❓ The Minister for Child Protection details the McGowan government's initiatives to support young people transitioning from out-of-home care to independent living, including funding commitments and legislative reforms. The Minister highlights positive outcomes, such as a reduction in the number of young people entering care.
AnsweredQoN 537Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
OUT-OF-HOME CARE — INDEPENDENT LIVING
537. Ms C.M. TONKIN to the Minister for Child Protection:
I
refer to the McGowan Labor government's commitment to supporting
vulnerable young Western Australians. Can the minister update the house
on how this government is supporting more young Western Australians transition
from out-of-home care to independent living?
537. Ms C.M. TONKIN to the Minister for Child Protection:
I
refer to the McGowan Labor government's commitment to supporting
vulnerable young Western Australians. Can the minister update the house
on how this government is supporting more young Western Australians transition
from out-of-home care to independent living?
AnswerView source ↗
I am very pleased to talk about this
election commitment that has been backed up by a real dollar allocation in this
year's state budget—that is, the announcement that the McGowan
government will provide $37.2 million to support young people in the child
protection system so that they will have supports for three more years from the
ages of 18 to 21 years. It really is quite significant and I think has the
potential to be life changing for hundreds of young people across our state.
This has been important work and we
recognised this early on. This is why the Department of Communities funded a $444 000 pilot in the last government to look at
how we could properly integrate the supports for people in out- of-home
care as they aged after 18 years. We have been working with Anglicare WA and
some young people who were previously in the care of the department to model
that work. That has been very positively received.
It is important to know that it is
not just us that thinks that this is a good idea. I thought that the house
might want to hear some of the acknowledgements that we have had from the
sector. I quote Anglicare CEO, Mark Glasson —
What a great result for extended care
in WA. Informed by genuine co-design with young people � This is a game changer
for young people in WA.
The Western Australian Council of
Social Service's CEO, Louise Giolitto, stated —
''Extending foster-care
services up to the age of 21 is a great example of preventative policy that
works and will ultimately change the lives of young people for the better �
These are significant reforms and I am
very proud of them. That builds on the work we are already doing in child
protection, firstly, in legislative reform. A bill has now passed through this
house and is currently being debated in the upper house to make sure that we
have better cultural supports for Aboriginal children in care. Secondly, it
responds to the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Institutional
Responses to Child Sex Abuse, particularly by extending mandatory reporting,
but also by adopting all the relevant recommendations from the royal
commission. Of course, we have also invested significantly in early
intervention.
I
am very proud, as I have reported to this house before, that those investments
and that level of reform and attention to detail is starting to bear
fruit. For the first time in 25 years, we have seen a reduction in the number
of young people coming into care—25 years!—including Aboriginal
young people coming into care. As a government, we are very proud of that, but
as a community we should also be very proud of that.
I talked about the Home Stretch commitment with $37.2 million
in funding. In addition, we were able to secure in this year's budget
$93 million of extra funding in child protection services over the forward
estimates. We are not only providing significant extra resources, but also
investing in evidence-based approaches, which we know will support some of the
most vulnerable in our community and I am very proud of that work.
election commitment that has been backed up by a real dollar allocation in this
year's state budget—that is, the announcement that the McGowan
government will provide $37.2 million to support young people in the child
protection system so that they will have supports for three more years from the
ages of 18 to 21 years. It really is quite significant and I think has the
potential to be life changing for hundreds of young people across our state.
This has been important work and we
recognised this early on. This is why the Department of Communities funded a $444 000 pilot in the last government to look at
how we could properly integrate the supports for people in out- of-home
care as they aged after 18 years. We have been working with Anglicare WA and
some young people who were previously in the care of the department to model
that work. That has been very positively received.
It is important to know that it is
not just us that thinks that this is a good idea. I thought that the house
might want to hear some of the acknowledgements that we have had from the
sector. I quote Anglicare CEO, Mark Glasson —
What a great result for extended care
in WA. Informed by genuine co-design with young people � This is a game changer
for young people in WA.
The Western Australian Council of
Social Service's CEO, Louise Giolitto, stated —
''Extending foster-care
services up to the age of 21 is a great example of preventative policy that
works and will ultimately change the lives of young people for the better �
These are significant reforms and I am
very proud of them. That builds on the work we are already doing in child
protection, firstly, in legislative reform. A bill has now passed through this
house and is currently being debated in the upper house to make sure that we
have better cultural supports for Aboriginal children in care. Secondly, it
responds to the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Institutional
Responses to Child Sex Abuse, particularly by extending mandatory reporting,
but also by adopting all the relevant recommendations from the royal
commission. Of course, we have also invested significantly in early
intervention.
I
am very proud, as I have reported to this house before, that those investments
and that level of reform and attention to detail is starting to bear
fruit. For the first time in 25 years, we have seen a reduction in the number
of young people coming into care—25 years!—including Aboriginal
young people coming into care. As a government, we are very proud of that, but
as a community we should also be very proud of that.
I talked about the Home Stretch commitment with $37.2 million
in funding. In addition, we were able to secure in this year's budget
$93 million of extra funding in child protection services over the forward
estimates. We are not only providing significant extra resources, but also
investing in evidence-based approaches, which we know will support some of the
most vulnerable in our community and I am very proud of that work.
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