Qld child safety minister axes key survey of children in care

Key survey on children in care axed by Queensland Child Safety Minister Amanda Camm In short: Queensland's child safety minister Amanda Camm said she "had no hesitation" in axing the My Life in Care Survey. The survey had been conducted every year since 2022 but it will no longer go ahead. Ms Camm had previously lauded the survey as integral, but today said it wasn't an accurate representation of the experiences of children in care. Queensland's child safety minister said she "had no hesitation" in axing a key survey, that she previously lauded as integral. The My Life in Care Survey has been conducted every year since 2022, but minister Amanda Camm today confirmed it had been quashed. This despite her once labelling the survey as a "cornerstone" of the Government's approach to tackling the broken child safety system, and proof that it was "on the right track". The outcomes of the 2024 survey were tabled as part of a submission to the now-finalised Child Safety Inquiry. Ms Camm's comments were in a draft foreword as part of that submission. "We will use what we learn from the My Life in Care survey each year to check on our progress, assess the impact of our reforms and continually refine our approach," Ms Camm said. The survey asks teens and children a number of questions, including their background, how they felt coming into care versus how they felt now, whether they felt that had sufficient privacy, safety and security and felt cared for. In 2024, nearly 1,000 youths between the ages of 10 and 18 responded to the survey, and 88 children aged between five and nine responded. It stated in that year, 40 per cent of children aged between 10 and 18 had made a complaint about their time in care, of those, 39 per cent were unhappy with how their report was handled. But Ms Camm said the survey wasn't an accurate representation of the experiences of children in care, pointing out the survey stated 67 per cent felt happy in care. "The Children in Care census outlined the real facts of children in care and the fact that over 69% of children coming into care had suffered more than three types of abuse," she said. "This survey painted a picture of a child safety system, one that was full of happy emojis,"she said. She then showed the front of the 2024 survey which contained emojis. Ms Camm also said that children, under the former Labor government had been "bribed" to complete the survey. Previously, children were given vouchers to grocery stores if they completed the survey. The Opposition said it was in line with advice from the Queensland Family and Child Commission, stating the views of young people "should be compensated accordingly" through "gift cards, travel subsidies, formal recognition of participation and in-kind renumeration, such as skills building". But Ms Camm said it was "unacceptable". "I will not be guided by a survey that was conducted where children were bribed to answer the survey and given money to answer the survey," Ms Camm said. "So, I make no apology for axing that." The removal of the My Life in Care survey removes a complaint mechanism for children in care, despite the state's peak child safety oversight body calling for more to be put in place. The Queensland Family and Child Commission's Too Little, Too Late report outlines the state's "narrow focus" on the complaints process; reporting that children "fear speaking up about their workers and providers, and [hold] cynicism that their worries would be acted on". [Image text:] UFECARESURVEY2O24RESUS