CREATE’s monthly Advocacy Wrap Ups provide regular updates on our latest advocacy for improving the lives of children and young people with an out-of-home care experience.
Our Wrap Ups include:
- CREATE’s latest submissions on issues including youth justice, residential care, housing and more.
- Media releases and statements about current issues affecting children and young people in care.
- Relevant news and research in the sector so you can catch up on what has happened over the last month.
- A monthly advocacy focus. This month it’s our new Extended Post Care Support Oversight Group.
- Consultation opportunities for children and young people to ensure that their lived experiences and voices are heard in decision-making about the out-of-home care system in Australia.
July advocacy focus
Ten young care leavers will form Queensland’s Extended Post Care Support (EPCS) Oversight Group, reviewing the implementation of the EPCS program, which provides practical support with the transition to independence.
Expressions of interest are currently being sought from eligible young people until Monday, 12 August.
If you have been in out-of-home care, are aged 18 or 19, live in Queensland and have knowledge of the EPCS program, express your interest today.
Opportunities
The 2024 Mission Australia Youth Survey is now open for 15-19 year olds.
Queer Futures Fund and Future Me Fund applications now open to LGBTQIA+SB young people.
Advocates aged 13-18 are encouraged to apply to join NAPCAN’s Youth Speak Out Council.
NAPCAN is looking for art entries from young people all across Australia. Find out more.
News
Ms McCarthy is also Senator for the Northern Territory and a passionate advocate for First Nations people and communities. Congratulations Senator McCarthy and we look forward to your thought-leadership and strong vision to close the gap.
Transferring the case management of Aboriginal children to ACCOs must be accelerated nationally as ACCOs are leading the way in keeping First Nations families together and with their communities. CREATE supports the Aboriginal community-controlled sector in calling for adequate and proportionate resourcing of ACCOs to meet the needs of Aboriginal children, families and communities in culturally safe ways.
Latest research and reports
Opportunities
News
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CREATE strongly agrees with the Advocate’s endorsement of the recommendations in the Auditor-General’s Reports released on 6 June 2024 entitled Oversight of the child protection system (Oversight Report) and Safeguarding the rights of Aboriginal children in the child protection system. This includes implementing a strategy to end the use of ACAs for children in out of home care. We are pleased to see recommendations that prioritise the health and wellbeing of children and young people who have experienced ACAs via investment and appropriate support services. This strongly aligns with recommendations in our submission to this consultation process. CREATE also values seeing the words of the young people we support elevated and acknowledged in the Final Report as their words help to provide further insights into what constitutes safety and security. We hope to see the NSW Government deeply consider the Advocate’s recommendations and commit to a implementation plan.
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Unfortunately these statistics highlight that the state is no parent and sadly, sometimes the “care” is missing in the care system. CREATE awaits the findings of the maladministration investigation by the NSW Ombudsman into the Department of Communities and Justice. We hope that this investigation will ignite a very strong case for reform.
News
New Consultative Council in Tasmania called ‘The Voices for Tasmanian Youth’.
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CREATE congratulates the Commissioner for Children and Young People on the establishment of the new Consultative Council called ‘The Voices for Tasmanian Youth’. This is a really positive step forward to valuing the voices and lived experience of children and young people in the policy development and reform process. CREATE also applauds the Commissioner’s work to ensure the voices diverse identities, backgrounds, and experiences from communities across Tasmania. Here at CREATE we know that the voices of children and young people with a care experience are so powerful in driving meaningful and impactful change to systems.
Taskforce accelerating youth justice reforms in Tasmania.
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CREATE welcomes the news that a new multi-agency taskforce is accelerating work already underway to reform the youth justice system, through the Tasmanian Government’s Youth Justice Blueprint 2024-2034. CREATE urges all stakeholder involved in this process to engage in genuine and meaningful consultation with children and young people in contact with the youth justice system in Tasmania (especially those who are also in contact with the care system) to better meet their needs as part of these reforms.
Opportunities
Sign the Petition to Increase the Care Allowance in Victoria.
News
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It is distressing to hear reports of the forced removal of an Aboriginal child from their mother’s arms in Victoria.
