About child protection

Child Safety is dedicated to protecting children and young people who have been harmed or are at risk of harm.

It is immaterial how harm to a child or young person is caused.   A child is assessed to be in need of protection, if they have suffered significant harm, are suffering significant harm, or are at risk of suffering significant harm and do not have a parent able and willing to protect them from harm.

The role of Child Safety in protecting children and young people is to:

• assess concerns that allege a child or young person has been harmed or is at risk of significant harm
• offer families help and support, to decrease the likelihood of a child becoming a child in need of protection.
• provide ongoing services to children and young people who are experiencing or are at unacceptable risk of experiencing significant harm.

The causes of harm to children and young people are numerous. These can have a detrimental effect on a child or young person's physical or emotional health, their development and wellbeing.

When the child's parents are unable or unwilling to protect them, child protection intervention may be needed. Protecting children at risk of significant harm requires immediate and serious attention.

Effective protection of children relies on community members reporting their concerns. This needs to occur in a timely way to prevent concerns becoming more serious.

If you are concerned that a child has been harmed or is at risk of harm, please report the suspected child abuse.

Towards a community response

• Families have the primary responsibility for the upbringing, protection and development of their children.
• Statutory child protection is not the only solution and, in many instances, is not the best solution.
• Many families with needs can best be served outside of the statutory system.
• Families will receive the right support at the time that they need it to help them to care for and protect their children.
• It is important that every effort is made by professional reporters to 'get it right'. A misreport can be counter-productive, doing more harm than good by needlessly stigmatising a family. (Taking Responsibility: A Roadmap for Queensland Child Protection, June 2013).