SA: Lowest home placements for kids at risk
Feb 09, 2012
John Gardner MP
Shadow Minister for Families & Communities
Shadow Minister for Housing
Shadow Minister for Disability
Shadow Minister for Youth
SA: Lowest home placements for kids at risk
Children under 12 in out-of-home care are less likely to be in a home-based placement (such as a foster family or extended family) in South Australia than in any other state, according to new Productivity Commission figures.
“Just 90.6 per cent of these vulnerable young children in SA are in a home-based placement, compared with a national average of 97.4 per cent,” Shadow Minister for Families and Communities John Gardner said.
“This is the worst result of all states in Australia.
“By comparison, in NSW where there are nearly 10 times as many children at risk and in need of assistance, they have a 99.7 per cent success rate of finding a home-based placement.
“But it hasn’t always been this way - when the Liberal Party was last in Government we had the best figures in the nation.
“In 2001, according to the same Productivity Commission figures, South Australia had a rate of 99.9 per cent. But we have dropped dramatically since 2005 – under Ministers Jay Weatherill and Jennifer Rankine – to the point where we are now the worst in the country.
“Under Ministers Weatherill and Rankine we regularly saw children placed in motel accommodation.
“But these young children are some of the most vulnerable in our society and need a home environment to have the best chance of succeeding in life.
“New Minister Grace Portolesi must explain to the public why we’re so far behind the rest of Australia and she must take urgent action to fix this problem.”