Pg 14
PLUS
Child Protection Awards
Tiny homes for young people
New sports partnerships
Grants program provides support
Rugs made with love
Rugs with Love knitters Pauline Glover and Doone Winnall
Welcome to Partner
Contents
Strong results from Family Group Conferences
An independent report has found children and young people who participate in Family Group Conferences (FGC) are significantly less likely to be later maltreated or be placed in care.
FGCs are a facilitated process where families work together to make decisions that protect a child or young person at risk of harm and possible removal. It’s focused on improving the lives of children, young people and their families, with a particular focus on Aboriginal families and communities.
DCP commissioned the evaluation, completed by the University of South Australia’s Australian Centre for Child Protection (ACCP). It assessed the implementation and outcomes from conferences held in South Australia from 1 January 2020 to 31 January 2024.
The evaluation assessed organisational and administrative data, case files, surveys with families and feedback from focus groups, and surveys and interviews with professionals involved with FGCs.
The report’s findings included high levels of satisfaction for families involved in FGCs and strong outcomes related to the effectiveness of the conferences compared with matched comparison groups.
It found children and young people who participated in FGCs with their families, including those on short-term orders and Aboriginal children and young people, were less likely to be placed into care. The program was also found to reduce the risk of unborn children being placed into care after their birth.
Notably, children and young people in the comparison groups where conferences did not take place were up to 150 per cent more likely to be placed in care.
The evaluation found areas for potential improvement included embedding family-led decision making further into DCP practice and further support for families implementing their plans after Family Group Conferences.
The report also recommended an expansion of the program and additional referral pathways.
During 2023-24, 284 conferences were held, involving 538 children. This includes 125 Aboriginal families with 241 Aboriginal children and young people. Of these families, 91.5 per cent (90.4 per cent of Aboriginal families) continued to care for their children after the conference.
The department will now fully consider the ACCP report’s findings and recommendations.
Message from CE Jackie Bray
The village will provide self-contained accommodation for 16-18 year olds who are moving into independence and adulthood.
Dear sector colleagues
This is the second edition of our new-look Partner magazine and I would like to thank all of you for your lovely feedback following the first, featuring young baker Peter Griffiths on the cover. It was a huge success and made all the hard work worthwhile.
This edition features the wonderful work of Pauline Glover and her Rugs with Love team of knitters. The Rugs with Love volunteers have donated 2700 blankets to children and young people in care over the past 18 years, and they’re still going strong.
We also feature two vital partnerships with the suppliers of much needed accommodation for young people transitioning out of the care system.
Junction Australia is in the process of developing a Tiny Homes Campus of 10 selfcontained pods to be located on Housing SA land in Adelaide’s south. The village will provide self-contained accommodation for 16-18 year olds who are moving into independence and adulthood.
Then there are the fabulous Peter and Laura and their experience with the Kids Under Cover
program, which provides for the construction of one-and-two-bedroom studios on the properties of carers to assist young people transitioning out of care, or at risk of homelessness.
Peter and Laura care for five children and young people, and the new studio in their back yard provides much needed space for their busy home.
Other articles feature the new peak body for Aboriginal children and families Wakwakurna Kanyini, which means ‘holding on to our children’, and our growing partnership with Catholic Education SA (CESA).
An incredible 500 children and young people in care now benefit from full scholarships at South Australian catholic schools.
Last and by no means least, we have the full list of winners from the South Australian Child Protection Awards. The awards celebrate the outstanding achievements of children and young people, carers, volunteers, staff and organisations from across the child protection sector.
Well done to all the winners – your efforts are so inspirational.
Ngaityalya (thank you – Kaurna)
Outstanding SA Child Protection Awards winners
One of the true pillars of the child protection system has been named among recipients in the SA Child Protection Awards, which also honour young people and others working tirelessly to improve children’s lives.
Sue Barr, who recently retired from her role as Executive Director, Out of Home Care at the Department for Child Protection, received the Minister for Child Protection Lifetime Achievement Award.
Sue worked for the state government for 37 years before she retired, beginning her career as a psychologist in education before joining what was then the Department of Community Welfare in 1989.
She was a pioneer for helping create safe environments for children and young people in South Australia, moving through clinical, operational, strategic policy, management and executive roles across metropolitan and country SA.
DCP Chief Executive Jackie Bray said Sue’s dedication to her role, supporting her teams, the non-government sector, carers and the children and young people of our state was evident.
