department currently chairs the steering committee of the newly established youth hub, based at the Kununurra Youth Centre, which also services surrounding communities. A youth meeting place lounge has been established at the youth centre and operates twice a week. The department recently introduced the parent support program in Kununurra that works with parents of children identified as not attending school or who are left unsupervised on the streets. Similar programs operate in Fitzroy Crossing, Halls Creek and Broome. The local police and the department’s district office have a good working relationship and frequently work together to solve individual children’s circumstances. Kununurra has an existing four-bedroom group home that regularly houses up to six children aged from zero to five years. The department is currently implementing plans for a new four-bedroom group home in Kununurra and an additional new four-bedroom group home in Wyndham, which may positively impact on the services in Kununurra. It is clear that more needs to be done. As I said, I will be going there later this month, or early next month, to see for myself what we can do in Kununurra. We have certainly made a good start and the department and other agencies are working cooperatively.
I thank the Hon Alyssa Hayden for the question. There has been an 89 per cent increase in the budget allocation to the Kimberley over the past two years totalling about $5 million and enabling the employment of an additional 63 full-time equivalents. This includes 10 child protection workers in Kununurra working standard office hours, with a seven-day week, after-hours roster. The department provides a 24-hour statewide crisis care service, which is located in Perth. When people call the department after hours, the call bounces back to an officer who is on-call in the Kimberley. A Youth Outreach program has commenced in Kununurra to address the ongoing concerns of street-present young people at night. I will be going there to patrol the streets with the youth mentors, who work three nights a week from 9.00 pm to 1.00 am. This diversionary program supports young people to make safe decisions and encourages them off the street. The department currently chairs the steering committee of the newly established youth hub, based at the Kununurra Youth Centre, which also services surrounding communities. A youth meeting place lounge has been established at the youth centre and operates twice a week. The department recently introduced the parent support program in Kununurra that works with parents of children identified as not attending school or who are left unsupervised on the streets. Similar programs operate in Fitzroy Crossing, Halls Creek and Broome. The local police and the department’s district office have a good working relationship and frequently work together to solve individual children’s circumstances. Kununurra has an existing four-bedroom group home that regularly houses up to six children aged from zero to five years. The department is currently implementing plans for a new four-bedroom group home in Kununurra and an additional new four-bedroom group home in Wyndham, which may positively impact on the services in Kununurra. It is clear that more needs to be done. As I said, I will be going there later this month, or early next month, to see for myself what we can do in Kununurra. We have certainly made a good start and the department and other agencies are working cooperatively.
A Youth Outreach program has commenced in Kununurra to address the ongoing concerns of street-present young people at night. I will be going there to patrol the streets with the youth mentors, who work three nights a week from 9.00 pm to 1.00 am. This diversionary program supports young people to make safe decisions and encourages them off the street. The department currently chairs the steering committee of the newly established youth hub, based at the Kununurra Youth Centre, which also services surrounding communities. A youth meeting place lounge has been established at the youth centre and operates twice a week. The department recently introduced the parent support program in Kununurra that works with parents of children identified as not attending school or who are left unsupervised on the streets. Similar programs operate in Fitzroy Crossing, Halls Creek and Broome. The local police and the department’s district office have a good working relationship and frequently work together to solve individual children’s circumstances. Kununurra has an existing four-bedroom group home that regularly houses up to six children aged from zero to five years. The department is currently implementing plans for a new four-bedroom group home in Kununurra and an additional new four-bedroom group home in Wyndham, which may positively impact on the services in Kununurra. It is clear that more needs to be done. As I said, I will be going there later this month, or early next month, to see for myself what we can do in Kununurra. We have certainly made a good start and the department and other agencies are working cooperatively.
The department currently chairs the steering committee of the newly established youth hub, based at the Kununurra Youth Centre, which also services surrounding communities. A youth meeting place lounge has been established at the youth centre and operates twice a week. The department recently introduced the parent support program in Kununurra that works with parents of children identified as not attending school or who are left unsupervised on the streets. Similar programs operate in Fitzroy Crossing, Halls Creek and Broome. The local police and the department’s district office have a good working relationship and frequently work together to solve individual children’s circumstances. Kununurra has an existing four-bedroom group home that regularly houses up to six children aged from zero to five years. The department is currently implementing plans for a new four-bedroom group home in Kununurra and an additional new four-bedroom group home in Wyndham, which may positively impact on the services in Kununurra. It is clear that more needs to be done. As I said, I will be going there later this month, or early next month, to see for myself what we can do in Kununurra. We have certainly made a good start and the department and other agencies are working cooperatively.
The department recently introduced the parent support program in Kununurra that works with parents of children identified as not attending school or who are left unsupervised on the streets. Similar programs operate in Fitzroy Crossing, Halls Creek and Broome. The local police and the department’s district office have a good working relationship and frequently work together to solve individual children’s circumstances. Kununurra has an existing four-bedroom group home that regularly houses up to six children aged from zero to five years. The department is currently implementing plans for a new four-bedroom group home in Kununurra and an additional new four-bedroom group home in Wyndham, which may positively impact on the services in Kununurra. It is clear that more needs to be done. As I said, I will be going there later this month, or early next month, to see for myself what we can do in Kununurra. We have certainly made a good start and the department and other agencies are working cooperatively.
The local police and the department’s district office have a good working relationship and frequently work together to solve individual children’s circumstances. Kununurra has an existing four-bedroom group home that regularly houses up to six children aged from zero to five years. The department is currently implementing plans for a new four-bedroom group home in Kununurra and an additional new four-bedroom group home in Wyndham, which may positively impact on the services in Kununurra. It is clear that more needs to be done. As I said, I will be going there later this month, or early next month, to see for myself what we can do in Kununurra. We have certainly made a good start and the department and other agencies are working cooperatively.
It is clear that more needs to be done. As I said, I will be going there later this month, or early next month, to see for myself what we can do in Kununurra. We have certainly made a good start and the department and other agencies are working cooperatively.
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