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Supporting families

Raising a child is not always easy but there is support available for parents and carers.

Support for parents and families

Protecting children

We are dedicated to protecting children and young people who have been harmed or are at risk of harm.

Children and young people info If you are a child or young person in care find out your rights, how to have a say in decisions about you and who you can talk to if you have a problem.
About child protection Child Safety is dedicated to protecting children and young people who have been harmed, or are at risk of harm.
What is child abuse?
What is child sexual abuse?
How to prevent abuse Most people want to love and care for their children, but parents can harm their children when stress, tiredness, lack of skills, information or support combine to make the pressures of caring for them overwhelming.
- Protecting children from harm
- Prevention and early intervention
Reporting child abuse If you have a reason to suspect a child in Queensland is experiencing harm, or is at risk of experiencing harm, you need to contact Child Safety Services.
Responding to child abuse The department is the lead child protection agency in Queensland and is required by law to ensure that children and young people are safe from abuse, neglect and harm in their homes.
Ongoing intervention Ongoing intervention occurs when we need to provide support and assistance to a child or young person and their family to meet their protection and care needs.
- Case planning
  - Service referrals
- Support service case
- Intervention with parental agreement
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples We are committed to working in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to keep Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people safe within their own families and communities wherever possible. Find out how we do this.
  - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle
  - Making active efforts
  - Independent person When Child Safety is making an important decision about an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child, the child and the child's family have a right to have a say and to have an independent Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander entity for a child (independent person) help make sure their voice is heard.
- Child Protection Order
- Family group meetings
- Court processes
- Youth justice
- Contacts
Child Safety Practice Manual
Adoption Adoption is a way to provide a permanent family for children who cannot live with their birth family.
- Resources and publications
Child and family reform The Queensland Government has outlined its reform agenda for supporting Queensland families and keeping children safe.
- Sharing responsibility for children's safety and wellbeing
- Supporting families earlier
- Working better with families in contact with the child protection system
- Meeting the needs and requirements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, families and communities Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families will have access to culturally appropriate Indigenous-specific and mainstream services and care.
- Improving care and post-care for children and young people
- Delivering quality services to children and families through a capable, motivated workforce and client-focused organisations
  - Quality Improvement Program
- Building an accountable, transparent and cost-effective system
- Child protection legislation reform
- History of child protection legislation reforms in Queensland
- Specialist Services
- Transition and Post Care Support Program
- Using technology for business transformation
NDIS implementation As the NDIS transition progresses in each region, new processes and relationships are being established between the NDIA and Queensland Government services, including our department.
Resources and publications
- Family Group Meeting Convenor Handbook

Foster and kinship care

Every day, thousands of Queenslanders confirm their commitment to protecting Queensland's vulnerable children by being a foster or kinship carer.

Information for children and young people in care
Information for existing foster and kinship carers
Information for potential foster and kinship carers
Training Find out about ongoing training that is provided to existing foster and kinship carers.
- Foster carer training Our department is committed to providing training for foster carers to support the development of the skills and knowledge required to provide quality care to children and young people in out-of-home care.
  - Foster carer training guidelines
  - Getting ready to start training
  - Learning journal
  - Starting out training Following initial approval as a foster carer, our department or licensed care service providing support to the foster carer will ensure that each foster carer has an individualised learning plan, recorded as part of their Foster Carer Agreement.
  - Caring for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children
  - Continuous learning Continuous learning is flexible and based on the foster carer's specific learning needs.
    - Carer skills gateway
    - Trauma Responsive Practice in Education
  - Acknowledgements
- Rights and responsibilities
- Regulation of care When ongoing intervention with a child or young person and their family involves placing the child or young person away from their parents' care, our department is required to ensure that the child is assured a safe and acceptable standard of care.
  - Responding to concerns about the quality of care received by a child in a care arrangement
  - Community Visitors and Child Advocates
- Resources and publications Access publications including fact sheets, brochures, forms, guides, policies and procedures relating to foster and kinship care.
- Contacts Access contact information for the Foster and Kinship Carer Support Line, community foster care agencies, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander foster care agencies, and peak bodies and advocacy groups.
  - Community foster care agency contacts Foster care community agencies contact information
  - Indigenous foster care agency contacts
  - Peak body and advocacy group contacts

Youth Justice

Our goal is to provide a fair and balanced response to young people in contact with the youth justice system.

About Youth Justice
Information for young people and their parents
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people Youth Justice recognises that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people need to be supported in a culturally appropriate way.
Reform We are continuing to reform the youth justice system.
- Changing the Youth Justice story
- Youth Justice Strategy
  - Youth Justice Strategy evidence
- Youth Justice Strategy Action Plan
- Inclusion of 17-year-olds in the youth justice system
- Changes to the Youth Justice Act 1992
- Framework for Practice
- Youth detention
- Youth Justice taskforce Find out what's happening with the Youth Justice Taskforce.
Resources