All up 12 awards were presented during the ceremony on Friday 6 September at Adelaide Oval.
Other recipients included Yorke Peninsula couple Margie and Gary Ferrett, who were named Foster Carers of the Year. They cared for more than 300 children over 30 years before recently retiring.
Keshia and Dale Mildwaters were named Kinship Carers of the Year. They care for three children from a sibling group of eight.
Young Ngarrindjeri woman Jacinta, 20, who spent most of her childhood in care, received the award for Outstanding Achievement of a Child or Young Person. She started caring for a newborn when she was just 19 years old.
“I want to again acknowledge the record number of nominations we received this year, and all the finalists who attended the awards,” Jackie said. “Congratulations to everyone involved.
“Each and every finalist represents excellence in their field.
“These Awards highlight the incredibly important and innovative work being done to support children and young people in South Australia.”
Here is the full uninterrupted video of the Child Protection Awards ceremony.
Sue Barr with CE Jackie Bray
The WINNERS
• Outstanding Achievement of a Child or Young Person: Jacinta
• Active Efforts Award: Iga Warta Cultural Camp, AnglicareSA
• Outstanding Service Award – Positive Impact: The Young Parent Project, Junction Australia
• Outstanding Service Award – Wellbeing and Development: Australian Dental Foundation
• Outstanding Service Award – Sector Development: Australia’s First Mockingbird Family Researchers, Flinders University
• Outstanding Service Award – Regional Impact: Kerry Court, Uniting Country SA
• South Australian Foster Carer of the Year: Margie and Gary Ferrett
• South Australian Kinship Carer of the Year: Keshia and Dale Mildwaters
• Volunteer of the Year: Hubertus Dirix
• The Voice of Children and Young People in Care: Living Arts Program, Life Without Barriers
• Community Service Award: Operation Flinders Adventure Mentoring program, Operation Flinders Foundation
• Minister for Child Protection Lifetime Achievement Award: Sue Barr
Outstanding Achievement of a Child or Young Person Winner Jacinta and finalist Peter
Big Plans for Tiny Homes Campus
Construction has begun on an innovative project providing crucial tiny-home style housing for young people transitioning out of the care system.
A render of the planned Tiny Homes Campus and images of the prototype Tiny Homes interior.
Loving new family for two little brothers
The re-united brothers
Everyone went out and bought nappies, food, a port-a-cot – everything a two-yearold needs turned up at our door that night.
When prospective foster carer Megan got the call, she had just four hours to prepare.
Before she knew it little Alex*, just two years old, was on her doorstep.
“We’re lucky we had a support unit,” Megan said.
“Everyone went out and bought nappies, food, a port-a-cot – everything a two-year-old needs turned up at our door that night.”
Megan and her partner James, both 43, who are supported by provider Key Assets, had spent the previous year training and preparing to become foster carers.
But were they ready when the Department for Child Protection team arrived with babe in arms?
“We panicked … and just got on with it,” Megan said.
“He’s a very easy child and he settled really quickly.
“We asked if he would like a bath, and he agreed. Later on we just said, ‘Okay, time for bed’.”
But the foster journey for Megan, a teacher, and James, who works in road construction, was only just beginning.
Alex had an older brother, five-year-old Leo*, and a few months later, last October, he also joined the family.
The re-unification of siblings in care is a major priority for the department, and Megan and James were on board.
“We just wanted to settle Alex first,” Megan said.
“We did sibling visits with Leo, and got to know him that way. Then there were weekend visits and sleepovers.
“In October we just asked, ‘What’s happening with Leo’, and Leo said he wanted to stay.”
Leo has also settled quickly, and has now started school.
Both boys are having swimming lessons, playing footy and the family is planning a trip to visit James’ family in New Zealand at Christmas.
“I don’t know if we’re in the honeymoon period but they’ve both been very good,” Megan said.
“They’re loving life at the moment and are sleeping through the night.
“We’re bracing for the storm but it hasn’t happened yet.”
Megan said the process to become foster carers was comprehensive but worth it.
She said the couple couldn’t have children and didn’t want to adopt overseas.
“The questions need to be asked,” she said of the process. “You don’t want the wrong people.
“We’ve always said we’re open books.
“We met and wanted to be parents.
“But it’s just about the kids, that’s our need.
“So it has worked out.”
*Names have been changed for privacy reasons
Dame Roma Mitchell Trust helps young mother to degree
By any measure, Gemma Jagla has accomplished an awful lot for someone so young.
