Children are not being exposed to harm because of a lack of caseworkers and resources, according to a spokesperson for the Department of Family and Community Services (FACS).
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The latest data from FACS shows that 3825 children in Western NSW who were deemed to be at significant risk of harm were not given face-to-face support from a caseworker. However a spokesperson said many of the cases did not require in-person support and other support was provided.
“Other significant work undertaken by FACS frontline staff is not reflected in these data. Children not receiving a completed face-to-face assessment may have received a referral to a service provided by another agency or may have already been engaged with another agency or service at the time of their report.
“Not all children reported at risk of significant harm require a face-to-face child protection response.”
According to the FACS Community Dashboard, there were 5716 reported cases in the 12 months to March and 1891 of those met with caseworkers. The spokesperson said it wasn’t possible to determine how many of the cases had occurred at Dubbo.
FACS has increased the number of children across Western NSW and the state it has carried out face-to-face interviews with, but admits the number of at-risk children is increasing at a greater rate.
Part of the problem for the department has been the battle to fill caseworker vacancies.
In Western NSW, there are still 17 full-time-equivalent positions vacant, but the department said it had recruited the equivalent of seven full-time-equivalent positions since the previous quarter.
“Recruitment action to fill the remaining vacancies is continuing, with some additional caseworkers having already commenced. All vacancies are backfilled as soon as possible, and are managed locally pending recruitment action,” the spokesperson said.
A $500 million increase for child protection services is also expected to help improve the numbers.
“FACS is working hard to improve the response rate and we saw in the recent state budget record investment in the child protection system that will go to improve the support caseworkers need to see more children,” the spokesperson said.
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