PeakCare Queensland

PeakCare is proud to celebrate the achievements of 2023-24 with the launch of our latest Impact and Insights Report. As Queensland’s peak body for the child and family sector, PeakCare is incredibly proud of what we have collectively achieved for Queensland’s children, young people, families, and the organisations and individuals who support them.    Key highlights from 2023-24 include:   ✨ 82 Member Organisations represented across Queensland ✨ Direct engagement with over 800 stakeholders through 18 state-wide and regional forums ✨ 30,000+ learners registered for the Hope and Healing Framework ✨ 14 evidence-based submissions to Parliament and Government on policies impacting the sector ✨ 1,300+ mainstream media appearances across TV, radio, and print, highlighting our dedication to advancing the priorities and interests of the child and family sector 👉 Read the report here https://lnkd.in/g2BvSUwj A sincere thank you to our members and supporters for your incredible contributions to the sector and your engagement with PeakCare over the past year. Your voice, expertise and partnership continues to be central to everything we do as your peak body.    Looking ahead, PeakCare remains committed in 2024-25 to our vision that Queensland children, young people and families in all their diversity are thriving with access to support, when and where it’s needed. 

The newly elected Queensland State Government has today introduced the Making Queensland Safe Legislation with a focus on ‘Adult Crime, Adult Time’ and removing detention as a last resort.    These new laws will continue to swamp an already overstretched and at capacity system of youth detention in Queensland, where nine out of ten young people re-offend.   The threat of tougher punishments does not deter young people from crime. In fact, longer sentences can lead to higher recidivism rates because young people are incarcerated with peers who are involved in crime, becoming institutionalised and further disconnected from their communities and social connections.   Without addressing the root cause of crime and what leads to young people becoming involved in crime, you can’t reduce the offending rate or keep the community safe.   Immediately following the introduction of the Making Queensland Safer Bill 2024 I had the opportunity to sit down with the Leader of the Opposition, The Shadow Minister for Education and the Early Years and Shadow Minister for Youth Justice, and Shadow Attorney-General, Shadow Minister for Justice, Shadow Minister for Housing, Homelessness and Home Ownership to discuss the child and family sectors views on how best we can keep communities safe, children and young people accountable for their actions in ways that work, and break cycles of offending before they start.   We know more than 50 per cent of victims of crime are children and young people and there is no evidence that increasing the severity of sentencing reduces crime, the evidence is clear it actually makes youth offending worse. We also know that one of the most significant flaws in the Adult Crime, Adult Time approach is it continues to rely on a youth detention system that fails Queenslanders 90 per cent of the time. Putting more young people into the same broken system for longer periods will not produce a different result, it will only create more victims of youth crime.   What we need to see from the Queensland State Government is a commitment to keeping courts open through the holiday season to avoid bottlenecks. Failure to ensure access to courts and magistrates will see more children left in adult watch houses for longer, whilst the judiciary takes a seven-week break.   We also need to see a commitment to better supporting families and carers. The recent announcement of just 1.8 per cent increase to the foster and kin carer allowance for 2025, less than $6 a week is an insult to carers working to keep our children safe and out of the criminal justice system.   PeakCare Queensland looks forward to analysing the Bill in detail and continuing to advocate for evidence-based solutions that we know work to break cycles of offending, put children and families back on a pathway to prosperity and keep our communities safe. Steven Miles Di Farmer Meaghan Scanlon MP David Crisafulli MP Laura Gerber MP #youth #justice #crime #offending #peak #advocacy

The estimated cost to Australia of mental ill-health and suicide is $200 to $220 billion per year. This is equivalent to $550 to $600 million per day (Australian Government Productivity Commission, 2021).   Within this estimate is a direct economic cost of around $40 to $70 billion per year and indirect costs of $150 billion per year due to people experiencing diminished health and reduced life expectancy. When you consider the social and emotional costs of pain and suffering, exclusion and in some cases, premature death, that accompany mental illness, the Productivity Commission's staggering estimate is likely a conservative one.   In 2023 the Australian Child Maltreatment Study showed the associated mental health impacts of child maltreatment. Through the shared stories of 8,500 Australians, this study demonstrated unequivocally that maltreatment in childhood dramatically increased the odds of mental disorders. This included a specific focus on the Australian population of young people aged 16-24 years where for those that experienced maltreatment, they were:   ⚠️ 2.9 times more likely to have any mental disorder ⚠️ 5.8 time more likely to have PTSD ⚠️ 3.3 times more likely to have generalised anxiety disorder ⚠️ 4.1 times more likely to have severe alcohol use disorder ⚠️ 2.7 times more likely to have had major depressive disorder.   While these figures are alarming in their own right, consider that 4 in 10 young Australians today have experienced more than one type of abuse, 1 in 4 young people have experienced between 3 and 5 types of abuse and 3.7 per cent of the Australian population of young people have experienced all 5 types of child maltreatment.   It was great to participate in the Queensland Mental health Commission’s Leading Reform Summit which is being held this week in Brisbane. The Summit brings leaders, people with lived and living experience, carers, front line clinicians and workers, service providers, policy-makers, funders, planners and decision-makers together to develop solutions to problems, introduce new strategies, fuel collaboration, spark ideas, harness the collective knowledge of sector leaders and drive the reform agenda forward.   We have never known more about the prevalence of mental health and as a country we have never been better equipped with the knowledge we need to deliver genuine and lasting change. Now our challenge is to deliver on the reforms necessary to improve mental health outcomes for individuals, families, and their communities. Queensland Family and Child Commission (QFCC) Queensland Mental Health Commission PeakCare Queensland Tim Nicholls MP Amanda Camm Luke Twyford Ivan Frkovic #child #family #youth #youngpeople #mentalhealth #mentalillness #health #reform #leadership #summit #abuse #maltreatment #acms #peak

