I was recently asked what I would recommend to improve the delivery of child protection systems in my local jurisdiction. This formed part of my answer.

Transcript:

Hi, I’m Colby Pearce. In this video I want to talk about four pillars upon which, I believe, child protection systems stand or fall.

The first pillar is information. Child protection systems function best when they receive good quality information from an informed and knowledgeable public. Remember, child protection really is everybody’s business.

The second pillar is care options. Child protection systems require safe and nurturing care options for children and young people who cannot safely be cared for at home. So, if you’ve ever considered getting involved, please do get in contact with your local child protection authorities.

The third pillar is reunification. Child protection systems function best when they are able to return children and young people home to mum and or dad and or family where it is safe to do so.

The fourth pillar is a trained and knowledgeable workforce. So, of course this applies to child protection authorities but it also applies to the workforce in health, education, family services and disability services. We need the workforce from each of those sectors to be able to communicate with each other using a common knowledge and language framework. We can’t all be doing our own thing. This only results in a fragmented child protection system that ultimately fails in its primary task which is the protection and care and where it is safe to do so, the return of children and young people to the care of their family.