Submissions & Policy Resources

Systemic inquiry into the educational experiences of children and young people in out-of-home care

The report examins the educational experiences of children and young people in out-of-home care, including the factors that affect their educational outcomes and ability to stay engaged in education.

The inquiry revealed substantial disparities in educational outcomes for children and young people in care compared to their peers and identified significant barriers that affect this in the child protection, care and education systems.

There are 47 recommendations to be made to the child protection, care and education systems. The Commission hopes that the inquiry report will drive reform to improve educational experiences and outcomes for children and young people in care.

To read the inquiry, click here

Submission for PCA Families Victorian State Budget 2022-23

PCA Families recommends several initiatives that are required in the 2022-23 State Budget in order to build on the initiatives from 2020-21 and to improve the understanding both within the sector and government of the situation for permanent care and adoptive families.

To read the submission, click here

Submission for Paid Parental Leave for permanent care parents

PCA Families sought equal access to Paid Parental Leave (PPL) for those carers who welcome a child into their home under a permanent care order (PCO).  Submission to the Senate for ’Fairer Paid Parental Leave Amendment Bill 2015’was considered by the Community Affairs Legislation Committee.  PCA Families argued that where the carer is required to be home full time for the first 12 months of a permanent care placement,  then these carers should be entitled to the 18 weeks of PPL, just as any new biological or adoptive parent is.  We believe that the review of PPL would benefit from considering Victoria’s case individually, given that PCOs have been operating in Victoria since 1992.  Each year, over 200 permanent care orders are made in Victoria, for children who are not able to live with their birth family.

Inquiry into the Implementation of the Children, Youth and Families Amendment Act 2014

A Permanency Amendments Inquiry was conducted by the Commission for Children and Young People on recent changes to child protection laws. More than 50 submissions were received, from carers, families, service providers and advocates. Not all submissions have been made public, however  thirty-six public submissions are now available on Permanency Amendments Inquiry.

Permanence and Stability, "The missing ingredients for Victoria's most vulnerable children". (2021)

Why it’s important for families to be supported

There are more Victorian children than ever before in out-of-home care. This excludes children on Permanent Care Orders. The last 3 years alone have seen a 21% increase in the daily average number of children in out-of-home care.

Approximately half (48%) of these Victorian children have spent more than 2 years in out-of-home care, and of those in the care system for 2 or more years, two-thirds (67%) have had multiple placements. The purpose of this report is to review the current state of permanent care in Victoria to understand:

• The reasons why so many children in out-ofhome care are not moving to stable, permanent arrangements in a timely manner when they are unable to be re-unified with their birth parents,
• The consequences for children the longer they remain in the out-of-home care system,
• The support children in permanency arrangements need in order to recover from the accumulated harm, identity, and developmental issues both before and during their time in out-of-home care, and
• The requirements of children and families in permanency arrangements to create and sustain a stable environment that improves life opportunities and outcomes for these children.

Stability is key for children to recover from the significant disruption in their lives. International and domestic research has clearly shown that ‘drifting’ in the care system and multiple placements are strongly correlated with negative life outcomes for children, including poor mental health, underperformance at school, difficulty in building meaningful relationships, and time spent in the youth justice system. The earlier children find themselves in a permanent arrangement, the more likely they are to effectively heal and start the recovery journey from the inevitable trauma and disruption caused by both removal from their birth family and time in out-of-home care.

To understand more about the importance of supporting permanent care and adoptive families, read Permanence and Stability, "The missing ingredients for Victoria's most vulnerable children".

Potential of Permanent Care report (2015)

Why it’s important for families to be supported

Outcomes for many of the 10,000 children and young people currently in out of home care in Victoria include homelessness, poor job prospects, fractured relationships and, too often a trajectory into the criminal justice system.

It doesn't have to be this way. In addition to providing more support to ensure less children enter care in the first place and that children can be reunified to their birth parents in a timely way wherever possible, there is now overwhelming international evidence that when we offer children a alternative permanent homes we give children a sense of security and stability that leads to better life outcomes.

However, it's not enough to make a court order. The international evidence also shows that the availability of peer support and other consumer-led support services independent of government and placement agencies is critical to ensuring these alternative families succeed.  It is the non-judgemental lived experience underpinning our model that permanent care and adoptive families trust. It means we can help keep families together, when other services cannot.

When they do succeed, families are the best advertisement for other families to offer permanent homes for children who need them (which in turn helps reduce the pressure on and churn in foster care).

To read more about the importance of supporting permanent care and adoptive families, read The Potential of Permanent Care report (2015).