The 24-year-old who grew up in care is now a married mother of three, who returned to school and graduated with a degree in midwifery, winning academic accolades along the way.
She now works as a midwife at the Flinders Medical Centre and attributes her success to three things – her supportive husband and children, her foster family, and the Dame Roma Mitchell Trust.
Grants from the trust, which supports young people with a care experience, funded a desk, computer and crucial textbooks so Gemma could complete her degree.
“Oh, my God it made all the difference,” she said of the grants.
“When I first got the grant, I didn’t have the same advantages a lot of other students have from their parents. The books especially can be quite expensive.”
Those books certainly paid off too –Gemma was awarded a Chancellor’s Letter of Commendation for academic excellence in 2022, the year she graduated from Flinders.
“I received high distinctions in many topics,” she said, “but I had the right resources.” Gemma entered care at the age of four, and came under Karen’s full time care at eight. Karen, a teacher and single carer, encouraged Gemma to pursue her education even though she had her first daughter Saphira at 16.
“I knew there was an expectation to go to uni,” she said. “And Karen and her family really helped.
“She also took on that important grandparent role for my kids that I needed.
“I was pregnant with my second daughter Elara when I started year 11 under a program
for young mothers.
“I then started a bridging course, Foundation Studies, where I got distinctions and an ATAR high enough to be accepted into midwifery.
“I thought I would have been super disadvantaged being a young mother, but I was 18, so I was probably exactly where I was meant to be.”
Gemma is now married and also has a three-year-old son Rivyn.
She said being a young mother often helps in her job.
“We get a lot of young mums in here,” she said. “I can relate to them.”
Gemma, who is now reconciled with her very proud mother, said growing up in care was difficult, but happily admits she may not have had the same opportunities if Karen hadn’t been there to support her.
“Growing up in care was very confusing, having both a biological and foster mother,” Gemma said.
And does she think growing up in care contributed to her decision to have a family so young?
“Definitely,” she said. “The statistics show that females in care will often become young mothers searching for that unconditional love.
“I feel I got some sort of healing through it.
“It heals my inner child, and once I got my first daughter, I feel it gave me a sense of direction and purpose.
“Before I had her, I was quite confused and destructive to myself.
“I felt I had to lead by example, so every single day I thought, I’ve got to show these kids.”
Visit the DCP website for more information and to apply for a Dame Roma Mitchell Trust grant.
Karen, Gemma and her daughter Saphira
They accommodated her beautifully, so when she started school this year nothing was foreign and she was able to manage her big feelings
Rachel Smith in New York
Scholarship provides wonderful opportunity for little girl in care
Rachel Smith’s foster care journey began in a park in New York in December 2018.
She was on holiday, and in her own words living her best life.
“I was sitting on a park bench and thinking about my next step in life,” she said, “and a soccer ball hit me on the leg.
“A beautiful little boy came over, I kicked it back to him, looked up and realised I was sitting next to an orphanage.
“I decided then I wanted to provide for a child that was already here; provide a positive and safe family environment.
“I came back home and started the training.” Fast forward six years and Rachel, 50, who works in marketing and is supported by Lutheran Care, now cares for a young girl with special needs.
Last year, she applied for and received a scholarship for the girl with Catholic Education South Australia (CESA) at St John Bosco School in Brooklyn Park.
She’s among 500 children and young people in care now benefiting from the generous scholarships provided by CESA in partnership with the Department for Child Protection.
“The program is amazing,” Rachel said.
“She started last year in the Little Boscos –normally it lasts for two terms but they took her for the full year.
“She struggles with new environments and doesn’t like a lot of change.
“They accommodated her beautifully, so when she started school this year nothing was foreign and she was able to manage her big feelings.
“She’s in a comfortable place and the school is phenomenal; they’re really open to new things and really supportive of her therapy.”
The scholarship program has grown steadily over the past four years. Initially 100 scholarships were offered per year, increasing to 200 and then 400.
CESA now offers an unlimited number of placements for children and young people in care to attend the state’s Catholic schools fee free.
More than 100 students in care have been offered the scholarships this year alone, which include uniforms, textbooks, excursions and extracurricular activities, each year until the student completes their schooling.
Rachel, a single mum, heard about the scholarships from friends who also have children in care.
“I did my research and asked my DCP worker to help me apply,” she said. “It was a very easy process. It turned out to be the best outcome –the school welcomed both of us.”
