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Monitoring and Review

As part of the Commission’s Policy, Advocacy and Reporting Group, the Child Guardian function aims to strengthen Queensland’s child protection and youth justice systems by externally monitoring and reporting on the effectiveness of services provided to children in those systems.

Monitoring and Review are key aspects of the Child Guardian function and include the following activities:

Monitoring Activities

Through the Child Guardian function, the Commission monitors and reviews systems, policies and practices of the Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services and other service providers who provide services to children and young people in the child safety system

Monitoring activities are carried out under Chapter 3 of the Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian Act 2000, which provides powers to

  • require information or documents from a service provider;
  • require periodic reporting from a service provider;
  • require service providers to review their systems, policies or practices;
  • make recommendations to a relevant service provider; and
  • monitor the implementation of recommendations made to a service provider

A monitoring activity is commenced in one of two ways:

  • An area of service delivery identified in monitoring plans; or
  • An ‘ad hoc’ activity, that is, a pertinent issue which has only recently revealed itself to the Commission via internal and/or external sources.

Monitoring activities initiated under Chapter 3 of the Act often result in a detailed report to the service provider that may include recommendations to improve service delivery to children and young people. The Commissioner may decide to release these reports publicly, by asking the Minister to table the report in Parliament.

The Commission also monitors services provided young people in the youth justice system. Click here for more information about the Commission’s current youth justice monitoring activities.

Monitoring Plans

Monitoring Plans set the direction and focus of future monitoring activities and are established with relevant service providers (as outlined in Chapter 3 of the Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian Act 2000).

Accordingly, the Monitoring Plans are between the Commission and the following Queensland Government departments. The text of the Monitoring Plan is consistent across all agencies, however links are provided below to the specific data sought from each department:

CGCMWG Advocacy and Accountability

CGCMWG process flow chart

Child Guardian Key Outcome Indicators

A significant element in the Commission’s external oversight of the child safety system is the establishment of the Child Guardian Key Outcome Indicators. The Child Guardian Key Outcome Indicators represent an innovative approach to measuring, reporting and prioritising systemic child protection issues. The Child Guardian Key Outcome Indicators use internal data generated by the Commission’s research, Commission Community Visitors, complaints and child death review activities and external data provided by the Department of Communities (Child Safety Services) and other service providers, to:

  • establish priority areas for oversight of the performance of the child safety system, and
  • the outcomes it produces for the children and young people in that system.

The Child Guardian Key Outcome Indicators also enable early alerts of system failure to be identified and effective service delivery to be recognised. Reporting about the Child Guardian Key Outcome Indicators occurs annually in the Child Guardian Report.

Click here for access to the Child Guardian Reports

Click here to view the Child Guardian Key Outcome Indicators

Child Guardian Youth Justice Monitoring Framework

The Commission also undertakes external oversight of the youth justice system in Queensland. This is progressed under the Youth Justice Monitoring Framework which was developed in consultation with stake-holding agencies and peak bodies. The Framework consists of three Domains:

  • Domain 1 – Youth Offending and Prevention: explores the extent of supports and services that provide communities, families and young people the opportunity to address risk factors linked to potential offending.
  • Domain 2 – Diversions: explores the way in which youth justice service system provides young people an opportunity to address offending behaviours through strategies such as cautions and conferencing aimed at diverting them from further progressing into the youth justice system, and
  • Domain 3 – Supervision, Interventions and Reintegration: explores the use of statutory youth justice interventions to prevent young people from re-offending, including the success of detention and reintegration supports.

The Domains provide a comprehensive approach to examining each stage of young people’s progression through the youth justice system. Reporting against the Framework occurs annually under the Child Guardian Report: Youth Justice System.

Click here to view the full Child Guardian Report: Youth Justice System 2010-11

Click here to view the Child Guardian Youth Justice Monitoring Framework. 

Child Death Review activities

The Commission is responsible for a number of functions relating to child deaths in Queensland, including:

  • chairing and providing secretariat support for the independent Child Death Case Review Committee, which reviews the deaths of all children known to the child protection system (within three years of their death)
  • maintaining a register of all child deaths in Queensland based on notifications from the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages and details of all child deaths reported to the Office of the State Coroner
  • researching the risk factors associated with child deaths and making recommendations to prevent such deaths occurring, and
  • preparing an Annual Report on child deaths.

The Annual Report on child deaths is published on or before 31 October each year.

Click here for access to the annual reports on the Child Death Review activities

The Commission also actions and supports child death and injury prevention initiatives through providing tailored child death data to genuine researchers and advocacy entities, and by providing evidence-based submission to influence the development and design of legislation, policy and programs.

Accessing the Queensland Child Death Register

The Commission’s Child Death Register houses a unique and comprehensive dataset on all child deaths in Queensland. Data from the Register is available for use by external stakeholders seeking evidence to inform research, policy, and program initiatives aimed at reducing death and injury and improving outcomes for children and young people.

Who can access the Register?

Under Section 144 of the Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian Act 2000, external persons considered by the Commissioner ‘genuine researchers’ can access information in the Register. Generally, only non­identifying information from the Register may be accessed, however access to identifying information may be granted to genuine researchers in cases where the Commissioner believes that information is necessary for the research to be effective and also where the potential research results outweigh the need for privacy. The Commissioner will assess each application on a case by case basis.

How to apply for access to the Register

To apply for access to the Register, individuals or organisations must complete a Request for access form, available here, and email the completed form to data@ccypcg.qld.gov.au. The Commission will assess the application and advise by email of the outcome via a Response to request for access form. If the application is approved, the Commission will provide an approximate timeframe for the provision of the data. We have also included a Feedback form available here.

Other information relating to the deaths of children and young people in Queensland

Each year the Commission releases an annual report of the deaths of children and young people in Queensland (available here). This is part of the Commission’s commitment to register, review, analyse, and report on trends and patterns in child deaths. The annual report contains chapters on transport deaths, drownings, deaths of children from assault and neglect, child and youth suicides, and deaths from natural causes.

The Child Death Case Review Committee (CDCRC) is an independent body who also releases an annual report (available here) reviewing the deaths of children and young people known to the child safety system within three years of their death.

Child death data can be sought by emailing data@ccypcg.qld.gov.au

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Last Updated:March 7, 2013

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The State of Queensland (Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian) 2011