Barry Salmon

Protecting Children Today Conference, Brisbane, 25 – 27 March 2009

Views of Children and Young People in Care: Landmark Research in

Queensland

Overview of presentation• The Commission for Children and Young People

and Child Guardian (the Commission)

• How we engage with children and young people

• Community Visitor Program

• The Views surveys

– Aims

– Methodology – foster care surveys

– Key findings – young people in foster care

– Summary

– Issues arising from findings

• Future directions

The Commission

Legislated function:

• promote the rights, interests and wellbeing of children in Queensland, particularly those most vulnerable.

Informed by:

• Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian Act 2000, and

• UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The Commission cont.Role includes:

• monitor, audit and review systems, policies and practices of the Department of Child Safety and other service providers (Child Guardian function)

• promote laws, policies and practices that uphold the rights, interests and wellbeing of children and young people

• administer state-wide Community Visitor Program for children and young people in alternative care

The Commission cont.

• research and investigate complaints relating to children and young people in the care of the Department of Child Safety

• maintain a register and review the deaths of children and young people in Queensland

• conduct employment screening of certain types of child-related employment (Blue Card)

The Commission cont.

• educate the community to comply with the Commission’s Act

• research and report on safety and well being of children and young people, and

• listen to and consider the concerns, views and wishes of children and young people.

Strategy: Engaging children and young people

• make better decisions incorporating perspectives of children and young people

• build an evidence base about their views

• support them to be empowered

• encourage other stakeholders and service providers to engage

The Strategy for Engaging Children and Young People sets out how to:

Strategy: Engaging c&yp cont.

The strategy sets out how the Commission:

• considers and acts on information

• gives priority to engaging with children who are voiceless

• makes it easier for under-18s to contact the Commission, and

• informs why we engage and how the information is used.

Enacted through a range of initiatives including Community Visitor Program and Views surveys.

Community Visitors

• Part 4 of the Commission's Act provides for a Community Visitor program

• Community Visitors must visit children and young people

– in the custody of the Department of Child Safety and placed away from home

– residing in certain residential facilities including detention centres and mental health facilities

• Administered under the Child Guardian function

Community Visitors cont.

• Approximately 200 Community Visitors

• Regularly visit roughly 6500 children and young people

• Aim to visit each child and young person on a monthly basis or more often if requested by the child or young person

Community Visitors cont.

• Engage directly with children and young people to assess the standard of care they are receiving

• Facilitate local resolution of issues raised by children

• Refer instances of inadequate care to the Complaints Team

Community Visitors cont.

• Gather information for systemic monitoring of child protection and youth justice systems

• Advocate to promote and protect the rights and wellbeing of children and young people in alternative care

• Administer the Views surveys to children and young people in care

The Views surveys

• Focus on those living in alternative care – the Commission has particular responsibility for this group

• Distributed to children and young people in foster care, residential care, detention centres through the Community Visitor Program

• First survey 2006

• Conducted every two years

• Underpinned by theory of sociology of childhood - considers children and young people to be reliable informants of their own experience

Clark, McQuail & Moss, 2003; James & Prout, 1997

The Views surveys cont.

• Informed by national and international trends and research relating to alternative care

• Include questions reflecting attachment and stability, reunifications, long-term/permanency planning, transition from care - factors shown to impact on wellbeing during and/or after care

Barber & Delfabbro, 2005; Cashmore et al., 2006; Dozier, 2005; Gauthier et al., 2004); Lawrence at al., 2006; McWey, 2004; Shaw, 2006; Tilbury & Osmond, 2006

Aims of the Views surveys

1. Provide children and young people with an opportunity to comment on their care situation and have those comments reported.

2. Inform the Commission’s advocacy and monitoring functions.

3. Inform policy and decision makers to help them better meet the needs of children and young people in care.

4. Help gauge the effectiveness of the child protection and youth justice systems.

Methodology – foster care surveysResearch Design

• Repeated cross-sectional longitudinal design

Instruments and participants

• Surveys developed for three age/ability groups

• 9-18 years (81 items) / 5-8 years (54 items) / 0-4 years (39 items completed by carers on behalf of c&yp)

• Closed and open-ended questions

Participants

• Those in care visited by CV invited to participate (N=1942 respondents)

Methodology – foster care surveys cont.

Procedure

• Surveys distributed to CVs

• CVs administered surveys during regular visits.

Data analysis

• Quantitative data - SPSS descriptive and inferential statistics

• Qualitative data - thematic analysis

Key findings – young people (9-18yrs) • Participant background

– Demographics – Placement history

• Living in care– Health– Education– Family– Living a ‘normal’ life– Satisfaction with placement

• The system– Dealing with the Department– Involvement in decisions– Transition from care

Demographics

• Sample size N = 756

• Age (mean) 13yrs 1mth

• Sex – male 47% – female 53%

• Care type– foster care 72% – relative care 23% – specialist foster care 5%

Demographics cont.

