DCP Policies now accessible

10 August 2022

For those that follow our systemic advocacy activities we are delighted to share a win for Carers, children and young people in care.

In late July 2022 the Department for Child Protection (DCP) informed CF&KC-SA their policies, many included in their Manual of Practice, will progressively become outward facing on their website for the general public to freely access

Click here to view the letter from DCP Chief Executive Cathy Taylor

Click here to view the DCP Information Statement

Click here to access the DCP policies on their website

The Manual of Practice is a set of policies, procedures and practice papers that inform the work of DCP. To our knowledge, this process has been underway for approximately 12-18 months by DCP, with advocacy efforts by CF&KC-SA, Child and Family Focus SA and CREATE since 2020.

To provide a brief overview of the work we have done behind the scenes as the peak body for Carers, CF&KC-SA was first made aware of the Manual of Practice in late 2020. Since this time CF&KC-SA:

  • Consistently lobbied DCP and the previous Minister for Child Protection for this document to be an “outward facing” resource for Carers, children and young people to access.
  • Liaised at a National level with our sister peak body organisations in Queensland, Northern Territory and Victoria each of whom successfully lobbied for their departments Manuals to be outward facing, therefore invigorating CF&KC-SA to ask the same of the DCP.
  • Met with the peak for children (CREATE) and the peak for agencies (Child and Family Focus SA) in November 2020 to raise the need for this document to be outward facing for the mutual benefit of their memberships. Each peak independently raised the need for this document to be outward facing within their lobbying efforts, for greater transparency in the policies, procedures and practice pertaining to their members.
  • Submitted the recommendation for the Manual of Practice to be an outward facing document as part of the organisational submission into the Independent Inquiry into Foster & Kinship Care in May 2022.

We are pleased to share as of the 4th August 2022, there are now over 150 policies, procedures and practice papers outward facing, with more being added over the next several weeks. This is a monumental outcome for Carers and young people to clearly understand the rights and responsibilities of all involved in child protection. This is a tangible example of the systemic lobbying that happens behind the scenes at CF&KC-SA in addition to the dedicated individual advocacy support we provide to South Australian Carers on a daily basis.

We wish to acknowledge the dedication of all Foster & Kinship Carers in the community, The Carer Project and our fellow SA peaks CREATE and Child and Family Focus SA (CAFFSA) for individually and collectively progressing the need for greater transparency regarding policies, procedures and practice involving Carers, children and young people in care.

Fiona Endacott
CEO