National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children: key learnings

1. National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children: key learnings Brian Babington Chief Executive Officer, Families Australia Coordinator, Coalition of Organisations Committed to the Safety and Wellbeing of Australia’s Children SSPA Conference, 21 September 2012

2. Aims Four focus areas: • The work of Families Australia • The National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children • Role of NGO sector & NGO Coalition on National Framework • Reflections of possible relevance

3. Families Australia • a national, member-based, non-partisan, not-for-profit organisation which strives to improve the wellbeing of all Australian families by initiating, inspiring, informing and influencing national public policy debates. • works to promote a national policy environment in which the needs and interests of families, especially the most vulnerable and marginalised, are heard and addressed.

4. National children’s commissioner Forgotten Australians Families of offenders Substance abuse Policy and community engagement Protecting children Grandparenting Foster care Disability Work and family Medicare & Centrelink Mental health and families National Families Week 10 years: 1 million participants Workplace relations Siblings National Compact Child payments

5. Families Australia Board • Australian Community Children’s Services • Grandparents Australia • Playgroup Australia • Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care • Child and Family Welfare Association of Australia • Mind Australia • Australian Foster Care Association • CREATE Foundation • UnitingCare Australia

6. National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children 2009-2020 • First ever national roadmap • Response to stubbornly high rates of abuse

7. Trends in brief

8. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children In 2010-11: • Indigenous children are 7.5 times as likely to be the subject of substantiations of abuse/neglect as non-Indigenous children June 2011: • Rate of Indigenous children on care and protection orders is 9.5 times the rate for non-Indigenous children • Rate of Indigenous children in out-of-home care is almost 10 times the rate for non-Indigenous children X 7.5 X 9.5 X 10

9. Some causal pathways • 13% children live in households where an adult regularly drunk (Dawe et al, 2008) • In over one-third of child protection case files, 2 or more DV incidents recorded in prior year • In over 50% of child protection case files, parental alcohol abuse is recorded (Dept Child Safety Qld 2008)

10. Genesis • 20+ years of advocacy • 2007 Federal election: ALP seeking ideas • Coalition of Organisations Committed to the Safety and Wellbeing of Australia’s Children: 100+ national level NGOs as united front

11. Some Coalition members

12. Aims • In absence of overarching national legislation, get Commonwealth deeply into field of protecting children • Build NGO voice and, with Commonwealth, support States to improve their performance • Demonstrate how NGOs co-design social policy

13. National Framework established 2009 • Framework negotiated by Governments and NGO Coalition • A paradigm shift on how society values/regards children • Vision: Australia’s children grow up safe and well

14. National Framework • Uses public health model: prevention and integrated service delivery

15. Underpinning concepts • More attention on early intervention and targeted family support services • Greater coordination between universal, secondary and tertiary/statutory services • 75 actions under 12 national priorities

16. Key achievements to date • National standards out-of-home care • National research agenda • National Children’s Commissioner • Development of model for Common Approach to Assessment, Referral and Support • Integrated service delivery trials • Improving data and performance measures

17. Building capacity, building bridges • Promoting greater collaboration between adult and child related services • Helping to overcome siloed responses and have multiple service entry points • Trial in 11 sites • Encouraging results on information sharing and trust building

18. Second action plan • Second three year action plan adopted last month; negotiated between NGO Coalition, States and Commonwealth. • Builds on first plan including BCBB, CAARS, & trialling place-based pooled funding for working with households with complex needs

19. Second action plan (cont’d) • Explore new priorities including in early childhood (identify communities where children at risk and review supports through place-based approaches), disability, family violence, engagement with business, media, community

20. Second action plan (cont’d) • Deliver national priorities including Closing the Gap (eg enhance application of Aboriginal Child Placement Principle), identify carer barriers, share practice on trauma care

21. Enablers • Clear aims • Political opportunity environment • Issues association • Concept saliency

22. What remain our key challenges? • Keeping issue top of mind • Getting substantive reductions in rates of abuse/neglect • Applying sufficient resources • Making it everyone’s business

23. Some reflections • Robust NGO/government partnership important • One size doesn’t fit all; context is everything • NGO unity essential; sense of common purpose helps to park narrow agendas • Passion for change balanced with recognition of playing a long game – changing attitudes and behaviours

24. To conclude • A number of ‘firsts’ • Tripartite model in policy co-design • Intra-NGO collaboration has been high • Required all to shift perspectives • Yet, outcomes for children to be seen • If first action plan was essential scene-setting, expect to see substantive improvements from the second plan.

25. www.familiesaustralia.org.au brian.babington@familiesaustralia.org.au 7 National Circuit, Barton, ACT Ph +61 2 6273 4885