Hundreds of children at risk

THERE are 248 Tasmanian children at risk of abuse or neglect who had not been assigned to a caseworker, says Human Services Minister Roger Jaensch.

Budget Estimates was told yesterday that there were 280 children without caseworkers at the end of March.

Mr Jaensch said the number of unassigned cases fluctuated over time, but there were 147 in the state’s South, 54 in the North and 47 in the North-West who did not have caseworkers.

“It’s important to understand that if there is a number given for the number of children in transition or yet to be allocated a case manager in March, you’ll see that those number change every day … so children are moving through the system,” he said.

“The numbers don’t accumulate over time, they change every day.

“These children are being given appropriate oversight by senior team leaders,” he said.

Mr Jaensch began the twohour session set aside for questions on Human Services by spending 10 minutes reading a six-page prepared statement on the Government’s policies in the portfolio, to howls of protest from the Opposition parties.

“It’s a disgraceful waste of the committee’s time,” said Labor leader Rebecca White.

Their complaints were overruled by committee chair Mark Shelton.

Mr Jaensch pointed to the Government’s budget commitment of $24 million for up to 25 new child safety officers and frontline staff, on top of $51.2 million in increased funding for out-of-home care.