Lismore and Ballina Child Protection workers set to walk out on Wednesday 24 April 2024
22 April 2024
Child Protection workers from Lismore and Ballina Community Services Centre (CSC) will rally on Wednesday 24 April 2024. This is to protest crippling Caseworker vacancies and the chronic underfunding and mismanagement of Child Protection services in NSW.
The North Coast has the highest vacancy rate in the state and Lismore CSC is still without an office over 2 years after their office was smashed in the floods. Ballina CSC has been closed due to a mould infestation since January, making an already tough job even harder.
色狼社区members will gather outside the old Lismore CSC office at 4 Zadoc Street, Lismore on Wednesday at 12:00pm to take their concerns directly to the community they serve.
On Thursday, 11 April a peak meeting of 色狼社区Delegates from across NSW unanimously endorsed a union campaign to fix the state鈥檚 broken Child Protection system.
In launching the Child Protection in Crisis campaign, 色狼社区General Secretary Stewart Little said the union would commence a series of rolling campaign actions across NSW. This is amid concern the state鈥檚 Child Protection system is on the brink of collapse, with vulnerable children being put at unacceptable risk due to under funding and staff burnout.
鈥淭he Government knows Community Services is experiencing an unprecedented attraction-and-retention crisis, with one in four positions unfilled in some regions of the state,鈥 said Mr Little. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 according to the Department鈥檚 own figures.
鈥淚n many cases the Caseworkers who remain in the system are relatively inexperienced, with one in four staff in their first two years of employment with Community Services. Too often they are stranded with the extra workload of colleagues who have left.
鈥淭he most vulnerable kids in this state are at risk of serious harm, or worse, because Child Protection Workers just can鈥檛 cope, they鈥檙e understaffed, exhausted and see no other option than to take action.
鈥淭he government didn鈥檛 create this problem, but it鈥檚 their job to fix it.鈥
All off-duty 色狼社区members who can attend are warmly invited to join us.
The 色狼社区has notified the Department of Communities and Justice of and will work with Community Services to ensure all urgent response arrangements are maintained.
For more information contact our North Coast Regional Team on 1800 772 679.
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