Abstract

Championing Child Rights requires timely and early child protection decision making, based on evidence and child development timeframes. Systems abuse, never a popular descriptor for what happens to some children and families as a result of child protection reporting and intervention, is always a risk.

This presentation will explore the concepts of placements (bed) versus permanency (outcome), concerns and challenges, the inherent tension generated from a systems perspective, and the corresponding impacts on children, including placement stability.

By highlighting the disconnect between systems – statutory child protection and “emergency placements” and funded out-of-home care (OOHC) “permanency outcomes” – this presentation will explore both child-focused casework opportunities in the context of legal status and system reform priorities from the perspective of a non-government service provider.