Metadata for DCJ quarterly statistical report on services for children and young people

• Children in care – Better placements and matching for children and young people in care
• Children on guardianship orders – Alternate permanent placements solutions for children and young people in need of care and protection
• Children in care – Placement of Aboriginal children and young people with extended family
• Early intervention services – Reinforcing child safety, parent capacity and family functioning

Measure - Children in care – Better placements and matching for children and young people in care

Description

This refers to the total number of children and young people in OOHC with fewer than three placements at quarter end.

Placement stability is indicated by the length of time a child or young person has spent in OOHC and the number of distinct placements during their care period.

Excluded from the counts are:

• Placements where the child or young person has returned to a previous carer; and
• Children and young people who had a non-permanent placement for less than 7 days.

Publisher

NSW Department of Communities and Justice

Numerator

Not applicable

Denominator

Not applicable

Data Filters

Nil

Data Limitations

Nil

Data Source

KiDS/MDS - Corporate Information Warehouse (CIW) for data before 2017-18.

ChildStory/MDS - Corporate Information Warehouse (CIW) for data after 2017-18.

Measure - Children on guardianship orders – Alternate permanent placement solutions for children and young people in need of care and protection

Description

This refers to the total number of children and young people on guardianship orders as at quarter end.

Guardianship orders aim to provide greater stability for children and young people when the Children’s Court makes a decision that they cannot live with their parents.

The placement and legal record of the child and young person is used to ascertain the number of children and young people on guardianship orders.

From October 2014, a guardianship order can be made to the Children’s Court for a child or young person who is in statutory out-of-home care or supported out-of-home care. Under a guardianship order, a guardian takes on full parental responsibility of the child or young person, making all decisions about their care until they reach 18 years of age. A child or young person under a guardianship order is not considered to be in foster care or out-of-home care but in the independent care of their guardian.

Publisher

NSW Department of Communities and Justice

Numerator

Not applicable

Denominator

Not applicable

Data Filters

• Age group (calculated as at end of quarter)
• Aboriginality

Data Limitations

Nil

Data Source

KiDS/MDS - Corporate Information Warehouse (CIW) for data before 2017-18.

ChildStory/MDS - Corporate Information Warehouse (CIW) for data after 2017-18.

Measure – Children in care – Placement of Aboriginal children and young people with extended family

Description

This refers to the total number of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander children and young people in OOHC who were in the care of a relative or Aboriginal carer at quarter end as a percentage of the total number of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander children and young people in OOHC at quarter end.

The Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 recognises the importance of placing Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander children and young people with family or other Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people.  The preferred order specified in section 13 of the Act is (subject to the safety of the child): the child's extended family or kinship group; the child's Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander community; or other Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people, whenever possible.

Publisher

NSW Department of Communities and Justice

Numerator

The total number of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander children and young people in OOHC who were in the care of a relative or Aboriginal carer as at quarter end.

Denominator

The total number of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander children and young people in OOHC as at quarter end.

Data Filters

Nil

Data Limitations

Nil

Data Source

KiDS/MDS - Corporate Information Warehouse (CIW) for data before 2017-18.

ChildStory/MDS - Corporate Information Warehouse (CIW) for data after 2017-18.

Measure – Early intervention services – Reinforcing child safety, parent capacity and family functioning

Description

This refers to the total number of families, children and young people who are in the Brighter Futures program (engaged or participating) as at quarter end.

Brighter Futures is an early intervention program targeting the families of children who are at high risk of entering the statutory child protection system. Prior to July 2014, the target group was focused on those families who do not meet the ROSH threshold. From July 2014 the target group expanded to include eligible children and families where the ROSH threshold has been met.

The Brighter Futures program is delivered by non-government agencies.

The engagement stage applies when a Brighter Futures worker has been allocated to work with a family and is building trust and rapport to obtain the cooperation of the family and encourage participation in the program.

A family is considered 'in program' once the family has formally agreed to participate.

This measure counts both engaged and participating.

A family is counted as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander when at least one of the children in the family is Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.

Due to the introduction of ChildStory, reporting on Brighter Futures after 2017-18 is not available.

Publisher

NSW Department of Communities and Justice

Numerator

Not applicable

Denominator

Not applicable

Data Filters

• Children/Family
• Aboriginality

Data Limitations

A child can belong to more than one family group. Where this occurs, a child will be counted more than once.

Data Source

KiDS/MDS - Corporate Information Warehouse (CIW)