The Council for the Care of Children
Moving Towards South Australia as a
Child and Youth Friendly State
14 May 2010
© Government of South Australia May 2010
The Council for the Care of Children
GPO Box 292
Adelaide, South Australia 5001
Telephone:
(08) 8463 6429
Email:
ccc@dfc.sa.gov.au
This report is also available from
The Council for the Care of Children internet site:
www.childrensa.sa.gov.au
Table of Contents
Introduction .................................................................................................... 1
What is a Child and Youth-Friendly Community? ................................................... 2
Minister Rankine's Opening Address ..................................................................... 4
Young People's Perceptions: How Child and Youth Friendly is
Adelaide? ........................................................................................................ 8
Children & Young People in the Compact City ..................................................... 10
Children & Young People in the Outer Suburbs ................................................... 12
The Voice of Young People in the Design of Child and Youth Friendly
Cities ............................................................................................................. 14
Where to from here? .................................................................................... 22
Appendices................................................................................................... 23
iii
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iv
Introduction
The Council for the Care of Children has been established in legislation to
advise the South Australian Government on the rights and interests of
children and young people up to the age of 18 years. The Council has
adopted the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund
(UNICEF) initiative 'Child and Youth Friendly Cities' as a major project
over the next two years. A child and youth friendly city is one whose
physical and social make-up accommodates and nourishes the needs of
children and young people. The Council’s goal is to help South Australia
become a child and youth friendly state within Australia, following work
undertaken in this area in other parts of Australia and internationally.
On Friday 14 May 2010 the Council hosted a forum for approximately
ninety people at the Art Gallery of South Australia entitled ‘Moving towards
South Australia as a Child and Youth Friendly State’. The purpose of the
forum was to ignite interest in this initiative, inform pivotal partners of this
work and encourage them to work with the Council to progress the ‘Child
and Youth Friendly Community’ agenda in South Australia.
The Council was fortunate to have two leading proponents of child-friendly
cities speak at the forum. Professor Brendan Gleeson, Director of the
Urban Research Program at Griffith University School of Environmental
Planning, has written on homelessness, urban planning, public transport
and disability. He is co-author of Australian Urban Planning: new
challenges, new agendas and co-author/editor of Creating Child Friendly
Cities: reinstating kids in the city.
Associate Professor Geoffrey Woolcock, an urban sociologist also based
at Griffith University, is particularly interested in both indicators of social
sustainability and the factors that contribute to child and youth friendly
communities. His work with large scale public and private sector
1
organisations concentrates on developing measures of communities’
strengths, alongside national and international efforts to measure
well-being led by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD).
In addition to these speakers, there were presentations from young people
and a wide-ranging panel discussion.
All presentations can be found on the Council for the Care of Children
website at http://www.childrensa.sa.gov.au/.
What is a Child and Youth-Friendly Community?
A child and youth-friendly community and neighbourhood is one where
there are safe spaces and places for children and young people to play,
navigate and explore, engage in group activities, and access services and
facilities such as sporting clubs, libraries, and health services to support
children and families. Children need interesting, challenging places that
enable them to explore their own boundaries and use their imaginations. A
child and youth-friendly neighbourhood fosters a sense of pride and
belonging and engenders a yearning by children and young people to
become a part of that community as adults.
As part of the state reform agenda, the South Australian Government is
committed to developing South Australia as a child friendly state adapting
the framework established under UNICEF’s Building Child Friendly Cities:
A Framework for Action.
In South Australia, becoming a child friendly state according to the state
reform agenda is about working towards:
 Developing a policy framework for a child friendly city which
consistently includes the needs of children and young people;
2
 Greater participation of children in state policy;
 Improving children’s wellbeing; and
 Promoting best practice in being child-friendly.
South Australia would be the first Australian state to commit to becoming
child friendly under this model.
The UNICEF 'Child Friendly Cities Initiative' emerged in recognition of
several important trends:
the rapid transformation and urbanisation of
global societies; the growing responsibilities of municipal and community
organisations for their populations in the context of decentralisation; and
consequently, the increasing importance of cities and towns within national
political
and
economic
systems.
The
Initiative
promotes
the
implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the
Child (UNCRC) at the level where it has the greatest direct impact on
children’s lives. It is a strategy for promoting the highest quality of life for
all citizens.
A 'Child Friendly City' guarantees the right of every young citizen to:
 Influence decisions about their city;
 Express their opinion on the city they want;
 Participate in family, community and social life;
 Receive basic services such as healthcare, education and shelter;
 Drink safe water and have access to proper sanitation;
 Be protected from exploitation, violence and abuse;
 Walk safely in the streets on their own;
 Meet friends and play;
 Have green spaces for plants and animals;
 Live in an unpolluted environment;
 Participate in cultural and social events; and
3
 Be an equal citizen of their city with access to every service, regardless
of ethnic origin, religion, income, gender or disability.
Minister Rankine's Opening Address
The Council was most grateful to the Minister for Families and
Communities, the Hon Jennifer Rankine MP, for agreeing to open the
forum. The Minister’s address is summarised as follows:
 Focusing on the wellbeing and development of South Australia’s
children is a priority of the current Government.
 Enabling South Australia’s children to develop to their full potential is
as important economically as it is socially.
 The government sees this as both an individual responsibility as well
as a collective one. It goes to the very heart of what being a community
is all about and it is about every aspect of life:

