The challenge
The NSW child protection and out-of-home care system needs to be reoriented to focus on the holistic needs of children by empowering their families and communities. This is especially important for First Nations families and communities, who are disproportionately affected by the current system. Real reform requires focusing on human connection, adopting a new approach to risk, redirecting time towards relationships and measuring what matters to families most. This project sought to develop a new pathway for embedding a relationship-based approach across the NSW child protection system.
Project Report
Supporting children and families to flourish
Collaboration
The Institute collaborated with the NSW Department of Communities and Justice and the Centre for Relational Care on this project, ensuring that the work was grounded in practical realities of the sector and the work of government. The project was a highly collaborative effort, guided by an Expert Advisory Group of leading policymakers, researchers, and practitioners. Expert inputs came from a range of fields, including First Nations wellbeing and self-determination, social work, law, social innovation, geography, design thinking and public health.
Expert Advisory Group
- Professor Valerie Braithwaite (Emeritus Professor, School of Regulation and Global Governance, Australian National University)
- Professor Judy Cashmore AO (Professorial Research Fellow, School of Education and Social Work, University of Sydney)
- Professor Amy Conley Wright (Professor and Director, Research Centre for Children and Families, University of Sydney)
- Professor Ilan Katz (Professor, Social Policy Research Centre, University of New South Wales)
- Professor Lynne McPherson (Chair, Out of Home Care Research and Deputy Director, Centre for Children and Young People, Faculty of Health, Southern Cross University)
- A/Professor Tim Moore (Deputy Director, Institute of Child Protection Studies, Australian Catholic University)
- Dr BJ Newton (Scientia Senior Research Fellow, Social Policy Research Centre, University of New South Wales)
- Dr Elizabeth Reimer (Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Health, Southern Cross University)
- Bernie Shakeshaft (Founder and Director, Backtrack)
- Jarrod Wheatley OAM (Chairperson, Centre for Relational Care)
- Mandy Young (Board Member, Professional Individualised Care)
- Executives from across the NSW Department of Communities and Justice and the Premier’s Department (Aboriginal Affairs)
In a nutshell
96+
Hrs of facilitated collaboration between policymakers and researchers
50
Expert Interviews
100
Research papers and studies reviewed
10
Experts attended report launch at NSW Future of AI Summit 2023
"This report will be a guiding light as we embark on significant reform of the child protection system… To fix the broken child protection system in NSW, we must do things differently… This report confirms that there is another way when it comes to caring for and protecting children."
The Hon Kate Washington MP, NSW Minister for Families and Communities
"This is a very welcome report, as we seek to, in an orderly, considered, evidence-based way, affect an arbitrage from the past into a brighter future… It's the relationalism of human beings that is at the core of the system that we must build. And that is going to be an almighty process. But I think what this report does, it gifts to us, some vision about that paradigm shift."
Michael Tidball, Secretary, NSW Department of Communities and Justice
"The Centre for Relational Care greatly valued the collaboration with the Institute on this crucial project. In a short space of time the team crowded in an amazing knowledge base from academics, government as well as direct expertise from the sector. The work was focused on positive alternatives and has opened new frontiers for policy innovation across the child protection and out-of-home care system in NSW."
Jarrod Wheatley OAM, Chair of the Centre for Relational Care
Policy insights
This report articulates 11 key opportunities, with concrete reforms identified under each opportunity, to ensure the system provides for the holistic needs of children through empowering families and communities. The opportunities build on First Nations-led approaches to working with families and communities, which are often relational at their core, and aim to align the system more closely with what works for First Nations people, emphasising agency and addressing historical harm and power imbalances. The 11 opportunities span:
Embedding a public health approach
Embedding a public health approach with relationships at its core, through a new social compact, strong governance and strengthened social infrastructure
Legislative and regulatory reform
Legislative and regulatory reform to promote and enable positive relationships and family wellbeing
Empopwering the workforce
Empowering the child protection workforce and valuing foster/kin carer roles
Measurement
Empowering the child protection workforce and valuing foster/kin carer roles
Innovative court practices
Measuring the experience of families and carers Innovative court practices to support children and families more holistically
How we are creating change
Tracking progress
2 December 2024
NSW Government
Report featured in the final report of the NSW Government’s system review of out-of-home-care
2 September 2024
The Mandarin
Trust and support, not just safety, the keys to child protection success: report
21 August 2024
NSW Department of Communities and Justice
Expert report supports need for child protection reforms
21 August 2024
Centre for Relational Care
Report on Supporting Children and Families to Flourish
21 August 2024
Australian Public Policy Institute
Institute advances a new direction and vision for child protection and out-of-home care in NSW
