Matters of concern data
Graphs
Number of children in out-of-home care subject to substantiations, where the person believed responsible was in the household, Queensland, 2003-04 to 12 March 07.
| Year | Indigenous | Non-Indigenous |
|---|---|---|
| 2003-04 | 151 | 313 |
| 2004-05 | 132 | 377 |
| 2005-06 | 110 | 171 |
| 2006-07 | 26 | 66 |
Proportion of children in out-of-home care subject to substantiations, where the person believed responsible was in the household by age group, Queensland, 2003-04 to 12 March 07.
| Year | Under 5 | 5 to 9 | 10 to 14 | 15 to 17 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003-04 | 16.3793103448 % | 31.6810344828 % | 42.8879310345 % | 9.05172413793 % |
| 2004-05 | 22.9862475442 % | 31.4341846758 % | 37.1316306483 % | 8.44793713163 % |
| 2005-06 | 25.6227758007 % | 29.537366548 % | 35.9430604982 % | 8.89679715302 % |
| 2006-07 | 18.47826 % | 32.60869 % | 31.52173 % | 17.3913 % |
Number of children in out-of-home care subject to substantiations, where the person believed responsible was in the household by sex of child: Queensland 2003-04 to 12 March 07.
| Year | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| 2003-04 | 244 | 220 |
| 2004-05 | 270 | 239 |
| 2005-06 | 150 | 131 |
| 2006-07 | 45 | 47 |
Proportion of children subject to a matter of concern by age group, Queensland, 13 March 2007 to 30 June 2007.
| Year | CPCR | MOC Notification | MOC Substantiation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-4 | 24 % | 23.3 % | 20.8 % |
| 10-14 | 35 % | 38.5 % | 36.1 % |
| 15-17 | 14.1 % | 8.1 % | 1.3 % |
| 5-9 | 26.7 % | 30 % | 41.6 % |
Number of children subject to a matter of concern by Indigenous status, Queensland, 13 March 2007 to 30 June 2007.
| Year | Indigenous | Non-Indigenous |
|---|---|---|
| CPCR | 49 | 139 |
| MOC Notification | 97 | 173 |
| MOC Substantiation | 31 | 41 |
Tables
- Substantiations for children in out-of-home care where the person believed responsible was in the household, by Indigenous status of child and category of person believed responsible, Queensland, 2002–03 to 12 March 2007
- Children subject to substantiations in out-of-home care where the person believed responsible was in the household, by Indigenous status of child and category of person believed responsible, Queensland, 2002–03 to 12 March 2007
- Children subject to a substantiation in out-of-home care where the person believed responsible was in the household, by sex and age group of child, Queensland, 2002–03 to 12 March 2007
- Children subject to a substantiation in out-of-home care where the person believed responsible was in the household, by person believed responsible and most serious harm type, Queensland, 1 July 2006 to 12 March 2007
- Children subject to a substantiation in out-of-home care where the person believed responsible was in the household, by departmental zone, Queensland, 2002–03 to 12 March 2007
- Matters of concern, by Indigenous status, Queensland, 13 March 2007 to 30 June 2007
- Matters of concern, by sex, Queensland, 13 March 2007 to 30 June 2007
- Matters of concern, by age group, Queensland, 13 March 2007 to 30 June 2007
What is a matter of concern?
A matter of concern is any concern raised in relation to the care of a child in an out-of-home care placement, where a breach of the standards of care is indicated.
An alleged breach to a standard of care is recorded as either a:
- Child Placement Concern Report - when there has been inadequate or poor quality care of a child in out-of-home care that fails to meet the standards of care, but does not meet the threshold for a notification.
- Notification - where the information received meets the legislative threshold of harm.
All matters of concern responded to by way of notification are investigated and assessed. The investigation must commence within 24 hours.
With the introduction of the ICMS in March 2007, the department is now able to report on all matters of concern and their outcomes, including:
- child placement concern reports
- MOC notifications
- MOC substantiations.
Why this topic is important
The protection of children from harm is a key priority for our department. The release in January 2004 of the Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC) report Protecting children: an inquiry into abuse of children in foster care was a significant milestone in Queensland's child protection system. The CMC inquiry identified systemic failures in the system, including actions not being undertaken to prevent children placed in foster care from further abuse or neglect. Since that time, sweeping reforms of the child protection system have been undertaken, including implementation of all 110 CMC recommendations.
Regular monitoring and reporting on the safety and wellbeing of children placed away from home is critical to ensure that children remain safe in out-of-home care and that any issues are quickly resolved.
Trends
Prior to the Integrated Client Management System (ICMS), reporting in this area was limited to notifications of children placed in departmentally funded out-of-home care that resulted in a substantiated outcome where the person believed responsible was in the household. In addition, reporting was not able to separately distinguish those substantiations in out-of-home care that constituted a MOC. Rather, previous year figures included all children substantiated in out-of-home care, not just those children in the custody or guardianship of the Chief Executive. From 13 March 2007, figures for children substantiated in out-of-home care who are in the custody/guardianship of someone other than the Chief Executive (Director-General) are included in total substantiation figures.
Figures for 2006–07 are therefore a combination of:
- substantiations in out-of-home care: Between 1 July 2006 and 12 March 2007 there were 92 children subject to a substantiation while in out-of-home care where the person believed responsible was in the household.
- MOCs: For the period 13 March 2007 to 30 June 2007, there were a total of 401 MOCs. Of these, 133 resulted in a child placement concern report being recorded and 281 resulted in a MOC notification being recorded. As at 31 August, 75 of the 281 MOC notifications were substantiated.
Care should be taken when interpreting these figures. Figures are reported according to the financial year in which the department recorded the alleged breach of harm and not necessarily when the actual event took place. As a result, counts may include children for whom the breach of standards and/or harm occurred several years ago, but the event was only brought to the department’s attention during the financial year in which it was measured. As such, a proportion of figures reported for any given period may represent instances of historical harm.
- Last updated
- 14 July 2008