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Children's Rights and the State in Loco Parentis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 February 2016

Eddie Le Sueur
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Extract

The state government Department for Family and Community Services (formerly DCW) in South Australia is currently seeking to clarify and where necessary change policy in the area of guardianship, long term legal status and related issues. To facilitate this aim in the context of a broader consultation process, a discussion paper was prepared by the author in his role of Chief Policy Officer of DCW in October 1989. The full paper covers a range of issues bearing on the department's role in relation to children and their families where there is a possibility of state care being ordered.

Type
The Nineties and the State of Australia's Children
Information
Children Australia , Volume 15 , Special Issue 2: The State of Australia's Children , 1990 , pp. 24 - 28
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1990

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References

References

1. See the ‘Family and Child Welfare Position Paper’, June 1988; ‘Intervention on Behalf of Families and Children’, September 1987.Google Scholar
2. Maluccio, A. and Fein, S., ‘Permanency Planning - A Redefinition’, Child Welfare, Vol. 62, No. 3, May/June 1983.Google ScholarPubMed
3. S.A. Government White Paper, ‘New Directions on Welfare: The Next Five Years’, December, 1988.Google Scholar
4. Graycar, A., ‘The Politics of Social Policy in Australia’, Social and Economic Administration, Vol II, No. 1, May 1988.Google Scholar
5. Based on a Victorian paper for the Social Welfare Administrators Conference, ‘State/Commonwealth Responsibilities for Children in State Care’, September 1989.Google Scholar

NOTE: See Social Security Review. Issues Paper No.l, B. Cass, ‘Income Support for Families with Children’, 1986; Glossary.

Horizontal Equity: a principle which requires that people in like circumstances should be treated alike. This may be taken to support different treatment of people with the same income but differing calls on that income arising from differing family responsibilities. At any level of income, people with children incur greater costs and have greater needs than people without children.

Vertical Equity: The principle of verticle equity requires that people on low incomes should receive greater assistance and/or pay less tax than those on higher incomes according to their capacity to pay

6. See Gamble, H., ‘Law for Parents and Children’, The Law Book Co. Ltd., 1986. p.52.Google Scholar
7. Fiona Kerr, ‘Departmental Protocol for Interaction with the Family Court’, Program Planning Division, D.C.W., October 1989.Google Scholar
8. Ibid. pp.7-8.Google Scholar
9. See Bidmeade, I., ‘Review of Procedures for Children in need of Care’, 1986, pp.68-71.Google Scholar
10. From the point of view of national consistency of terminology, it is unfortunate that the definition of ‘guardian’ in both the Community Welfare and C.P.Y.O. Acts retain a reference to ‘custody’. The C.P.Y.O. Act definition reads:Google Scholar

"‘guardian’, in relation to a child, means a parent of the child and any person (other than the Minister) who is the legal guardian of the childs of who has the immediate custody and control of the child."

Proposed amendments to the Community Welfare Act (October 1989) change the definition of ‘guardian to:

"... a parent of the child and any person (other than the Minister or Chief Executive Officer) who is the legal guardian of the child".

11. Ibid. ppl76-77.Google Scholar
12. See the ‘Family and Child Welfare Position Paper’, June 1988; ‘Intervention on Behalf of Families and Children’, September 1987.Google Scholar
13. See ‘Family and Child Welfare Position Paper’ and R. Cole, ‘Guardianship: The Nature of the Department's Responsibility’ for more detail.Google Scholar