Child abuse rates up, foster care support lags,Australian

Child abuse rates up, foster care support lags
By LEANNE CRAIG
10sep04

FOSTER carer payments must rise 25 per cent and child protection
budgets increase to match the national average, says the South
Australian Council of Social Service.

The council's child protection policy, released yesterday, shows
reports of child abuse and neglect rose more than 30 per cent in SA in
the three years to 2002-03.

Council chairman Simon Schrapel said 5.8 children in every 1000 in the
state had been subjected to a confirmed case of abuse or neglect and
one in four of those children had been abused again within 12 months.

In a 10-point plan for future action, the council has called for teams
of family-support workers in regional areas to be linked to individual
families for as long as required where abuse or neglect had been
identified.

Mr Schrapel said support for foster carers in SA fell well below other
states and that carer payments covered only half of the expense of
caring for a child.

"Essentially, every foster carer needs to subsidise children under the
care of the state," he said.

The State Government also released its Keeping them safe document
yesterday as part of Child Protection Week.

Families and Communities Minister Jay Weatherill said the Government
had allocated an extra $210 million to child protection over five
years.

"Our program is aimed at strengthening the focus on early intervention
to support families and communities before they reach crisis point,"
Mr Weatherill said.

However, Mr Schrapel said SA had come from a low base in child
protection funding and remained behind other states which had invested
heavily to address the problem.

"I don't think we can get away with one shot in the arm," he said.

"It's going to need a long-term, concerted effort."

Mr Schrapel said Aboriginal communities needed stronger support as
indigenous children were six times more likely to be abused or
neglected than non-indigenous children.
http://www.theadvertiser.news.com.au...5E2682,00.html
Defend your civil liberties! Get information at http://www.aclu.org, become a member at http://www.aclu.org/join and get active at http://www.aclu.org/action.