👏 Great work from Little Stars Foundation with the release of the webinar providing incredible insight into the independent Social Return on Investment Evaluation of their Little Stars Learners Program. The analysis revealed that for every $1 invested in the program, $5.60 of social and economic value is created, benefiting children and young people, carers, the education system and the community. 👇 See the link for the webinar below #children #carers #education PeakCare Queensland Little Stars Foundation Lumenia

As Queensland approaches the busiest time of the year for youth justice, Queensland’s Court system is getting ready to put on the out-of-office for another year.   Widening the front door to youth justice without investing in growing the critical court and legal infrastructure needed to ensure the whole system is working has and will continue to deliver only one outcome. More children being unacceptably detained in adult watchhouses for longer periods of time.   Almost twelve months ago I explained to the Courier Mail that it was no surprise the Queensland Childrens Court was experiencing increased demand and children are spending longer in unsentenced detention following the introduction of the previous Government’s ‘tough on crime’ laws. With the imminent release of a Bill by the new Government which proposes even tougher measures, this demand will only get worse. Being tough on youth crime won’t make communities safer unless the Government is also going to be tough on the causes of youth crime. Most children placed in Queensland’s current detention system will go on to re-offend. Better models of youth detention are needed if we want to break this cycle. These models exist and we need Government to be willing to try something different because what we have now is not working. 🚨 On an average day, almost 90 per cent of children in detention are unsentenced 🚨 The average days spent in unsentenced detention by children has increased by 22 days in the previous three years to 51 days 🚨 When the time children spent in detention waiting to be sentences was considered, half of those sentenced were not required to serve further time in custody 🚨 47.9 per cent of victims of personal offences were 18 years or younger with 25 per cent between 10 and 14 years of age 🚨 Young males aged 10 to 14 years were the most prevalent group of victims of robbery and related offences.   In today’s Courier Mail PeakCare Queensland has called for the Queensland Government to keep the Court system open through the holiday period to avoid the inevitable bottlenecks and delays we see every year.   Closing the courts for up to seven weeks over the holiday period is not fair for children, it is not fair for victims, and it is not fair for the Queensland Police Service and NGOs who are out there every day of the year supporting communities and helping to keep them safe. Queensland Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Child Protection Peak Ltd Queensland Family and Child Commission (QFCC) Youth Advocacy Centre (YAC) David Crisafulli MP Deb Frecklington MP Laura Gerber MP Amanda Camm Dan Purdie #youth #justice #courts #detention #remand #watchhouses #justice #law #reform #doingdetentiondifferently #peak #advocacy #qld #queensland #government #crime #prevention #earlyintervention #community #safety

The most consistent failing of child and family service system reform is not a lack of collective commitment or aspiration, it is that we seek to reform the wrong part of the system and through the wrong lens.   Incremental innovations that make child protection systems more efficient, more cost effective and seek to better control risk are appealing for Government’s but fail to recognise that the work of supporting children and families to thrive occurs through genuine relational practice and this must occur at the front line, in community and through committed and sustained partnerships rather than just though more efficient administrative processes.   Reform is as much about what we stop doing as it is about what we do differently. Reform is about creating and holding a space for the messiness of change to occur and it is about real transformation, not just amelioration of the issues we face today.   If the aspiration of reform is to make the current system slightly better we need to ask ourselves, what are we actually reforming, are we actually reforming, and why.   I was privileged to share my reflections on what makes for good reform and how to sustain reform during periods of political change at the Association of Children's Welfare Agencies AGM which was hosted in Sydney yesterday.   Thank you to Grainne O. for hosting a very insightful panel and to my fellow panelists including Sean Gordon AM and Melissa Gibson for their insightful contributions.   A sincere congratulations to the amazing team at ACWA on all of their successes in 2023-24. PeakCare Queensland has been proud to walk alongside you and looks forward to our continued partnership as we collectively seek to improve outcomes for children, young people, families, and their communities. #child #family #system #reform #innovation #transformation #relationship #partnership #AGM #peak #advocacy #NSW #QLD #government