how we deliver health services;

our early childhood services and parenting support;

our education system;

the design of our houses and every aspect of the planning of our
communities; and

whether or not children and young people are welcome.
Associate Professor Geoffrey Woolcock, Dr Diana Hetzel, Hon Jennifer Rankine MP,
Senator Dana Wortley and Professor Brendan Gleeson at the forum
4
South Australian Government initiatives:
 The establishment in 2003 of the Every Chance for Every Child
universal home visiting program provides a home visit for every new
mother and baby, and sustained home visiting for those in greater
need.
 The provision of 20 Children's Centres in 2010 with the commitment to
a further 10 during this term of Government, providing a one stop shop
for early childhood learning as well as parenting support and allied
health services.
 Response to the Layton Report into child protection by reforming and
overhauling South Australia’s child protection system.
 The establishment of the Guardian for Children and Young People, the
Child Death and Serious Injury Review Committee and, in 2006, the
Council for the Care of Children.
 The redevelopment of areas of major social disadvantage to provide a
better mix of community, better support, and to lift the eyes of those
who have been struggling to a better future.
 An increase in the number of innovation projects funded through
Community Benefit SA.
 The maintenance of effort to give Indigenous children in remote areas
the same opportunities afforded to others through a partnership
between the Department for Families and Communities and the
Department of Education and Children's Services, which has seen the
establishment
of
an
Early
Childhood
Learning
Centre
in
Pukatja/Ernabella on the APY lands.
 The programs in the Pukatja/Ernabella Early Learning Centre aim to
improve developmental outcomes for Indigenous children by providing
early learning and parent support services. This investment is crucial
for the wellbeing of children and families and brings benefits to the
whole community.
5
The Council for the Care of Children is an important link as it was
established to advocate for children’s rights independently of Government
direction. The Council also provides an important link between
Government and community, and consults and informs on the best way to
achieve care and support for children.
Have children benefited from the loss of the backyard replaced by
community playground? Is equipment as interesting, and as much fun, as
making your own game? How do we ensure children, through all their
stages of life, are able to be active and engaged? Our environment
determines so much in relation to our lives. How do we maximise the use
of our land and at the same time make space for our children? What
thought and actions do we put in place to ensure the inclusion of all
children, particularly those with a disability? How do we plan and provide
for their play?
Changes in our society which have impacted negatively on child and youth
development include:
 family breakdown;
 Mums and Dads working increasing hours and putting strain on their
home life;
 rapid changes in technology and the need for cyber safety; and
 violence.
A focus of the government is to ensure that all children in South Australia
have access to affordable, quality, basic health services as well as safe
environments and conditions that nurture the development of children of
all ages. Particular attention will be given to disadvantaged children such
as those living with disabilities; those who are homeless; those who are
sexually exploited; those who are without adequate family support.
6
This Government knows it is pivotal that children and young people are
consulted and provide us with their ideas about how to make South
Australia a ‘great place to live’ – as we are designing changes that are
going to directly impact them.
The Government has embraced the findings of distinguished researchers
such as Dorothy Scott and is committed, as a priority, to the provision of
universal and early intervention services for disadvantaged families with
children.
Through creating and sustaining child safe environments we share our
wisdom and our capacity to respond to the needs of children in our
community.
7
Young People's Perceptions: How Child and Youth Friendly
is Adelaide?
Emily Rozee, a member of the Council for the Care of Children, presented
the perspective of young people living in Adelaide. The presentation was
created with young people in out of home care – many of whom are living
independently in their mid teens. They were asked to outline what is
important to them when thinking about a child-friendly community. The top
answers were respect; to be treated as equals; to have access to safe
