New figures show more families are receiving help

Last published on 20 Sep 2019 

New data from the Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) demonstrates continuous improvement to child protection in NSW, with more children seen and more families receiving support.

The June Quarter 2019 Caseworker Dashboard shows a record 30,278 children at Risk of Significant Harm (ROSH) were seen by caseworkers for the 12 month period ending 31 March 2019.

This represents an increase of 16% on the 2017-18 financial year and is the most children ever seen in a 12 month period.

The dashboard shows a record high number of caseworkers and more importantly, more caseworkers in those positions providing services to children and their families.

The 2018-19 vacancy rate is at a historic annual low of 0% – down from 3% in 2017-18.

DCJ Secretary Michael Coutts-Trotter said the numbers reflected persistent efforts to keep children safe and prevent them from coming into care.

"Early intervention strategies show more families are receiving the support they need to stay safely together and fewer children are entering care."

The number of children seen is in addition to thousands of families supported by early intervention services, delivered in partnership with the non-government sector.

Almost 1,800 families are receiving support under Their Futures Matter (TFM), a landmark reform to support vulnerable children and their parents.

DCJ also funded almost 4,000 contacted services for families in 2018-19, including; Brighter Futures (3,070), Intensive Family Based Services (166), Intensive Family Preservation Services (320) and Youth Hope (406).

Where the caseworker statistics come from:

The Caseworker Dashboard was introduced in 2013 as a transparent tool to track where frontline staff and services are most needed in NSW. Caseworker data is sourced from the annual and monthly reports produced for DCJ by its Corporate Services division and verified by an independent auditor.

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