The union representing child protection staff says workers in the Kimberley are disillusioned and employed by a system that is struggling to achieve positive outcomes for families.
Dozens of children and families in the Kimberley are known to child protection authorities but have no assigned case worker.
This figure, while fluctuating regularly, is the highest of any WA regional district according to Community and Public Sector Union WA branch secretary Rikki Hendon. Ms Hendon said the girl's case reflected the situation for countless "unallocated" child protection cases in the Kimberley."If you have an open case that isn't allocated to a dedicated worker, you're simply not getting the assistance that you require," she said.The struggling child protection workforce is nothing new in the Kimberley region, the state's only region where all children in care are Indigenous.
She said Kimberley staff were "spread very thin" and tackling the highest average case loads of a WA region, including Perth. "The government … needs to outline a vision what a fully resourced Child Protection Department looks like that can do best practice work and budget for it accordingly," Ms Hendon said.A DoC spokesperson said retention and recruitment in the child protection workforce was a challenge but also a priority of the WA government.
Reunification Case Workers Community And Public Sector Union Rikki Hendon Department Of Communities Doc Doc Child Protection Services National Children's Commissioner Child Welfare Dcp
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