18 July 2017
We dig into the data and comments from our June 2017 Coordination and Collaboration Survey,to see how staff in Department of Education and Child Development (DECD) schools and Department for Child Protection (DCP) workers view the prevalence of coordination and collaboration in their relationship. (1)
| C and C occurs… | never | not normal | sometimes | frequently | always | |
| % | % | % | % | % | n | |
| DECD staff | 23 | 23 | 50 | 5 | 0 | 22 |
| DCP staff | 0 | 9 | 49 | 43 | 0 | 47 |
When asked about how things had changed in the previous six months, perceptions were quite closer, biasing slightly toward the negative.
| C and C is… | much worse | worse | the same | better | much better | |
| % | % | % | % | % | n | |
| DECD staff | 10 | 15 | 60 | 10 | 5 | 20 |
| DCP staff | 7 | 20 | 63 | 10 | 0 | 41 |
The comments mostly reflected the statistics and included the following:
Communication between DCP and education has reduced since the separation; there appears to be less support from DECD as previously; [Guardianship] children may have legislative rights to IEP’s however it is more of a tick box with some schools. DECD regionals need to come along to more… (DCP worker)
One of my observations regarding significant improvements in communication about and services to vulnerable families in my region (Whyalla) is that it has been driven by the Manager of the local DCP office. She has done this in a number of ways: firstly, connecting to the community and engaging in community development activities (she knows her community, engages well with local government and non-government services and actions the philosophy of ‘child protection is everybody’s business’ through this engagement); secondly, she is solution focused and open to innovative practice (she takes the time to explore options); thirdly, she has made a commitment to work-force development (there has been a noticeable increase not only in DCP staff skills but also their ability to engage with clients and other stakeholders). (DECD staff)
As a school counsellor I am frequently involved in reporting child protection matters and supporting children and families with child protection issues. Our school has recently been ‘given’ a part- time Child Protection and Well-being Consultant. She comes to our school once a fortnight, for a day. She is very helpful and knowledgeable. However, I am concerned that the DCP is devolving too much responsibility on these (overworked) consultants. We are finding that some of our cases are closing and that we can also not refer children to Targeted Intervention Services anymore. We think that this is happening because the department is putting too much responsibility on the consultants. (DECD staff)
You can also download the Coordination and Collaboration Survey June 2017 – unfiltered results
(1) Sample numbers are small so data should be taken as broadly indicative only.
