Child report’s tough findings

THERE are still many serious issues relating to youth protection and welfare in Tasmania, the latest report from outgoing Children’s Commissioner Mark Morrissey has revealed.

Mr Morrissey’s report updated data from two previous releases that focused on youth and key indicators related to early childhood, middle childhood and adolescence.

His updated report includes the third and final component on parents, families and communities. It found: SIXTEEN per cent of children aged under 15 are living in poverty in Tasmania; higher than the national average. THE rate of children in child protection notifications in Tasmania is the third highest of all of the states and territories, with 70.4 children per 1000 in notifications. THIRTEEN per cent of child protection notifications are investigated in Tasmania. THE proportion of child protection investigations completed in 28 days or less has decreased since 2010-11, with 19.6 per cent of investigations finalised within this timeframe. IN 2015-16, 3182 incidents of family violence were reported to Tasmania Police, with children present at 1757 of these. SEVEN per cent of Tasmanian families ran out of food at some time during the past 12 months and could not afford to buy more.

“We are seeing more children and young people taken into the care of the state, and some concerning trends in relation to child protection,” Mr Morrissey said. He said it reflected the need to continue existing child protection reforms.

Human Services Minister Jacquie Petrusma said the data was more than 12 months old and did not reflect the significant increase in resources in the past two state budgets.

“In the 2017-18 budget, we are investing an additional $51 million into child protection, and launched a new Youth at Risk Strategy,” she said.

An extra 31 positions have been funded and more staff were being recruited across several areas, she said.