Rachel’s new life as the carer of a little girl has gratefully helped her to reassess her notion of ‘best life’.
“At the time (in New York) I thought I was living it,” she said, “but the past four years have gone in the blink of an eye. It’s certainly a different life to the one I had.
“Raising a child has its challenges but I now have a life filled with a lot of love, and a lot of laughter.”
Visit the DCP website for more information on CESA scholarships, or to become a foster carer.
We don’t know who the kids are, we just hope they love them
Rugs with Love knitters Pauline Glover and Doone Winnall, and the group’s exhibition at Plympton
It all started with a couple of friends who liked to knit.
Now 18 years later, Rugs with Love has donated 2700 blankets, mostly to children and young people in residential care.
Most recently it was 210 blankets to young people who live in the Enfield, Morphett Vale and Salisbury areas.
“This year we had quite a few older kids, so they were good for snuggling on the couch watching TV,” said Rugs with Love founding member Pauline Glover.
“We try to share them around – last year rugs went to Port Augusta, Whyalla and Mount Gambier.”
Rugs with Love this year conducted its 17th annual exhibition, spectacularly filling the Church of Good Shepherd at Plympton with blankets.
The blankets were then donated to DCP and a couple of other worthy causes, such as a family of Afghan refugees, palliative care patients at the Flinders Medical Centre and a nursing home at Elliston.
But children in care are the group’s main beneficiaries.
“We don’t know who the kids are,” Pauline said of the children who get the blankets. “We just hope they love them.”
Pauline, 77, a retired Professor of Midwifery at Flinders University, said Rugs with Love now had a core group of nine ferocious knitters, who meet once a month.
“We just sit around, have some ‘bubbles’, put the rugs together and chat; we support each other when we are confronted with partner deaths, sickness or other life changing events,” Pauline said.
Fellow Rugs with Love knitter Doone Winnall said she looks forward to knitting every day.
“When I get up, I have a cup of coffee and knit a few rows before breakfast.”
Pauline is equally committed.
“I knit every night while I watch TV. I even knit on the tram and at meetings and always have my knitting in my bag,” she said.
Most of the material the group uses is donated, including bags of wool, which periodically land on Pauline’s veranda.
“Sometimes I have no idea who leaves it there,” she said.
And while Rugs with Love is still going strong, Pauline doesn’t know how much longer the group will be able to keep on knitting.
Most members are in their 70s, and a few are in their 80s, while a couple in their 90s have recently retired.
But she does realise that the group’s contribution has been enormous.
“We are a group of older women doing something fantabulous,” she said.
If there is one regret, Pauline wishes she had kept better track of how many blankets she has personally made.
Her major job is sewing the fabric backing on each of the knitted rugs - which is a lot of sewing.
“I reckon my sewing machine’s been around Australia a couple of times,” she said.
for blossoming foster family Studio provides valuable room
It just means we can breathe and have more space; it’s certainly made a difference to the stress levels in the house
Picture: Peter and Laura with Loki the poodle at the doorstep of the family’s new Kids Under Cover studio
All foster carers Peter and Laura needed was a little more space.
Peter and Laura, who are supported by Anglicare, have guardianship of a 17-year-old boy, and foster a brother and sister aged nine and seven.
They also occasionally care for a 14-year-old girl and provide respite care for a three-year-old. Then there’s their two adult daughters.
So, life was a little hectic in their north-eastern suburbs home when they were offered a studio through the Kids Under Cover program.
The program provides for the construction of one-and-twobedroom studios on the property of carers, for children and young people transitioning out of care, or at risk of homelessness.
“The 14-year-old girl said she can’t stay at mum’s and can’t stay at dad’s, so she was just basically camping here,” Laura said.
That’s when Uniting Communities, which supported the girl, offered to organise the two-bedroom studio through Kids Under Cover.
The demountable studio was installed in their backyard just before Easter.
Peter and Laura’s adult daughter now temporarily lives in the studio, freeing up space in the main house for the younger foster children.
They expect the 17-year-old to move into the studio as he gets older and transitions out of care.
“It just means we can breathe and have more space,” Peter said. “It’s certainly made a difference to the stress levels in the house.”
Peter and Laura were impressed how smooth the process had been through the planning and construction phases.
Laura said the studio provided valuable flexibility for the family, which had already moved once to cater for all the children.
