UnitingCare Australia and Social Policy Research Centre Media Release
18 November 2009
'BECAUSE CHILDREN AND FAMILIES MATTER’: ANALYSIS OF GOVERNMENT REFORMS RELEASED
UnitingCare Australia and the Social Policy Research Centre, University of New South Wales, have released an analysis of the Government’s recent policy reforms for children, young people and families.
The report, Because Children and Families Matter, assesses the key reforms of 2009 related to children, youth and families, including the National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children, the youth compact, initiatives to reduce homelessness and violence against women, and reforms in early childhood development and learning.
National Director of UnitingCare Australia Lin Hatfield Dodds said, “The Government’s many policy initiatives represent a visionary reform agenda and provide opportunities for genuine improvements in the lives of this and future generations. We welcome the Government’s recognition of the need to prevent and respond to problems and build healthy, nurturing environments for all. However, we need greater integration of these separate initiatives to make sure no-one falls through the gaps, and vulnerable children get the support and services they need.”
The report’s co-author Professor Deborah Brennan of the Social Policy Research Centre, UNSW, said, “This analysis is a first step in understanding how these various reforms can actually deliver on the social inclusion agenda for children, young people and families. It also points to ways to enhance and better integrate efforts across communities, the service system and different jurisdictions.”
The release of the report comes in a week that provides an important opportunity to take stock of how past policies have affected children, youth and families and what we might learn from these – the same week as the Prime Minister apologised to the Forgotten Australians, the 20th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the release of figures by CREATE which show that too many children and young people in care are missing out on opportunities available to other Australian children.
Jane Woodruff, CEO of UnitingCare Children, Young People and Families, said, “The national reform agenda must be looked at through the eyes of those affected – children, young people and families – so we really know what works, what doesn’t and where the gaps are. With that approach we can deliver better outcomes for all children, young people and families.”
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You can download the report here (1Mb). You can download the pdf version of the media release here.
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