Number of children in residential care in Qld jumps to record new highs

Almost 3,000 children were in residential care (resi-care) in Queensland in March, a new record high, and a stark increase from the more than 2,200 recorded in the previous year.There was also an increase in children under five in the system, putting further pressure on the state government's vow to remove them.The shocking data was released in conjunction with the government's response to the commission of inquiry into child safety.The 11-month inquiry found no child had been adopted from state care since 2019, making 52 recommendations to shift the focus to family-based care.Following the report's release in June, Minister Amanda Camm committed that all children under five years old would be removed from residential care.Minister Amanda Camm "committed to Queenslanders" that the number of children in residential care would go down. (ABC News)The latest data showed 107 children under five were in resi-care in March, up from 78 the previous year.Ms Camm said the peak of 2,819 children in residential care recorded under her tenure would be exactly that."I will be marked on that," she said."That is the line in the sand, and that is my message to Queenslanders, and it's also why we have embarked upon an ambitious recruitment process for foster and kinship carers across this state."The government has accepted in full 32 of the 52 total recommendations from the report. (ABC News: Curtis Rodda)Response times to respond to urgent child safety matters went backwards on every metric compared to the previous year.More than 10 per cent of matters requiring a response in 24 hours were not commenced in that time frame.Just over 4 per cent of matters requiring a response in a week met that benchmark.Child safety officers were, on average, supporting almost 16 children each."I am confident that my department has worked diligently to ensure that they make the assessments appropriate, but is there room for improvement? Yes, there is," Ms Camm said.'The work starts today'The government accepted 32 of Commissioner Paul Anastassiou KC's recommendations and accepted in principle 16.Attorney-General Deb Frecklington said the response centred around five key areas."The best interests of the child are paramount," she said."Strengthening early intervention and prevention, improving stable and permanent care arrangements, streamlining child litigation and the role of the courts, and updating the legislative framework through staged reforms to better protect vulnerable children."The system was and is broken, so the work starts today."Queensland's Attorney-General Deb Frecklington said the government wouldn't be sitting on its hands. (ABC News: Luke Bowden)The government has budgeted $200 million this financial year to implement the changes.Key accepted recommendations include a feasibility status to assess the concept of simple adoption, and to entrench adoption as an option regardless of cultural background.That previously drew criticism from First Nations advocates, who claimed there was no way to separate adoption from the history of the Stolen Generation.But several key accepted or accepted in principle reforms recommended to be implemented in 12 months will take two and a half years to roll out.Those included reforming when a child can be removed from their family, prioritising family contact as part of child protection orders, and improving child protection officer case management.Ms Frecklington said the government wasn't "going to sit on our hands"."There is a way forward here with the time frame, and there is also massive legislative change required to take place to ensure that, first and foremost, the paramount principle is the best interest of the child."The government and Ms Camm have come under fire recently, following reports of children in care sleeping on the floor of child safety offices.Department redesign recommendedA full restructure and redesign of the department of child safety was recommended, but the government only accepted that in-principle.Ms Camm noted she had sacked several high-level bureaucrats and was driving accountability."We will also be looking very closely at our existing structure, what needs to change, our 20 per cent uplift in the front line, and how we can drive the resources where they need to be," she said.The government has budgeted $200 million to implement the changes. (ABC News: Curtis Rodda)"I will hold my Director General and the Department to account, and Queenslanders will hold me to account."Two inquiry recommendations were listed for "further consideration".The first was replacing "custody" and "guardianship" with "parental responsibility", with the commissioner noting the two former words failed to recognise the nuance of care arrangements.The second was that financial assistance was given to any person granted care of a child.The government said each would be "further considered as part of a subsequent tranche of more complex legislative reform".A further two recommendations were "noted", including that the government ensure legal representation for all parties in a child protection proceeding.The government highlighted the assistance provided by Legal Aid Queensland in child protection matters.