In less than 12 months, more than 300 temporary child safety officers have converted their status to permanent as part of an innovative new program being undertaken by the Bligh Government.
Child Safety Minister Phil Reeves said Child Safety Services was committed to strengthening its frontline workforce.
“All child protection agencies strive to retain suitably skilled staff as the work can be challenging and confronting,” Mr Reeves said.
“However, Child Safety Services is implementing a range of strategies to enhance attraction and recruitment to these roles, and to improve retention in these vital positions.”
Mr Reeves said these included initiatives to enhance employee safety, health and wellbeing as well as career progression and development.
“Like most workplaces, temporary staff will always be required, particularly to ensure service continuity when staff take leave.
“This is particularly the case in a government agency like Child Safety Services which has a high number of female staff taking maternity and family leave. For example, currently we are supporting more than 100 staff on maternity leave.
“There is an increasing demand, and generally a necessary urgency, for child safety services and the department is often required to recruit staff as soon as possible.
“This means the department needs the flexibility to cover temporary absences when permanent staff take leave and also the capability to cover vacancies when permanent staff take up short-term relieving opportunities.”
Mr Reeves said the child safety workforce was also significantly younger than the public service average which means a higher rate of people leaving and re-entering the workforce.
“Other initiatives have also been successful in improving both retention and permanency rates as well as increasing the morale and job satisfaction of staff.
“One key program was the introduction of accelerated progression for eligible frontline staff to become Senior Child Safety Officers. More than 250 staff have been assessed and progressed to this level.
“A pilot of seven Principal Child Safety Officers roles aimed at increasing retention by providing case support and mentoring to new and developing frontline staff also started in February 2009.
“In addition, a project designed at increasing access to flexible work arrangements is underway to enhance the attractiveness of employment with Child Safety,” he said.
Mr Reeves said from December 2007 to March 2009 the number of workers who were employed by the department for more than three years had increased by 26%.
“That 26% increase shows our initiatives are working but even more pleasing it means we are keeping our experienced workers on the job.
“I’m also delighted to see the retention rate of frontline staff increase from approximately 80% in 2007-08 to more than 90% in 2008-09.
“A recent survey of those Child Safety Officers who achieved accelerated progression showed that more than one-third of this group are now more likely to remain in Child Safety Services following their progression,” he said.
Mr Reeves said the Bligh Government was committed to making the tough decisions in tough economic tomes to ensure record funding could be provided for vital services like child safety.
“The Opposition on the other hand with their proposed 3% cuts would have slashed services across the board.
“The cuts would have meant up to 170 less child protection workers in Queensland.
“The Bligh Government however is clearly committed to retaining our experienced staff who do a difficult job in difficult circumstances,” Mr Reeves said.
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