The Queensland Government will set up a ministerial youth advisory group to provide children who have lived in care the opportunity to share their experiences and help design future services.
The group, which will meet in the next few months, will include young people with lived experience of Queensland’s child protection system and draw from existing youth advisory groups and panels.
The State Government said the youth advisors would provide feedback about creating more choice for children and young people in care about their environment, routines and experiences.
The establishment of the group was a key recommendation from last year’s Queensland Family and Child Commission (QFSS) review of the state’s residential care system, which resulted in a five-year Roadmap for Residential Care in Queensland.
QFCC Principal Commissioner Luke Twyford said we often forgot that young people in care were the experts of the Child Safety system.
“Throughout last year’s review process, the Queensland Family and Child Commission spoke to more than 200 workers and visited 16 sites, but the workshops hosted with young people who have lived experience of residential care provided the richest and most pragmatic solutions to the problems being discussed,” Commissioner Twyford said.
“Young people must be empowered within the system by actively and meaningfully involving them in discussions and decisions.”
