Yesterday, The Guardian for Children and Young People’s 2023-24 Annual Report was tabled in Parliament – and we’re excited to now share that report!
Those of you who have followed and read the OGCYP’s annual reports in past years might notice that things are different this time around.
The report takes a deep dive into the world of the OGCYP – travelling through the four statutory mandates that Shona Reid holds as Guardian for Children and Young People, Training Centre Visitor, Child and Young Person’s Visitor and Youth Treatment Orders Visitor.
In drawing out more around the work sitting behind responding to children and young people’s advocacy needs, The Guardian hopes to improve understanding across the community and sector around our office’s role, how we can help – and, most importantly, what children and young people in care are telling us about the systems they live and grow up in.
We’ve shared some of the key figures and highlights from the report, below.
Advocacy and monitoring for children and young people in care and detention
At a glance, in 2023-24, The Guardian:
- Received 1,224 enquiries, with over 40% of those directly from children and young people
- Conducted 223 visits to children and young people in care and detention, with over 1,300 children and young people present
- Reviewed and monitored thousands of records across proactive audit activities, relating to residential care houses, the Adelaide Youth Training Centre and for children and young people in family-based care.
Key themes coming up when children and young people spoke to The Guardian’s office in 2023-24 included:
- Having a say in their lives
- Safety in residential care
- Connection with siblings and other family
- Reunification with their parents
- Health needs and services
- Rehabilitation – and getting the right supports from youth workers
Shoutout to our subscribers!
With The Guardian’s role being around for 20 years, we had a look into the history of the blog – and how it has grown over this time.
And we’d like to take a moment to thank all our blog subscribers and readers – we are so appreciative of your engagement through both last year, and for our longer term readers!
What’s new?
The report also showcases new initiatives launched in 2023-24, with a strong focus on creating space for government to hear directly from the experts on out-of-home care and youth detention: the children and young people who live within and through these systems.
This includes the launch of the From Those Who Know series – with the first of these reports presenting young people in detention’s views on the Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility.
Other new initiatives in 2023-24 included:
- Launch of The Guardian’s Charter of Rights Video Animations
- Commencement of a new position in the OGCYP’s leadership structure – our Principal Aboriginal Advocate, Shaylem Wilson
- The Guardian’s Oversight Framework 2024 to 2027 (as published earlier this month).
A different way of reporting
In the past, our annual report has also delved into The Guardian’s observations about what’s working and not working in the out-of-home care and youth detention sectors – and where government needs to do better for children and young poeple.
That kind of information isn’t included in this year’s annual report…instead, The Guardian will be releasing separate reports in the coming months, which explore and analyse systemic challenges and issues in the quality of care for children and young people in out-of-home care and youth detention, as well as improvements underway and needed to make the lives of children and young people better. For those interested, The Guardian’s new Oversight Framework has more information on these reports.
Reflecting on the changes – and what’s coming next – Shona told us:
This year was the 20th anniversary of the establishment of The Guardian’s function and office. It provided a much-needed opportunity to evaluate how far this independent oversight function has come.
And we have come a long way in 20 years. In 2023-24, my office received more than 1,200 requests for advocacy for children and young people in care and detention in South Australia – a higher number than ever before.
I feel privileged and humbled to hold the trust of these children and young people. And I am strongly committed to making the out-of-home care and youth detention systems better, with and for them.
During 2023-24, I introduced changes to how I provide advocacy for children and young people in detention and care, as well as oversight of the systems they live in. A key part of the change I want to see in these systems is listening deeply to the voices of children and young people. I have aimed to uplift and amplify their expertise throughout the year, and I hope to do that again through this report.
With 2024-25 well underway, I am now preparing for the first round of reporting under my new Oversight Framework, which I published earlier this month. Through that reporting, I intend to promote both accountability and improvement in the quality of care provided to children and young people.
To read more, you can download a copy of The Guardian’s 2023-24 Annual Report on our website.
