Living away from home data
- Graphs
- Tables
- Map
- What is living away from home?
- Why this topic is important
- Trends
- Children in out-of-home care funded by Child Safety Services
Graphs
Number of children living away from home, and number of approved carer families, Queensland, as at 30 June 2004 to 2008.
| Year | Distinct children in out-of-home care | Approved carer families |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 4413 | 2466 |
| 2005 | 5657 | 2710 |
| 2006 | 6654 | 3095 |
| 2007 | 6493 | 3227 |
| 2008 | 7134 | 3705 |
Number of children living away from home by Indigenous status, Queensland, as at 30 June 2004 to 2008.
| Year | Indigenous | Non-Indigenous | All children |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 958 | 3455 | 4413 |
| 2005 | 1275 | 4382 | 5657 |
| 2006 | 1704 | 4950 | 6654 |
| 2007 | 1934 | 4559 | 6493 |
| 2008 | 2274 | 4860 | 7134 |
Proportion of children living away from home by age group, Queensland, as at 30 June 2004 to 2008.
| Year | Under 5 | 5 to 9 | 10 to 14 | 15 to 17 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 27.5549512803 % | 30.7727169726 % | 30.4328121459 % | 11.2395196012 % |
| 2005 | 29.5209474987 % | 29.591656355 % | 29.3088209298 % | 11.5785752165 % |
| 2006 | 27.1 % | 27 % | 29.3 % | 16.6 % |
| 2007 | 26.9 % | 27.5 % | 28.9 % | 16.7 % |
| 2008 | 26.8 % | 28.7 % | 28.6 % | 15.9 % |
Number of children in out-of-home care funded by Child Safety Services, by Indigenous status, Queensland, as at 30 June 2004 and 2008.
| Year | Indigenous | Non-Indigenous | All children |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 June 2004 | 958 | 3455 | 4413 |
| 30 June 2005 | 1275 | 4382 | 5657 |
| 30 June 2006 | 1496 | 4380 | 5876 |
| 30 June 2007 | 1749 | 4223 | 5972 |
| 30 June 2008 | 2085 | 4585 | 6670 |
Tables
- Children living away from home, by primary placement and Indigenous status, Queensland, as at 30 June 2004 to 2008
- Children living away from home, by sex and age group, Queensland, as at 30 June 2004 to 2008
- Children living away from home, rate per 1,000 children aged 0–17 years, by Indigenous status, Queensland, as at 30 June 2004 to 2008
- Children living away from home, by departmental zone, Queensland, as at 30 June 2004 to 2008
- Children in out-of-home care funded by Child Safety Services, by type of placement and Indigenous status, Queensland, as at 30 June 2004 to 2008
Quarterly data
- Children living away from home, Indigenous status by type of placement, Queensland, as at 30 June 2004 to 31 March 2009
- Children living away from home, by sex and age group, Queensland, as at 30 June 2004 to 31 March 2009
- Children living away from home, by departmental zone, Queensland, as at 30 June 2004 to 31 March 2009
Map
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Service centre zones and data
Map of zones and service centre data for the years 2004 through to 2008.
What is living away from home?
In conjunction with ongoing intervention, the department sometimes needs to remove a child from their home to ensure their safety.
A child may be removed from their home during the investigation and assessment phase, to ensure the safety of a child, or during ongoing intervention phases of child protection, to work towards either reunification of the family or long-term stable care for the child. Removing a child from their home is a means to provide safety, support and a therapeutic environment.
When a child is placed in the custody and/or guardianship of the Chief Executive (Director-General) of the department, it is the department’s responsibility to find an appropriate placement for the child.
The department uses various placement services for the children in its care including home-based care funded by Child Safety Services (foster, kinship and provisionally approved carers) and residential care services.
Children may also be living in other placements such as youth detention centres, mental health facilities, and hospitals, as well as independent living arrangements.
Wherever possible, the department seeks to place a child with extended family (kinship carers) in order to maintain family connections.
When placing an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child in out-of-home care, a culturally appropriate placement is sought in accordance with the Indigenous Child Placement Principle.
Why this topic is important
Some Queensland families are unable to provide a safe, secure and caring environment for their children. When this becomes apparent, the department must act to ensure that the response provided is in the best interests of the child or young person. If necessary, this can result in children and young people being placed away from harm in times of crisis (for both short-term and long-term).
Trends
The number of children living away from home increased from 6,493 as at 30 June 2007, to 7,134 as at 30 June 2008 (an increase of 9.9 per cent). This is a lower rate of growth than in previous years – between 30 June 2004 and 30 June 2006 the number of children living away from home grew by an average annual rate of 25.4 per cent.
As at 30 June 2008, there were 2,274 Indigenous children living away from home compared to 1,934 as at 30 June 2007, an increase of 17.6 per cent. Indigenous children comprised close to one-third (31.9 per cent) of total children living away from home as at 30 June 2008.
Indigenous children are significantly more likely to be living away from home than non-Indigenous children. As a rate per 1,000 children aged 0 to 17 years, 33.5 Indigenous children were living away from home compared with 5.1 non-Indigenous children as at 30 June 2008. This is a slight increase since 30 June 2007 (28.9 per 1,000 Indigenous children were living away from home).
Children in out-of-home care funded by Child Safety Services
Data for the measure ‘children in out-of-home care funded by Child Safety Services’ is provided in the table below. In accordance with nationally agreed reporting definitions, this measure includes only those children in a funded placement, which comprises approved foster care (includes provisionally approved carers), approved kinship care and funded residential care.
The number of children in funded out-of-home care as at 30 June 2008 has risen since 30 June 2007, from 5,972 to 6,670 (an increase of 11.7 per cent).
- Last updated
- 28 August 2009