Children in care

page content: out-of-home care| inquiries | which children | listening to children |quality assurance| projects

The current life situations of some of Victoria’s children require special consideration. The Child Safety Commissioner has established an out-of-home care monitoring unit to give particular attention to children who are removed from their families and placed in the care of the state as these children are especially vulnerable.

• Which children and young people are of particular interest to the Child Safety Commissioner?

The Child Safety Commissioner has an important role to ensure the state acts as a good parent to these children while they live in public care.

• Inquiries about an issue concerning a child in out-of-home care

The office monitors the performance of out-of-home care services delivered by the Department of Human Services and by contracted community service organizations to children in the care of the state. By listening to children about their direct experiences of out-of-home care and adopting an applied research approach to how these services are provided the Child Safety Commissioner enhances the delivery of high quality services.

• Listening to the voice of children in the care of the State

An important function of the Child Safety Commissioner, which is enshrined in the Child Wellbeing and Safety Act 2005, is to provide advice to the Minister for Children and the Department of Human Services about how well the department meets its statutory responsibilities for children or young people unable to live with their families.

• Monitoring the quality of services delivered to children in out-of-home-care

Further research and project areas being advanced by the out-of-home care monitoring unit include:

• Developing a charter for children in out-of-home care
• Monitoring the implementation of the Aboriginal Child Placement Principle