Fun fact for today: The Guardian for Children and Young People statutory role turned 20 this year!
The Guardian function was established on 3rd June 2004 and has been in operation since this time – with various other roles added along the way.
After 20 years of operation, this role is deeply embedded in the out-of-home care and youth detention sectors. It has a big part to play in observing, interrupting and advancing systems practices, along with amplifying and representing the voices of children and young people in these systems.
With many years of learnings and commentary, the current Guardian, Shona Reid, has now developed an Oversight Framework that brings about greater accountability, transparency, and consistency in the care provided to children and young people across the out-of-home care and youth detention systems.
Moreover, the framework ensures that voices of the children and young people themselves are heard and considered in decision-making processes, giving them the respect and agency that are often lacking in institutional settings.
“I know that some may ask: why an Oversight Framework, and why now? As an Aboriginal woman, I have personally observed and been subject to system and governance breakdowns. Where big promises are made to build the hopes of many and, as time passes, it always seems to be the most vulnerable bear the consequence of system failures and broken promises.
Children and young people need all of us to stand up and own our responsibilities to care and invest in them. Which means they need my office and I to be deliberate, unwavering and accountable in the way we monitor the out-of-home care and youth detention sectors, advocate for improvement and see that advocacy through to achieving real change. I believe wholeheartedly that the development and implementation of this Oversight Framework is a critical step towards understanding and bettering ourselves in this mission.”
– Shona Reid, Guardian for Children and Young People (excerpt from the Oversight Framework)
South Australia is unique compared to most jurisdictions in co-locating individual advocacy functions with independent systemic oversight. This is an advanced, forward-thinking model that enables a highly sophisticated and contemporary form of oversight. It provides opportunities to regularly talk and work directly with children and young people in out-of-home care and youth detention, as well as observing systemic barriers/ transformations in real-time and practice settings.
“It is my earnest belief that an effective oversight framework serves as both a safeguard and a beacon for promoting best practice in care, protection, rehabilitation and healing,” Shona said.
As an example of how this plays out in a practical sense, last week, the new Children and Young People (Safety and Support) Bill 2024, was tabled in the SA Parliament. Whilst there has been considerable commentary from The Guardian on the formation and content of the Bill, the substance of many of her observations and concerns about systemic conduct have not been addressed. One of the important functions her new Oversight Framework will be to establish formal monitoring systems to observe how new legislation plays out in everyday lives of children and young people in care. And in making these observations, she will be able to share with the government, Parliament and the public if children and young people are better or worse off under any new legislation put forward – and particularly any child rights breaches that occur as an intended or unintended consequence.
“I will use this Oversight Framework to examine and hold this, and future governments, accountable for their quality of care towards some of the most vulnerable people in South Australian. Not just from a legislative context, but also from a compassionate and very human context,” Shona said.
“It is a moral and ethical responsibility that we must embrace. to protect and empower the most vulnerable in our society. Let this framework be a testament to our dedication to ensuring the safety, rights, and wellbeing of all children and young people under our care.”
You can view Oversight Framework here.
