Multicultural Action Plan 2007-09
Protecting children and young people, supporting their families and creating safe care environments in a multicultural society
Key emerging issues for child protection services have been identified through literature, statistics, and dialogue with ethnic and Indigenous communities including the:
- impact of the migrant settlement process on the safety of children
- level of understanding of child protection legislation by culturally and linguistically diverse families
- variations in child rearing practices and attitudes towards discipline of children
- potential cultural and linguistic barriers in the reporting of child abuse
- potential under or over-representation of children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds in the child protection system
- level of cultural competence and sensitivity of child protection services
- quality and timeliness of consultation processes and level of engagement with ethnic communities
- extent of cultural competence among staff and the extent of cultural diversity of the child protection workforce
- quality and comprehensiveness of culturally diverse data collection in the child protection system.
The priorities for the Multicultural Action Plan 2007-09
The action plan aims to identify and support culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) child protection staff and recruit and promote services and support for CALD foster and kinship carers to:
- collect and report on CALD data
- establish partnerships and consultative mechanisms with CALD communities and stakeholders
Legislation guiding intervention with culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) clients
The Department of Child Safety recognises Queensland is a culturally diverse state and works to protect children and young people of diverse cultural backgrounds who have been harmed or who are at risk of harm.
This work is guided by the Child Protection Act 1999 with provisions in the Act including:
- Section 5 (2) (d) (i); Principles for Administration of Act
- Section 74; Charter of Rights for a Child in Care
- Section 122 (1) (d); Standards of Statements; providing the legislative framework for responding to the ethnic and cultural needs of children and young people.
- Last updated
- 5 February 2008