• Cultural background – Caucasian Australian 70% – Aboriginal 20%– Torres Strait Islander

1.5%– Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

1.7%– ‘other’ 7%

• Carer same cultural background 82%

Placement history• Total time in care - 50% had spent 6 or more years in care

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

<1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

Total time in care(years)

% o

f yo

un

g p

eo

ple

Placement history cont.• Time in current placement – 49% in current placement for 2 years or less

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

<1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

Time in current placement(years)

% o

f yo

un

g p

eo

ple

Placement history cont.• Number of placements

– 1 or 2 placements 56%– 5 or more placements 21%

• Returns home– never returned home 75%– 2 or more times 9%

• Worried about possible placement change 20%

Placement history

I’m really happy here and I don’t want to have to leave.

Key findings – young people (9-18yrs) • Participant background

– Demographics – Placement stability

• Living in care– Health– Education– Family– Living a ‘normal’ life– Satisfaction with placement

• The system– Dealing with the Department– Involvement in decisions– Transition from care

Health

• Have a disability 15%42% of who receive special help

• Have a health problem 11% 46% of who have been able to see someone about it

• Take medication for ADHD 17%

• Have a Child Health Passport – yes 7%– no 37%– don’t know 56%

Health

Took ages to get dental work approved.

Education

• Attend school 95%

• Have repeated a year at school 32%

• Number of secondary schools attended (children and young people of secondary school age)– attended only 1 60%– attended 3 or more 13%

• Have an unresolved problem at school 18%

• Have an Education Support Plan 46%69% of who find it helpful

Education

We have a really good chance at having a good education. Really good because we

get looked after really well.

Contact with family

• Want to see family:– less 5% – same amount 51%– more 45%

• Want to talk to family:– less 4% – same amount 68%– more 28%

• Allowed to phone or email family79%

• If Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, in touch with community 63%

Contact with family

I want to see my brothers and sisters – I’ve almost forgotten what they look like.

Living a ‘normal’ life

• Made to feel different because of care– never/not very often 77%

• Able to do things others not in care can do– all/most of the time

67%

• Miss out on things because of care– never/not very often 80%

• Have to do things don’t want to– never/not very often 77%

Living a ‘normal’ life

Trust us more and allow us to do things everyone else can

Satisfaction with environment

• Have enough space 95%

• Possessions are treated with respect 93%

• Treated the same as others living here most or all of the time 95%

• Rules and discipline are reasonable 96%

• Place is clean enough 99%

Satisfaction with carer

• Carer listens most or all of the time 95%

• Carer understands young person 96%

• Treated well by carer 99%

• Carer cares about what is best for young person 99%

Over all satisfaction with placement • Feel safe in placement 99%

• Better off since coming into care 93%

• Things have got better in the last year 89%

• Happiness with placement 8.8/10

Satisfaction with placement

My carers are like my parents. I am encouraged and given all that I need. I even have guinea pigs. I’m happy here.

Key findings – young people (9-18yrs) • Participant background

– Demographics – Placement stability

• Living in care– Health– Education– Family– Living a ‘normal’ life– Satisfaction with placement

• The system– Dealing with the Department– Involvement in decisions– Transition from care

Dealing with the Department

• Feel confident about Department’s promises 48%

• Permission requirements are reasonable 47%

• Get permission in time to do things – all/most of the time 69%

• Would like to see CSO– less 18%– about the same 47%– more 35%

• Helpfulness of CSO 6.5/10

Dealing with the Department

A more swift system like everything could be approved in a couple of days instead of trying to ring your CSO and not getting

an answer for weeks!

Involvement in decisions• People listen to you

– all/most of the time 84%

• Decisions are explained to you– all/most of the time

65%

• Have a say in decisions that affect you– all/most of the time

59%

• Told what to expect about care 32%

Involvement in decisions

Just listen to kids. And at about 8, we’re not stupid and we know what we want.

Transitioning from care (16+ year-olds)• Spoken to about what happens when turn 18 57%

• Have a Leaving Care Plan– yes 25%– no 42%– don’t know 33%

• Involved in development of plan (if have plan) 60%

Transitioning from care

Everything goes when you’re 18 – as soon as you turn 18 – you are eligible for

nothing.

Summary

• Most young people:

– have been in care for several years

– have experienced only one or two placements

– have not experienced unsuccessful reunification

• Majority report being happy with numerous aspects of their care experience – feel safe, happy and cared for

Summary cont.• Numerous responses (696) to the question asking

“What is the best thing about your current placement?”

Being loved and people caring about me

I live in a house where people keep me safe & love me

They really care about me because they are sending me to a private school

They make the best salad

I am not on the street and have food to eat

Issues arising from findings

• Number of placements for some young people

• Worried about placement change

• Difficulty getting permission

• Not having a say

• Decisions not being explained

• Not having a Leaving Care Plan (over 16 year olds)

Future directions

• Further analysis of survey data

• Dissemination of findings

• Advocacy on issues such as stability, permanency and transition planning

• Listen to, and advocate for, children and young people in care

Commission for Children and Young People

and Child Guardian

T&G Building, 141 Queen Street, Brisbane

Ph: 3247 5525

www.ccypcg.qld.gov.au

Our new address will be:

Level 17, 53 Albert Street, Brisbane

Our contact details

Reports for children and young people