“Otherwise, we’d just have to say ‘no’,” she said of caring for more children.
“You just can’t keep moving house. We now have options and everybody gets space.”
Peter said the studios were a great idea.
“It could make the difference of a carer keeping a child,” he said.
“It’s particularly pertinent with the housing crisis - even if a kid can live independently, they can’t find anywhere, so it’s brilliant.”
Kids Under Cover CEO Stephen Nash agrees.
“They give young people the space to thrive,” he said of the studios. “They’re really helpful in situations of stress and where young people are at a risk of homelessness or are entering care. A pressure-release valve.
“Studios keep young people connected to families, school, friends and their community.”
The studios are manufactured in Victoria, trucked to location, and assembled in just 10 days by an SA builder.
Drop-in arts program creates creative children
When many of the children first came, they would barely talk to us … now they run up and show us what they’ve done at home and chat non-stop
Picture: The Pom Pom studio
An innovative arts program offered by DCP partner Carclew is giving children in care a valuable chance to express themselves.
The Pom Pom program operates on a drop-in basis for children up to age 12, out of the Davoren Park Shopping Centre every Saturday.
It extends to Monday-to-Friday during school holidays, and is free.
Pom Pom teaching artist Chloe Noble said the program was about engaging children and their families with contemporary artists.
“I’m a painter and digital artist,” she said, “but sometimes I do workshops in paper-craft and cardboard to make it easily accessible for kids to continue to do at home.
“Children can work in clay, paint, or paper – just some of the many options available in workshops from our many artists of different disciplines.”
Carclew is Australia’s largest multiartform cultural institution dedicated to children and young people.
It delivers Pom Pom in partnership with Anglicare SA and Playford Communities for Children, and is among several outreach programs offered by the arts organisation, which is based at historic Carclew House in North Adelaide.
Carclew also offers an arts-based OSCH holiday program, an Explore Arts school holiday program suitable for 5-17 year olds, and Stage Sparks, a free performing arts program for young people based in the southern suburbs.
Carclew often partners with DCP to provide free services to children in care.
Chloe has been involved in the Pom Pom program since 2020, and in that time has seen many of the children grow in creative skills and confidence.
“We have quite a big range of ages and personalities,” she said.
“When many of the children first came,
they would barely talk to us.
“Now they run up and show us what they’ve done at home and chat non-stop.
“The program is also a great way to show the children that being a professional artist is an option available for them.”
Chloe said Pom Pom also offered a sensory-friendly hour, designed to reduce anxiety and sensory stress by providing a quieter and less stimulating environment.
It is held immediately before the main sessions, which run from 11am-3pm.
That part of the program has to be booked to keep numbers low.
“It’s designed to minimise sensory overload and creates a more calming environment,” Chloe said.
“It’s basically for any child who is neuro-divergent, but also children who are shy and prefer to be in a quieter environment.”
More information on Carclew’s many programs for children and youths is available on its website
Chloe Noble
Sport partnerships empowering vulnerable kids
A new program to engage vulnerable children and young people in sport is already proving highly successful.
The Plan of Action has been developed by DCP and the Office for Recreation, Sport and Racing to better support children and young people in care to lead healthy, active lives.
A key part of the plan is the formalisation of partnerships with sport and recreation organisations.
The Adelaide Football Club (AFC) and the Port Adelaide Football Club (PAFC) have already jumped on board, providing hundreds of tickets to games for children in care.
Netball SA also offered tickets for children in care to Thunderbirds matches during their grand final winning Super Netball campaign.
The Crows and DCP recently held a consultation event and an AFL “come and try” program for caregivers and children in care.
Over the past two years, the Crows have provided 800 tickets to matches through their Crows Care Program, which was nominated in the Community Service category at the SA Child Protection Awards this year.
Adelaide Football Club Chief Executive Tim Silvers said the club was always looking for ways to use the power of sport to make a positive impact.
“It’s a key part of what we stand for as a club,” he said.
“In this instance, we want to ensure children in care have regular opportunities to benefit from the uplifting experiences that footy can provide.”
PAFC’s community arm, Power Community Limited, earlier this year signed a Memorandum of Understanding to support children in care through clinics, carnivals, school programs, events and ticketing.
Power Community Limited General Manager Jake Battifuoco said his organisation had a longstanding relationship with DCP.
“We are excited to strengthen our partnership recognising sport is a powerful tool to develop lifelong skills and that young people in care should be afforded the same opportunities as others to thrive,” he said.
