THE number of kids in crisis being reported to authorities is continuing to climb as those being seen by a caseworker remains critically low, at just 17 per cent.
More than 18,800 kids from the Hunter Central Coast region who were reported to the Department of Communities and Justice last financial year were deemed at suspected risk of significant harm.
That is equivalent to more than two children per hour, with the most likely cause for concern being neglect (25 per cent), followed by physical (19 per cent) and sexual abuse (15 per cent).
Of those, only 3,222 were seen by a case worker, or one in six.
Untimely response
Of the thousands deemed at risk, 11 per cent, or 2074 children, were categorised as requiring a response within 24 hours; 47 per cent, or 8862 kids, needed help within 72 hours.
Another 36 per cent, or 6788 children, were deemed at high enough risk to require a response within ten days.
At five districts across the state the number of children at risk being seen has fallen, with five out of the seven districts now sitting at below 20 per cent of children at risk being seen by a caseworker.
Gains have been made, however, in filling caseworker vacancy rates which have dropped from 233 workers, or ten per cent, to 185 workers, or 8 per cent.
Fewer children were placed into out-of-home-care during the last quarter of 2023-24 when compared with the same quarter the year before, a decrease of 31 per cent.
At the same time the number of families receiving targeted early intervention services rose by about 4 per cent.
The number of children being housed in high cost emergency accommodation is continuing to decline, down from a high of 476 children in August, 2023, to 376 in September, 2024.
Hotel ban prioritised
That has been a priority for the Minister for Families and Communities Kate Washington who announced a ban on the use of unaccredited emergency accommodation, or Alternative Care Arrangements (ACAs) such as hotels, motels and caravan parks, in September.
The number of children living in ACAs, considered the last resort of high-cost emergency accommodation for kids removed from their families, has been reduced by 72 per cent, from 139 in November last year to 39 kids as of mid-August 2024.
The number of children in out-of-home-care looked after by the Department at June 30, 2024, was 5,208, while the non-government sector is responsible for more than 7000 children.