PeakCare Queensland was delighted to celebrate Queensland’s community heroes last night at the Queensland Community Impact Awards.   Congratulations to all the award nominees, finalists, and award recipients for the well-deserved recognition of the work you are doing for communities across Queensland.   2024 Award Recipients include:   🏆 Human Rights Award: YETI - Youth Empowered Towards Independence 🏆 Frontline Hero: Candice Hughes, YFS Ltd 🏆 Social Impact Award: Luke Terry, Founder and CEO of White Box Enterprises 🏆 Prevention Excellence Award: Centacare Post Release Services team 🏆 Women’s Equality Award: Ending Violence Against Women Queensland - EVAWQ Management Committee 🏆 Community Impact Award: Traction   The organisations and individuals who make up Queensland’s community sector turn up every day to improve lives and give hope and opportunity to those who need it most. We are a better state for your contribution. Department of Families, Seniors, Disability Services and Child Safety Queensland Family and Child Commission (QFCC) Queensland Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Child Protection Peak Ltd CREATE Foundation QCOSS Amanda Camm Kate Bjur #community #awards #frontline #sector #humanrights #child #family #service #queensland #qld #peak #

We know that the impact of violence against women is far to real. 85 women have been killed this year alone that is 1 woman every 3 days.   We know that our children are not as safe as we thought, the 2023 Australian Child Maltreatment Study revealed the prevalence of maltreatment among 16-24 year-olds: 🧩 43.8% were exposed to domestic violence (EDV) 🧩 34.6% experienced emotional abuse 🧩 28.2% experienced physical abuse 🧩 25.7% experienced sexual abuse 🧩 10.3% experienced neglect   45.6% of girls are more likely to experience more than one of these maltreatments and over 30% will experience between 3-5 types of maltreatment.   In June this year “Queensland Police Service's Commissioner Steve Gollschewski told ABC news that he expects the service will have responded to nearly 200,000 domestic and family violence incidents by the end of this financial year. That is upwards of 500 call outs per day. And that's only those reported - police believe the real figure to be five times higher”   To address the root causes faced by at-risk young people, prevention and early intervention programs must support families and young people experiencing disadvantage.   A stronger focus on addressing violence against women and domestic, family and sexual violence (DFSV) is needed. DFSV training programs for care workers and a DFSV framework for young people, incorporated into the respectful relationship's curriculum is essential. PeakCare acknowledges the great work of our colleagues Beyond DV Ltd Hope 4 Life program an evidence-based education program working with young people aged 8-13 to reduce impacts of DFV through three pillars of recovery: social connection and support; health and wellbeing; education and training.   If you are – or someone you know is – experiencing or at risk of DFV, please contact a DFV helpline: DVConnect Womensline on 1800 811 811 (24 hours, 7 days) DVConnect Mensline on 1800 600 636 (9am to midnight, 7 days) 1800RESPECT Australia on 1800 737 732 (24 hours, 7 days) Sexual Assault Helpline on 1800 010 120 (7.30am to 11.30pm, 7 days) Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800 (24 hours, 7 days) LifeLine 🌻 on 13 11 14 (24 hours, 7 days). PeakCare Queensland Tom Allsop David Crisafulli MP Amanda Camm Corrine McMillan MP Carolyn Robinson Beck O'Connor

Our Chief Executive Officer Tom Allsop presenting at the Association of Children's Welfare Agencies Annual General Meeting discussing Reforms: Empowering communities across the continuum. 👇 Details below

PeakCare is continuing its call for the Crisafulli Government to urgently reconsider its decision to offer foster and kinship carers the lowest carer allowance increase in four years. There are thousands of Foster and Kinship Carers across Queensland who turn up every day for children and young people in need. Often, they are covering the costs of care from their own pocket and an allowance increase of less than $6 per week means they are going to continue to suffer in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis. In the last 12 months we have seen the number of children in care in Queensland increase to nearly 12,000 (as at 30 June 2024). This is a 3.2 per cent increase on the 12 months prior with more children taken into care and this means that Queensland needs more kinship and foster carers than ever. PeakCare calls on The Honourable Amanda Camm MP Minister for Families, Seniors and Disability Services and Minister for Child Safety and the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence to back in their pre-election commitment of “Safer Children, Safer Communities” and to act on what frontline workers, children, young people, carers and families have said is needed to create a better system by reviewing and increasing this allowance to show our Foster and Kinship carers that they matter, that they are respected and that they are worth more than a $6 a week allowance increase. Queensland’s foster and kinship carers deserve more than an increase that barely covers the cost of a loaf of bread and 2 litres of milk. Queensland Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Child Protection Peak Ltd Queensland Family and Child Commission (QFCC) Queensland Foster and Kinship Care QFKC PeakCare Queensland Amanda Camm David Crisafulli MP Corrine McMillan MP #foster #kinship #carer #allowance #costofliving #increase #rate #indexation #care #childsafety #childprotection #queensland #qld #lnp #children #child #younfpeople #fairgo #residentialcare #peak #advocacy