Netball SA CEO Bronwyn Klei is incredibly proud to work with DCP.
“We were pleased to host a number of children in care at our School Holiday Clinics in 2024, introducing them to the many benefits our sport can add to a child’s life,” she said.
“You can’t be what you can’t see, so bringing these children closer to the best netballers in the world at our Adelaide Thunderbirds games was an opportunity to show them what’s possible.
“Netball is a place where everyone belongs, and we’re committed to ensuring it continues to be a sport for all.”
A key focus for the plan will be increasing understanding of childhood trauma for clubs, coaches, volunteers and administration staff, associations and local government.
The plan also strives to improve the access to sport by better distributing sports voucher funding and by establishing a sports equipment donation scheme for children in care.
It’s a key part of what we stand for as a club
AFLW players Georgie Jaques (Port, left) and Najwa Allen (Crows, right) with Netball SA CEO Bronwyn Klei (centre)
South Australians have been encouraged to open their hearts and homes to children and young people in need of care.
The digital advertising campaign, themed ‘Foster the Feeling’, encouraged those who have considered caring for a child to take the next step and become an approved carer.
The state has about 2700 kinship and fosters carers, but we need more.
The campaign is built on the universal feeling people experience at some point in their lives regardless of age, culture or background. It’s a notion that captures a moment or a point in time that triggers a powerful ‘feeling’ of pure joy and happiness that a carer and child would relate to as part of their journey together, whether it be a foster, kinship, respite, shortterm or a long-term care arrangement.
Neuropsychology and business marketing student Jess, who spent several of her early teenage years in care, said she had an overwhelmingly positive experience with the foster and kinship carers who looked after her.
“They provide so much love and support and they go into that role probably not realising how much they can change a child’s life,” she said.
“I found the stability and support I received allowed me to simply be a child.
“It allowed me to thrive in areas of my school and to develop and maintain friendships.
“It was their encouragement and having an adult to believe in you and to encourage you along your way.”
Department for Child Protection Chief Executive Jackie Bray said while the challenges carers faced can be immense, they were putting the wellbeing of children first.
“The impact they are ultimately having on their lives is extraordinary,” she said.
“We are constantly in awe of the commitment and tenacity carers show in their efforts to strengthen children’s lives and keep them safe and supported to reach their goals.
Jackie said a family-based care environment was the preferred care setting for most children.
“It provides a greater sense of belonging and the opportunity to form stronger carer-child relationships when such placements have proven to be safe and stable over time,” she said.
Those interested in becoming a carer can visit fostercare. sa.gov.au.
New peak body for Aboriginal children and families
We are looking forward to advancing outcomes for Aboriginal children across SA and drive genuine reform in the child protection system
Wakwakurna Kanyini CEO Ashum Owen
Work to establish a peak body to amplify the voices of South Australian Aboriginal children and families has taken a giant step with the appointment of its inaugural CEO, Kaurna, Narungga and Ngarrindjeri woman Ashum Owen.
The state government has invested $3.2 million into the body, named Wakwakurna Kanyini meaning ‘holding on to our children’.
The name was chosen to reflect the peak’s aim of caring for and nurturing children.
Wakwakurna is the Kaurna word for children, while Kanyini is a Pitjantjatjara word with a complex meaning that loosely translates to interconnectedness, nurture and support for family, country and community.
Wakwakurna Kanyini will be a strong and independent community voice that will provide leadership on the representation of community-led priorities to the state government. It will focus on improving outcomes for Aboriginal children and families and on building the capacity of the Aboriginal
community-controlled sector to provide services to families in need.
Interim Board Member Sandra Miller said Wakwakurna Kanyini was vital to the wellbeing of Aboriginal families.
“Our newly-formed peak body now has a name reflective of our aim, the culmination of decades of advocacy to strengthen the care, protection and rights of Aboriginal children,” she said.
“We are looking forward to advancing outcomes for Aboriginal children across South Australia and drive genuine reform in the child protection system.”
The peak body’s establishment is being guided by its steering committee, supported by national peak SNAICC – National Voice for Our Children.
Minister for Child Protection Katrine Hildyard said she was grateful to the steering group for its work towards the establishment of this crucial body.
New CEO and Chair for CREATE Foundation
CREATE Foundation has appointed a new Chief Executive Officer and has a new Chair.
Imogen Edeson succeeds Jacqui Reed as CEO, bringing with her a wealth of experience and a deep commitment to CREATE’s mission.
