Snapshot 2010: Children and Young People in Queensland

Snapshot 2010: Children and young people in Queensland was released by the Commissioner on 21 October 2010. Snapshot 2010 is the eighth report in the series which draws together information from a range of sources to provide a contemporary representation of the health, safety and wellbeing of children and young people in Queensland.

Snapshot continues to evolve through the inclusion of emergent issues where new data collections become available. The specific chapters featured in Snapshot 2010 are: key statistics; age cohorts; population; family; health; lifestyle and social issues; deaths; child protection; early childhood education and care; education; crime and justice; and, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander wellbeing.

Snapshot 2010 reveals that most children and young people in Queensland are faring well on a range of key indicators, including:

• About nine-in-ten children are fully immunised by the appropriate coverage age
• The majority of children in their first year of formal schooling are adapting to school
• The number and rate of offences against the person and property continue to decline.

In contrast, there is considerable concern for children and young people on other indicators:

• Significant proportions of young people engage in risky drinking behaviours on a regular basis
• About one-third of sexually active young people report having experienced unwanted sex due to pressure from a partner or being too drunk
• Up to one in five young people experience cyber bullying, which can have a range of consequences including poor educational attendance and performance, psychological distress and physical violence
• About one in four children and young people in Queensland are overweight or obese
• Only a small proportion of babies are exclusively breastfed for the recommended six months, and
• The number of children living in out-of-home care continues to rise, despite sustained reductions in the number of substantiations of harm and neglect.

The release of Snapshot 2010 has attracted significant media interest with the Commissioner interviewed on Ten News on Thursday 21 October 2010 which you can view here [WMV 3.68 MB].

For further information you can view the Snapshot 2010 report and its companion Key Data booklet and read our media release.

Last Updated: October 26, 2010

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