Child protection demand on rise
ONE in 33 children in the Far North is at risk of or suffering from abuse and neglect, and not-for-profit organisation Act For Kids is experiencing a 30 per cent increase in demand for its services.
Some 50 child specialists are based at Act For Kids’ office in Bungalow, where children participate in trauma-informed care, and there are a further 100 staff across the Far North.
Regional director David Dini, who was a police officer for 44 years before switching careers, said the increase in notifications was worrying.
“A lot of notifications come through schools, police and child care agencies and of course with Covid last year, a lot of kids were being home schooled so we weren’t getting access to that information,” Mr Dini said.
“After the restrictions lifted we had this rush of notifications coming our way, and unfortunately even now six months into 2021, notifications have gone up by 30 per cent – it is very worrying.”
He said issues of isolation, unemployment, domestic violence, lack of parenting skills and poverty were all contributing factors to child abuse and neglect.
“We provide family support, therapy, trauma informed care, speech therapists, psychologists that work with the children,” he explained.
“We are continually growing, we’re doing individualised support packages and we are seeing the benefits – we are diverting children that are at risk of falling into the criminal justice system away from that, toward going to school, a more stable, better home life with parents who have been given the skills to do the best job they can as parents, and we are seeing the successes.”
Act For Kids has five safe houses at Aurukun, Pormpuraaw, Kowanyama, Doomadgee and Napranum where children are moved to and cared for in their communities.
“In the communities it is not unusual to have more than one family in the house, and a person living there might not be considered safe, so the child is removed but kept at the safe house cared for by relatives rather than us bringing the child back to Cairns,” he said.
There is a reunification house in Cairns, where children are gradually reunited with parents who undergo skills training.