Multicultural Affairs

Multicultural Affairs Resources

Programs and initiatives Grant funding and other opportunities are available to assist with building an inclusive, united and harmonious Queensland.
- Funding programs Grant funding and other opportunities are available to assist with building an inclusive, united and harmonious Queensland.
- Attracting and retaining engineers from migrant backgrounds: A guide for employers
- Welcoming and inclusive communities
- A research report for Multicultural Affairs Queensland
- Workers rights education and support services program
- Racism. It stops with me.
- Strategic settlement partnerships
Policy and governance Legislative information related to multicultural affairs.
- Multicultural Recognition Act 2016
- Multicultural Policy and Action Plan
- Multicultural Queensland Advisory Council
- Multicultural Queensland Charter The Multicultural Queensland Charter, established under the Multicultural Recognition Act 2016, is a statement of our values and aspirations, recognising our long and rich history of diversity and the strength it provides for our shared future.
- Language Services Policy
  - Interpreter Training Boost Program
Multicultural communities Multicultural Affairs seeks to improve outcomes for people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and assist in building safe, caring and connected communities.
- Multicultural Queensland Awards
- Multicultural Affairs mailing list and Resource Directory This public directory provides a comprehensive listing of more than 1,500 key organisations with an ethnic community focus in Queensland. You can list your organisation, or search the directory.
  - Subscribe to the Multicultural Affairs mailing list or be listed in the Multicultural Resource Directory
  - Search the directory
- Search Diversity Queensland
- Australian South Sea Islanders Access information on Queensland’s Australian South Sea Islander peoples based on data from the 2021 census including population size, location, associated ancestries, health, housing, education and labour force characteristics.
- Safe Haven Enterprise Visa
- Community Facilities and Venues for Hire
Events Details of events related to multicultural affairs throughout Queensland.
- Event calendar
- Event registration form
Multicultural Queensland Month
Multicultural Queensland Ambassador Program

About us

About us.

Our department Learn more about the Department of Children, Youth Justice and Multicultural Affairs.
- Director-General
- Structure
- Our legislation
- Corporate publications Find out about our corporate publications, such as our Annual Report and Strategic Plan.
- Governance committees
- Partners Find out who we partner with to deliver our services.
  - Child and family Find out who we partner with to deliver child and family services.
    - Our community partners Non-government organisations work in partnership with Child Safety Services to deliver services or programs to children, young people and families throughout Queensland.
    - Our government partners The Director of Child Protection Litigation is an independent statutory agency in the Department of Justice and Attorney-General portfolio established to make decisions as to which matters will be the subject of a child protection order application and what type of child protection order will be sought, as well as litigate the applications.
    - Child safety licensing Incorporated organisations delivering placement services to children subject to statutory child protection intervention are required to be licensed.
    - Resources and publications
  - Youth Justice Find out about who we partner with to deliver youth justice services to young people and their families.
    - Youth Justice funded services
    - Youth Justice initiatives
  - Youth
  - Information sharing Information about sharing information between organisations and services.
    - Youth Justice
    - Child and family
  - Recordkeeping requirements for non-government organisations
- Funding, grants and investment Find out about current funding, grants and investment opportunities.
- Right to information Find out about our approach to providing the community with greater access to information.
  - Publication scheme The publication scheme describes and categorises information routinely available from us.
  - Disclosure log The Right to Information Act 2009 requires agencies to publish information and documents on RTI disclosure logs.
    - Applications received prior to November 2020
    - Documents accessed prior to November 2020
  - Information privacy
- Regions
Our Minister
Performance and evaluations Evaluation of the department's services and programs, and information about performance.
Research
Reviews and inquiries Read about our departments reviews and inquiries.
- National approach to child protection
- Queensland Government Response to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse The Queensland Government response to the Royal Commission was tabled by the Premier in Parliament on 15 June 2018.
  - Truth, Healing and Reconciliation Taskforce
    - Taskforce members
  - National Redress Scheme in Queensland
- Queensland Government response to the death of Mason Jet Lee
- Youth detention review The Independent Review into Youth Detention took place in 2016. It examined the practices, policies and programs of Queensland's youth detention centres, and made 83 recommendations to the Queensland Government.
  - About the review Learn about the background to the Independent Review into Youth Detention, and the government's response to review recommendations.
  - Working together on the review
  - Implementing the review recommendations The Youth Detention Review recommendations were organised into work programs for implementation. Find out how the recommendations were addressed.
- Atkinson report
- Youth Justice reforms review
Careers Find out how you can join us and what career paths are available in our department.
- Opportunities Information about the range of career opportunities available within the department.
  - Child protection We employ across a variety of child protection roles, from Child Safety Support Officers to Senior Practitioners.
    - Training and support
  - Youth justice
  - Working with youth in detention
    - Detention youth workers
  - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cadetships
- Benefits of working with us
  - Remote and regional incentives
- Graduates
- How to apply
- Volunteering and student placements

News and updates

Read our latest news items.

COVID-19 updates Find information about our department's response in relation to COVID-19.
- Youth detention and COVID-19
- Child safety

Contact us

Contact the department.

Department contacts Find contact details for teams in our department, as well as for child and family services such as after hours contacts, Child Safety Service Centres and Youth Justice.
- Child and family contacts Child and family contacts.
  - Child safety service centres Contact details of child safety service centres.
  - Regional offices
- Youth Justice contacts
Compliments and complaints
- Public Interest Disclosure
Social media
Community guidelines We share relevant information and engage with Queenslanders on a number of social media accounts. Please check the community guidelines for the accounts you wish to follow before posting.
- Child and Family Queensland
- Multicultural Affairs, Queensland Government
How you can get involved

Search

Search the Department of Children, Youth Justice and Multicultural Affairs website.