Queensland Family and Child Commission (QFCC)

Young people who are absent from care placements are at significant risk of exploitation. This is one of the reasons we joined forces with PROJECT PARADIGM and PeakCare Queensland to help produce a toolkit to help frontline support workers when children and young people leave their placement. We are already learning there have been positive outcomes.   A service manager has told us about a young person who was absent from their care placement on average five nights per week and, within two to three months of staff implementing strategies from the toolkit, the young person had gone for eight weeks without an absence or episode of going missing.   The young person is now: 1. enrolled in school 2. attending regular therapy sessions 3. experiencing overall improvement in health 4. significant reduction in substance use, and 5. attends and participates in their care stakeholder meetings.   🔗View the toolkit at: https://lnkd.in/gXJGx9XX #QFCC

Navigating the transition from foster care to adulthood can be a daunting journey. This Amplify Blog post explores the personal experiences of a young adult who faced numerous challenges during this transition. It highlights the importance of continued support for young adults transitioning out of care. 🔗Read more here: https://ow.ly/hmG550TYZ50 #QFCC #T2A

If we really want to understand what it is like as a young person living in rural Queensland, who better to ask than the young Queenslanders themselves? At the recent ASE Youth Leadership Summit, we heard the insightful views of more than 100 primary school students from Longreach and surrounding communities. Young people told us about themselves before sharing concerns about the place they live that impact them. The students then made a pitch to the region's decision-makers about innovative solutions, potential businesses and social initiatives to address these concerns. Stay tuned - we can't wait to share some of their solutions over the upcoming weeks. This initiative is run by young people for young people in partnership with The ASE Group #QFCC #YLSLongreach2024 #ASExQFCC

Keep an eye out on the roads tonight for children trick-or-treating! On Halloween, there will be more children on the footpaths and crossing. Children get excited on Halloween and can move in unpredictable ways. When driving around neighbourhoods, be alert and slow down. Slower speeds save lives. #QFCC

In this Amplify Blog, Youth Advocate Gefion shares their experience transitioning into adult mental health services and the challenges faced along the journey. 'Having mental health issues can make people like me feel lost and confused enough as it is, but it only gets more confusing and isolating when navigating the mental health system for support with such problems.' This Mental Health Month, we encourage everyone to listen to young people with lived experience of the mental health system and include their views when considering how to improve services. 🔗Read their full blog here: https://lnkd.in/ggurZ6Qc #QFCC

We loved spending the morning with Queensland families at the official launch of 'The Big Book of Rights', hosted by Children's Rights Queensland. It's an excellent picture book that celebrates the rights of every child. Author Dannika Patterson and illustrator Amanda Letcher developed the book in consultation with more than 200 Queensland children. It's a colourful and engaging resource that's sure to resonate with children and educators alike. We also loved meeting young Queenslanders Alexis and Tyler, who featured in the book and made a special appearance at the book reading today. The launch was a fitting way to wrap up this year's Children's Week and to celebrate the upcoming 35th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Huge congratulations to the whole team at Children's Rights Queensland for another successful Children's Week and for all you do to raise awareness of children's rights, and thanks for inviting us to join in the celebrations. Dan Marais

Today, we wore red and joined thousands of Queenslanders in honouring the memory of Daniel Morcombe at the 20th Walk for Daniel on the Sunshine Coast. Today is also Day for Daniel, Australia’s biggest lesson on child safety. Thousands of children across the country will be talking about their safety, and today is a reminder for parents and carers to carry on or start having those conversations at home. Day for Daniel encourages children to Recognise, React and Report: 👉 Recognise when something isn’t safe 👉 React to find a safe place and 👉 Report and tell someone why you felt unsafe. If you’re not sure where to start, the Daniel Morcombe Foundation has resources that can help you have these conversations with the children in your life: https://lnkd.in/geWKjDe Thank you so much, Denise and Bruce and the whole team at the Daniel Morcombe Foundation, for everything you have done over the last 20 years to keep Queensland children safe. Daniel Morcombe Foundation Inc. #ChildSafety #WalkforDaniel #DayforDaniel #KeepingKidsSafe

The Young, Black and Proud Scholarships presentation is one of the highlights of our year! We are so proud to support and celebrate the deadly achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people in academic, artistic and sporting excellence. This program helps to develop future leaders, professionals, and community advocates. Commissioner Natalie Lewis proudly presented the academic scholarships at the presentation on the weekend and delivered a powerful speech that inspired the young people to never lose sight of their aspirations. We are proud to partner with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Health Service (ATSICHS) to deliver this amazing program and look forward to seeing it continue. Highlights from this year's scholarships: 💥225 applications were received 🏆125 scholarships were awarded ⭐the program was offered statewide 🍃88 scholarships were awarded from regional areas. Stay tuned as we share stories in the coming weeks about this group of amazing young recipients and their ambitions! 🔗Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gTcBgJCZ Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Community Health Service Brisbane Natalie Lewis

We are building a team in preparation for implementing Queensland's new Child Safe Organisations legislation. This new law introduces child safe standards and a reportable conduct scheme across many Queensland organisations to create a culture of safety and wellbeing for all Queensland children. If you want to be part of this significant change, check out our current job ads, or share this with your networks. 👉 Manager, People and Capability: https://lnkd.in/gCFqW8kg 👉 Manager, Education and Capacity Building: https://lnkd.in/ga9h27jV

What a morning we had at the launch of Children’s Week 2024! We joined more than 200 children and community leaders to celebrate Queensland children and the incredible people working hard to protect and promote their rights. ⭐ Huge congratulations to Majella Ritchie for winning the QFCC Commissioners Award for Community Engagement. Majella works with First Nations children in detention and advocates for their right to meaningfully connect to culture. Thank you, Majella, for all you do for Queensland children; your work is remarkable. ⭐ We were so proud to see QFCC Youth Advocate Caroline’s advocacy celebrated with the PeakCare Young Change Maker Award, recognising her immense efforts to improve Queensland’s child protection system. Congratulations, Caroline! We love seeing you shine. ⭐ Well done to all the nominees and award winners for your efforts in raising awareness of children’s rights and for your advocacy to improve the lives of Queensland children. Finally, we loved seeing the launch of the ‘Big Book of Rights’, a fantastic picture book designed to raise awareness about children’s rights. Written by Dannika Patterson and illustrated by Amanda Letcher, the book features beautiful illustrations and child-friendly language to bring the 54 rights of a child to life. It serves as an educational tool and a source of inspiration, empowering children to recognise their rights. Special mention goes to Queensland children and child rights champions Alexis and Tyler, who feature in the book and spoke to a room full of people this morning about why rights matter to every child. Thank you to Children's Rights Queensland for another excellent Children’s Week launch and for everything you do to bring children’s rights to life. Children's Rights Queensland President Dan Marais finished his opening address by asking the audience, “How can you, in your own capacity, help to educate and build awareness of the rights of children? Whether in your community, workplace, or home, remember that children are not only our future—they are our present.” We will be reflecting on that question this Children’s Week and invite you to do the same. Happy Children’s Week! Check out The Big Book of Rights: https://lnkd.in/gKbmHBmW PeakCare Queensland Luke Twyford