Queensland’s Commission of Inquiry into Child Safety handed down its report, making 52 recommendations calling for a shift to adoption and out-of-home care.
The report said that as of March last year, there were 13,500 children in care in Queensland, which is more than any other state and a “measure of failure” (SMH).
The $20 million inquiry investigated the residential care system for children who were unable to live with their parents, family members or be adopted, and called for a strategy to protect young girls after finding significant cases of sexual abuse (SMH).
Commissioner Paul Anastassiou said family-based models should be prioritised over residential care for all children. First Nations stakeholders made “strong submissions” against adoption, but Anastassiou said “the availability of adoption should not be limited by cultural background or ethnicity” (ABC).
Child Safety Minister Amanda Camm said she had “made a policy decision no children under the age of five are to remain in residential care”, but that QLD needs 1,000 more foster carers who will “provide safety, stability and hope” (ABC).
Read more: Kinship carers left broken and abandoned by states (The Saturday Paper).
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