A State Government shift towards trying to keep at-risk children with their families rather than removing them into foster care has been welcomed by the State Guardian for Children.

US child welfare expert professor Dana Christensen was being called in to implement a new approach with Families SA, the government announced yesterday.

The new encourages caseworkers to work with the families of at-risk children to improve their behaviour so the child is no longer at risk.

Last month the State Guardian for Children and Young People, Pam Simmons, told InDaily a lack of funding for family support services meant caseworkers too often had to take children away from families and into care.

You might like

Archive

The one-legged guide to ageing well

Archive

Reserve Bank tipped to hold interest rates despite inflation fall

Yesterday she welcomed the government’s announcement as an important first step to fixing the problem.

“It’s great to see a determined shift in child protection practice from stepping between children and their families, to working with families so that they can look after their children safely,” Simmonds told InDaily.

“Not all families will be able to do this but for those who can, this is the best result for children, their parents and, in the long run, for the budget.

“The change in approach though must be matched by good effective services for families. There’s no point in offering to support families if there’s nothing much to offer. The child protection workers can’t do it alone.

“The next step has to be building up the types of programs that offer intensive support to families until the crises are over.”

However, real improvements to the system could only be made with significant funding injections, she said.

In a statement, Minister for Education and Child Development Jennifer Rankine said households targeted by Families SA often saw caseworkers as a threat rather than a support service.

“This is the opposite of what we are trying to achieve,” she said.