Commission told stay or go policy was a failure on the government’s part.
They cited a series of warnings and suggestions from the Office of the Children’s Commissioner that “there is an urgent need for a review”, said Nanaia Jha, deputy director of the children’s services division at the Office of Child Protection and Development.
There are five types of stay or go policies – with two types set by the state and one by the centre.
Under “stay or go” policy, if a child is placed in a care unit or social care facility for the purpose of a stay or go, their case must be monitored by the police.
But when a case requires a stay or go??, the police can take the child to any location within the centre.
This means children would have to go into a children’s home in a suburb rather than live in a home with a parent, foster family or guardian, as under “go” policy.
A court case, as well as a par?? ??ental appeal, would trigger a stay or go.
The Office of the Children’s Commissioner said while the focus had always been on staying children in the care units, it had also focused on social care.
“We have been very careful about what we’ve said,” said Jha.
“We have a very clear??? ??? focus on staying children in the homes but we also think you also have to have regard to those families that have kids in the care unit and how they live and that sort of thing.”
The new policy will not apply if two parents with children in the home are parents to the child in care.
The new rules also apply where a child is in a household with other children.
Under a stay or go policy, the police do not need to inform parents or others until the first day after a stay or go, but they must do so if there is a delay.
This means they could take children to the first of the month to check if their parents were going through the process of leaving children in care – a process that can take anywhere from 24 hours to one week.
The new policy came into force on Saturday, August 31 and will not be expanded until next year.
For those who find a care worker will not get the children to a house with their parents on a day when they need to spend time with them, they can call the National Children’s Relocation Service on 1800 333 100.