At-risk children's 'broken' NSW government protection system is harming them, advocates say

After more than 20 years as a child protection case worker, Betina Huber reached her breaking point last year.

"Their behaviour changes after a couple of months. They start acting out. They're scared and distressed, and it's just awful." "On my analysis of the evidence, he has had in excess of 100 adults acting as caregiver to him," Magistrate Ford said.After a period of being separated, the agency placed Ray and his three siblings in one household in October 2023, where more than 10 people provided care to them.

Figures from DCJ show that last year, 113,688 children in NSW were considered at risk of significant harm.The district encompassing Northern NSW, Mid North Coast, and New England performed the worst, with only 15 per cent of at-risk children being seen. NSW Families and Communities Minister Kate Washington said she recognised the need to support case workers."There is a very real consequence for the caseworker vacancies that are in the system at the moment on children and young people who are risk of significant harm, so we are working as hard as we can to ensure that the vacancies in the system are filled," she said.

Child Protection Emergency Care Foster Care Out Of Home Care Caseworkers Dcj Department Of Communities And Justice Betina Huber Nin Bennett Kate Washington Risk Of Significant Harm Vulnerable Children Broken State Care Psa Public Service Assocation

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