RELATED: D-Day for child protection report A ''redesign reference group'' has been tasked with overhauling Child Protection Services, in the wake of a major failure. Human Services Minister Jacquie Petrusma told Parliament the group would dissect and redevelop the child safety sector's structure, processes and culture. Mrs Petrusma has published a report examining how 151 North-West child safety alerts were ignored in the past year. As expected, the report did not canvass why the department knew of the crisis for three weeks before the minister was finally told. The report found there was a culture of double-handling of alerts among North-West child protection workers. Mrs Petrusma said in the North-West, under-qualified administrative staff were receiving and creating notifications. She said this jarred with work practices in the state's North and South, and led to an unnecessary bottleneck of alerts. ''Practices underway in the North-West were outside the procedures in the CYS Practice Manual and contrary to practice undertaken in other regions across the state,'' Mrs Petrusma said. ''Such practices will cease immediately and professional development offered to staff.'' Mrs Petrusma said Tasmania, for too long, had been unable to achieve the level of reform required to dislodge entrenched problems in child protection. ''Despite the best efforts of all involved, the system faces potential collapse if comprehensive reform action is not taken, regardless of the level of any additional resources that are added to it,'' she said. The redesign group has been given six months to map out an alternative system. It will be led by Curtin University Adjunct Professor Maria Harries, who specialises in social work and social policy. Professor Harries will be joined by a panel of five senior bureaucrats. Mrs Petrusma said the redesign would feed into the 2016-17 Budget process. MORE TO COME
Human Services Minister Jacquie Petrusma told Parliament the group would dissect and redevelop the child safety sector's structure, processes and culture.
A ''redesign reference group'' has been tasked with overhauling Child Protection Services, in the wake of a major failure.
Human Services Minister Jacquie Petrusma told Parliament the group would dissect and redevelop the child safety sector's structure, processes and culture.
Mrs Petrusma has published a report examining how 151 North-West child safety alerts were ignored in the past year.
As expected, the report did not canvass why the department knew of the crisis for three weeks before the minister was finally told.
The report found there was a culture of double-handling of alerts among North-West child protection workers.
Mrs Petrusma said in the North-West, under-qualified administrative staff were receiving and creating notifications.
She said this jarred with work practices in the state's North and South, and led to an unnecessary bottleneck of alerts.
''Practices underway in the North-West were outside the procedures in the CYS Practice Manual and contrary to practice undertaken in other regions across the state,'' Mrs Petrusma said.
''Such practices will cease immediately and professional development offered to staff.''
Mrs Petrusma said Tasmania, for too long, had been unable to achieve the level of reform required to dislodge entrenched problems in child protection.
''Despite the best efforts of all involved, the system faces potential collapse if comprehensive reform action is not taken, regardless of the level of any additional resources that are added to it,'' she said.
The redesign group has been given six months to map out an alternative system.
It will be led by Curtin University Adjunct Professor Maria Harries, who specialises in social work and social policy.
Professor Harries will be joined by a panel of five senior bureaucrats.
Mrs Petrusma said the redesign would feed into the 2016-17 Budget process.