In the spirit of self-determination, we support Sue-Anne Hunter (Deputy chair of the Yoorrook Justice Commission) in calling for a First Nations led child-protection system focused on prevention, and early intervention that supports families staying together where possible.
Opportunities
News
$17 million investment to support foster and family carers in Western Australia.
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CREATE welcomes the announcement from the Western Australian Government that a $17 million investment will be made for the continuation and expansion of support services for foster and family carers. This will enable the continuation of Family Carer Support Services (FCSS) in Perth, Pilbara, East Kimberley, West Kimberley and the Wheatbelt. FCSS provides flexible and practical in-home support for family carers, including helping to develop their skills and support networks to provide a stable and nurturing environment for children in care. CREATE knows that when carers feel supported, this can help to ensure the children and young people in their care are supported.
News
The SA Government will extend the Mockingbird Foster Program.
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CREATE was excited to hear that the Mockingbird Foster program has been extended in South Australia! The Mockingbird foster program is supporting 50 children with an out of homecare experience thorough six Mockingbird ‘constellations’ in Adelaide and the Hills. This program aims to provide an extended family like hub for local kinship, foster carers, children and young people, for whom they care to share ideas and advice with, meet for social activities and create connections. This can provide opportunities that include extended family like activities such as celebrating birthdays together and forming close connections. Overall, this program is creating better placement stability for children and young people, enables siblings to be placed either within the same family or constellation and supports carers to create strong bonds with other carers, which reduces a reliance on the Department of Child Protection! Read more here: Mockingbird Foster program. We hope to see funding for this program continue, to enable delivery and expansion of MOCKINGBIRD Satellite Families and Constellations right across the State.
Submissions
Submission to the South Australian Government: Alcohol and Other Drug Strategy 2024 – 2030
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CREATE provided feedback to the Government of South Australia’s development of the South Australian Alcohol and Other Drug Strategy 2024-2030. In line with our mission and guided by the voices of young people, our submission focused on the needs of children and young people with an out of home care experience in South Australia. CREATE advocated for the inclusion of children and young people with a care experience as a priority cohort within this strategy. CREATE strongly recommended that the South Australian Alcohol and Other Drug Strategy 2024-2030 establishes a lived experienced advisory group with young people from priority populations across South Australia to provide insight into their experiences of alcohol and other drug use, and to contribute to a knowledge base focused on prevention, disruption to supply, intervention and supports. CREATE strongly recommended that the South Australian Alcohol and Other Drug Strategy 2024-2030 integrates targeted interventions and support mechanisms specifically designed for children and young people with an out of home care experience.
News
Leading Northern Territory Organisations pen open letter to end the over-reliance on prisons.
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CREATE welcomes news that a coalition of Territory community leaders have called for all sides of politics to adopt “smarter” justice policies to combat the cycle of prison and reoffending. In their open letter they are advocating for 3 key actions fully implementing the Aboriginal Justice Agreement; reducing the number of young people in contact with out-of-home care, police and custody; and investing in alternatives to prison.
CREATE wholeheartedly supports these calls for action and is also calling on all sides of politics in the lead up to the Territory election to make a firm commitment to ensure that they place the needs of the most vulnerable Territorians, especially children and young people in contact with the care system, at the heart of policy decisions for the coming years. Read more here.
Opportunities
Submissions
Submission on the Draft Charter for Carers involved with ACT child protection services.
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CREATE provided feedback to the ACT Government on the Draft Charter for Carers involved with ACT child protection services. We argued that while these frameworks attempt to bolster transparency and build trust between the ACT Government and those in contact with the child protection system including children, young people, vulnerable families, and carers, that there needs to be a clear and public process to monitor and evaluate how the rights contained in the Charter are implemented and supported in practice. CREATE’s substantive feedback on the Draft Charter reflected the concerns raised by children and young people with a care experience in the ACT. This includes involvement decision making, the protection of their rights in care, and need for greater transparency and communication (in age and developmentally appropriate ways) from the adults in their lives including their carers and child protection workers.
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Thank you for reading our Advocacy Wrap Up. To provide feedback, please email marketing@create.org.au