She joins new Chair Jann Skinner at the foundation, which advocates for improving the lives of children and young people with a care experience.
Jann said Imogen has been an integral part of CREATE as Deputy CEO, and her advancement to the CEO role reflects her visionary and strategic leadership, and dedication to improving the lives of children and young people with a care experience.
She has 20 years of experience in policy, advocacy, community development and reform.
Imogen said her commitment to young people was to listen to them.
“We will show up for you, and we will find ways to make sure your voices are listened to by others, so we can help make things better for all kids in care,” she said. “Your voices matter. Your experiences make you the experts.
“My wish for you is that you feel seen and heard and supported. That your rights are always respected. That the adults around you listen deeply to you and act on what you say about what you need.
“CREATE exists to help you connect with community, feel empowered and influence change to make things better for all kids. To do this, we will listen to you as the leaders who are best placed to define the changes we need to see to improve things for kids in care.”
Jann said Imogen’s work has centred on driving meaningful change across social service systems.
“Her expertise in sensitively translating lived experience into policy, practice and system advice has been instrumental in empowering young people and enhancing our service delivery and impact as a systems advocate,” she said.
“Imogen is highly regarded for her adaptive and collaborative leadership, knowledge of social policy, and commitment to social justice, human rights, equity and inclusion.
“Her understanding of complex social reforms and commitment to amplifying the voices of individuals with lived experience will continue to strengthen CREATE’s operations and impact.”
Jann has been a member of the CREATE board since 2006, and brings long-term insights and a rich understanding of CREATE’s history to the Chair role.
“At CREATE, we remain steadfast in our mission to deliver high-value programs for young people and thoughtful advocacy,” she said.
“We look forward to driving positive change across care and protection systems, based on what children and young people tell us.”
CREATE CEO Imogen Edeson
Chair Jann Skinner
Consultation period for new legislation closes
The crucial final consultation phase for the new Children and Young People (Safety and Support) Bill 2024 has now closed.
The bill was developed following a review of the Children and Young People (Safety) Act 2017, which included a preliminary state-wide consultation process, where more than 900 people provided their views.
That review was an opportunity to rigorously examine and improve the central legislative framework through which South Australia’s child protection and family support system operates.
It comprised in-person forums, online surveys, written submissions and targeted discussions with Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people across metropolitan and regional South Australia.
The government considered more than 102 survey responses and 83 formal submissions as part its review.
The level and depth of feedback received from across the sector reinforced the need for fundamental reform of the child and family support system.
The bill seeks to reflect the feedback received, to reconcile the many views and perspectives, and to re-define what the system looks like going forward in a way that reflects community values and expectations.
Proposed changes include:
• A new framework that enables all parts of the system to recognise and deliver on their role in keeping children and young people safe and supported, including through a new State Strategy for Children and Young People
• Recognising the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and re-inserting the consideration of the best interests in all decision-making under the Act, while retaining safety as the paramount consideration
• Ensuring a central focus on the voice of the child by enabling greater participation in decision making, and provisions that better protect their rights.
• Supporting the goal of an Aboriginal-led sector for Aboriginal children and young people by embedding the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle to the standard of active efforts
• Enabling the delegation of legislative authority to Aboriginal entities including Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisations (ACCOs) and requiring that Family Group Conferencing is made available to all Aboriginal families that are the subject of a screened in notification
• Embedding the Statement of Commitment to foster and kinship carers and strengthening the participation of carers in significant decisions relating to children in their care.
• Streamlining requirements for mandatory reporters
The bill is expected to go before parliament later this year.
Building the child protection workforce for the future
Work has begun on a bold plan to build a robust, highly-trained workforce to meet the needs of South Australia’s child protection sector.
DCP formulated the Workforce Strategy for the Child Protection and Family Support Sector following an extensive consultation process.
That included a sector-wide summit last year and consultation with heads of industry, universities, unions, Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) and Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCOs).
Skills and training organisations, peak sector bodies, public sector agencies and members of the public also contributed.
The strategy aims to address workforce turnover and retention challenges faced by child protection and family support sector organisations across Australia.
DCP Chief Executive Jackie Bray said the next step was bringing the plan to life and establishing the required governance structures.
“This achievement would not have been possible without the support of our partners, and I thank you all for your crucial feedback,” Jackie said.
“This is not just a challenge for government, but for the whole community, and the sector has responded admirably in building a strategy that benefits everyone.
