
Welcome to our new advocate
Welcome to Claire, our new Advocate for children and young people in care.
Welcome to Claire, our new Advocate for children and young people in care.
Foster and Kinship Carers Week is a special time for us all to acknowledge and celebrate the incredible contribution carers make to the lives of children and young people in care.
At the Guardian’s office, we meet so many amazing carers and hear their stories. Most importantly, we see first-hand the difference they make to a child’s life when they open up their hearts and homes, and welcome children into their families.
As always, it’s been a busy Child Protection Week for the Guardian and her staff. This week is all about bringing together children, young people, families, communities and government to celebrate what’s working, to have hard conversation about what’s not, and to work together on how to make things better.
A few weeks back, Guardian for Children and Young People, Shona Reid, travelled to Mparntwe (Alice Springs) to meet with the NPY Women’s Council – alongside both the Northern Territory and Western Australia Children’s Commissioners.
Presenting a joint media conference, the Commissioners, Guardian and NPYWC called for a collaborative approach between State, Territory and Federal Governments regarding vulnerable children and young people moving between jurisdictions.
There’s magic in children’s books – well, really, in all books.
Books open a world of fun and wonder. They help children learn about the world, what’s happening around them and, importantly, it helps them learn about themselves. It expands imaginations, and connects them with those that care for and protect them.
We asked some children and young people, along with some of our advocates, what books might be good to read or share with children and young people in care.
The Guardian for Children and Young People provides an advocacy service, and her staff (known as ‘Advocates’) are always there to take calls from and about children and young people living in care.
It can be confusing to navigate advocacy and advice services, and it also helps to know about what to expect when you call the Guardian’s office. To help make that process easier, Advocates were asked what some of the most common questions they come across are – here’s what they had to say.
On 1 August 2022, Shona Reid commenced her roles as the Guardian for Children and Young People, Child and Young Person’s Visitor, Training Centre Visitor and Youth Treatment Order Visitor.
With the first anniversary of her commencement just past, we sat down with Shona and asked her to share her reflections on the past year.
Today, the team were out at Parafield Gardens, celebrating National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day at the Aboriginal Family Support Services ‘Connection to Culture Children’s Day’.
We had resources to give away for little ones (including colouring-in, temporary tattoos and booklets) and fun activities like hand painting and a raffle to win one of our special plush toys. Our beloved safety symbol for First Nations children in care, Nunga Oog, popped in to say hi and have his photo taken throughout the day!
Often, we hear about children and young people in kinship or foster care living with families – and, in fact, this is the most common type of out-of-home care arrangement here in South Australian and nationally. However, there are over 700 children and young people in South Australia who are not living with families, but instead living in what are technically known as “Residential Care Facilities”.
Our office knows that children and young people in residential houses can face particular issues and vulnerabilities. This is why we operate a “Child and Young Person’s Visitor’ Program”.
Last month, the Guardian for Children and Young People, Shona Reid, published a new report about child protection expenditure in South Australia. The report takes an in-depth look at not only where money is being spent, but what this means for the lives and wellbeing of children and young people.
We acknowledge and respect Aboriginal People as the traditional owners
and custodians of the land we live and work on, their living culture and their unique role in the life of South Australia.