CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE DENIED VISITS TO PARENTS
NW Budget Clampdown, Minister Accuses Support Workers of Rorts
Peg Putt MHA
Tuesday, 25th September 2007
http://tas.greens.org.au/News/view_MR.php?ActionID=2573
For Comment: State Parliamentary Offices of the Tasmanian Greens, (03)
6233 8300
The Tasmanian Greens today are critical of a government clampdown on
support workers in Child and Family Services in north west Tasmania
overseeing and providing transport for children in foster care to have
access visits to their parents and extended family after working hours
and at weekends.
Greens Opposition Leader and Shadow Health and Human Services
Spokesperson Peg Putt MHA said the effect of the decision was to deny
children and parents access to each other since visits often have to
occur outside of school and work hours, and that the decision had
apparently been driven by the need to restrain a budget blow-out.
Ms Putt condemned the Minister's attempt to blame support workers by
making the outrageous claim that those workers, who are dedicated to
assisting the children, were involved in rorting the system to get overtime.
"It's a disgrace that the key objective of giving children in foster
care access to their parents and extended families is being overridden
by a directive that after hours and weekend visits and transport
involving support workers in the north west will not be funded," Ms Putt
said.
"This will exacerbate family breakdown, and all because of an effort to
pull back a budget blow-out in the child protection area which is so
deserving of extra financial support and which the government claims is
a priority."
"The Minister will outrage these already devastated support workers with
her accusation that they have been rorting the system to get overtime
payments when it's obvious that in many cases access visits simply have
to take place after school and work hours, and she must apologise to
these workers for the slur on them."
"This clampdown on access visits discriminates against children and
families who need our help the most."
"The situation must be urgently rectified, and pretexts like suddenly
claiming that it's unsafe to drive to Queenstown simply will not wash,"
Ms Putt said.
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