“So, like you, I look forward to watching our workforce grow in skill and numbers and seeing the benefits to children and young people in our care and their families.”
Another target is developing the Aboriginal workforce to support SA’s commitments under Closing the Gap to build the Aboriginal Community-Controlled sector and transform mainstream services so they better support Aboriginal people.
The strategy targets initiatives across three main pillars to gain, train, and retain a skilled and well supported workforce to keep vulnerable children safe, cared for and nurtured.
Gain
Position the sector as offering an attractive and rewarding career
Establish diverse pipelines to bring new staff into
Targeted recruitment of Aboriginal staff
Train
Strengthen the job readiness of new recruits
Reform approaches to training and development
Maximise development pathways for Aboriginal
Retain
Promote transferrable skills and pathways across
Embed culturally safe and supported practices
Set foundations for long-term workforce reform
The strategy aligns with South Australia’s commitment to Safe and Supported: The National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children 2021-2031 – First Action Plans.
Innovative program boosts outcomes for children and carers
New research has found an innovative program is helping build stronger relationships between siblings, improving support for foster carers and reducing social isolation among foster families.
Life Without Barriers delivers the MOCKINGBIRD FAMILY™ program in South Australia, with funding from the Department for Child Protection.
There are six Mockingbird “constellations” in Adelaide and the Hills, which bring together local kinship and foster carers to share ideas and advice, meet for social activities and create connections among carers and children and young people in care.
A series of research papers has been completed on MOCKINGBIRD FAMILY™, with the latest finding examples of siblings who did not live together forging stronger connections through the program’s activities. The study evaluating the initiative was a partnership between the department, Life Without Barriers and Flinders University.
“Results underscore the MOCKINGBIRD FAMILY™ as a dynamic extended family network that meaningfully connects siblings, cousins, or close family friends within its constellations,” the study report finds.
“Sibling coplacement and contact provide crucial benefits such as emotional support, stability, shared experiences, and a sense of belonging, contributing to children’s and young people’s development, healing from trauma, and overall wellbeing.”
The study also referred to perceptions that the initiative improves foster carers’ capacity, citing, for example, two respite carers who committed to taking on the long-term care of a brother and sister after the siblings’ previous full-time placement ended.
Helen McLaren, Flinders University’s Associate Professor in the College of Education, Psychology and Social Work said the program was found to reduce carers’ risk of “compassion fatigue”, which can lead to burnout and secondary traumatic stress.
“It gives us hope that it improves stability for carers and stability in placements for children and young people,” she said.
Hanne Brunes, Family Liaison Officer with Life Without Barriers said the MOCKINGBIRD FAMILY™
model works on the idea that it takes a village to raise a family.
“This village is made up of different families involved in caring for children and young people in foster care to create an extended family network that lean on, learn from and support one another like any family network would,” Hanne said.
Carer Jo Van Rooyen says foster care can at times be a lonely place to navigate, but a program in Adelaide’s west is helping turn that on its head.
“You go in bright-eyed and excited and you have all this love to give, but once you’re in it, it can become a lonely place,” Jo says, referring to the fact that friends and relatives don’t always understand the intricacies of foster care.
Jo is “home hub provider” for the western suburbs “constellation” of carers, which means she supports other adults in the group and helps build the social network.
“It normalises the fact that their family might look a bit different to all these other families,” Jo says. “(And) it’s like you’re part of a big family and can learn from each other.”
Jo, 41, and her husband Stefan, 43, started caring for a little boy on a respite basis when their son Ethan was eight years old. Then, about eight months later, they took on the full-time care of a girl, now aged seven.
Jo and Stefan
Registrations have opened for the free VACSWIM summer holiday water safety program. The program, which is provided in partnership with Surf Life Saving SA (SLSSA), runs throughout South Australia during December 2024 and January 2025.
It offers children in care aged 3-12 a free five-day water safety and survival program.
Children who participate will have the opportunity to learn life-saving water safety skills and build their confidence in and around water.
Registrations can be completed by either the child’s carer, their case worker or by residential care staff.
To register for VACSWIM and receive the discount promotion code, visit: vacswimsa.com.au/dcp
To find the most suitable location and check program dates and available places, see vacswimsa.com.au/locations
For further questions, contact VACSWIM directly via vacswim@surflifesavingsa.com.au, ring 8354 6996, or contact CPReform@sa.gov.au
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