The Commission’s individual advocacy activities include:
We provide children, particularly those most vulnerable, with a ‘voice’ that enables their issues to be identified and resolved.
| Children in out-of-home care regularly visited | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander numbers visited | |
|---|---|---|
| 2010–11 | 7600 | 2770 |
| Apr – Jun 2011 | 6130 | 2240 |
| Jul – Sep 2011 | 6270 | 2320 |
| Year to date | 6270 | 2320 |
Commission Community Visitors (CVs) regularly visit and engage with children and young people in out-of-home care to check they are OK and to advocate for their rights, interests and wellbeing. Through visiting CVs seek to resolve issues for, and on behalf of, children and young people.
CVs regularly visited 6270 kids in care between July and September 2011, including over 2300 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people within the child protection and youth justice system.
| Number of reports submitted by CVs | |
|---|---|
| 2010–11 | 41156 |
| Apr – Jun 2011 | 10422 |
| Jul – Sep 2011 | 10898 |
| Year to date | 10898 |
The Commission employs a dedicated team of CVs who regularly visit children and young people throughout Queensland in out-of-home care, including foster homes‚ residential services‚ authorised mental health facilities and detention centres to monitor their safety and wellbeing.
Following a visit‚ CVs complete a comprehensive report detailing the safety and wellbeing of visited children. In 2010–11‚ CVs completed over 41,000 reports from visits to foster homes and other sites. Between July and September 2011, almost 11,000 visits have been submitted by CVs.
| Opened | Closed | |
|---|---|---|
| Apr – Jun 2011 | 5236 | 5432 |
| Jul – Sep 2011 | 5008 | 4953 |
Through the Commission’s individual advocacy functions‚ which include the Community Visitor Program and Complaints functions‚ issues are identified in order to facilitate the resolution of these issues for children and young people.
The Community Visitor Program and Complaints functions advocate for the resolution of issues by liaising with key stakeholders and immediately referring serious issues to the Department of Communities and/or the Queensland Police Service and the Crime and Misconduct Commission.
Already, between July and September 2011, nearly 5000 issues for children and young people have been resolved by the Commission.
Last Updated: January 3, 2012