environments such playgrounds, parks, internet and phone access; and
appropriate things to do.
Emily’s presentation informed forum participants that for young people
Adelaide can, on occasions, be threatening, hard to get around and quite
unfriendly. They value the support provided by The Second Story, who
show an interest in them as individuals and provide a listening ear. Young
people need to have access to support and guidance to navigate and
negotiate
such
challenges
as
job
interviews,
study
enrolments,
accommodation negotiations, and management of finances.
Following Emily’s moving address the forum heard Professor Brendon
Gleeson’s Keynote Address: Child-Friendly Cities: a New Australian
Outline. A summary of the presentation is as follows:
 There is a rapidly growing public debate about the welfare of children in
Australia with a particular focus on childhood obesity, psychic stress in
children and young people, the neglected transport needs of the young,
and concern about child exposure to abuse and other forms of harm.
 The swelling legions of older people in the West’s ageing societies,
new migrant populations that have aroused social interest, and the
social groups that from the 1960s sought liberation from older
repressive moral and institutional orders, including women, gay people
8
and disabled people have claimed the centre stage of public debate
since the 1970s. There is now a resurgence of interest and concern for
the welfare of children and young people.
 The traditionally specialised understandings of children’s health are
opening out to recognise the broad range of factors in the everyday
environment that influence the physical and mental condition of
children. Childhood experts show increasing recognition of, and
interest in, the ways in which built environments both reflect and
condition the key environmental and behavioural dynamics that shape
the well-being of children.
 Recent years have witnessed renewed interest in public and
professional discussion of urban children’s issues in English-speaking
countries. Specifically, children’s physical health has emerged as an
area of sharp concern with the recognition that levels of physical fitness
among urban children have been declining, most notably in Western
countries. Responding to concern about childhood obesity, a growing
range of studies has examined the links between children’s physical
activity patterns and built environment form. Other investigations have
pointed to an alarming rise in mental health disorders among children
in countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom and
Australia (UNICEF 2007).
Australian Child Indicators Going the Wrong
Way (Stanley)
birth weight,
post neonatal mortality (Aboriginal children),
asthma and diabetes,
obesity,
intellectual disability,
depression, anxiety,
behavioural problems,
drug use and child abuse.
Urban Research Program
www.griffith.edu.au/centre/urp
From Professor Gleeson’s PowerPoint presentation
9
Children & Young People in the Compact City
Two domains of contemporary metropolitan development present key
concerns for addressing the needs of children and young people, namely:
 Middle suburban higher density neighbourhoods; and
 Higher density urban futures.
Australian cities are moving to a new higher density future. Many of our
major metropolitan areas now have plans that strongly promote higher
density housing in centres across the city in order to create more compact
cities. These new higher density and mixed use town and neighbourhood
centres will account for the majority of new housing development in the
next 20 to 30 years.
The main logic for this, apart from the assumed environmental
sustainability benefits and infrastructure economies of a compact city, are
demographic projections that predict families becoming an ever smaller
component of the population structure.
Planners are planning for cities to accommodate singles, couples and the
elderly. As far as the planners are concerned, family housing is already
over supplied in this new ageing city and needs little encouragement.
As a consequence, contemporary strategic planning has almost become
child-blind, with the new higher density centres being built essentially for
the childless in mind. The talk is of ‘vibrant’ and ‘liveable’ mixed use town
centres, characterised by pavement cafes, restaurant and entertainment
precincts, shopping and office jobs. However, these are a long way from
the traditional family-centric suburbs of the past.
In the process, the new Australian compact city will be developed into
distinctive zones based on age, life style and household composition with
town centres for the childless, the suburbs remaining for the minority with
children.
10
While the compact city plans do not explicitly exclude children, the logic of
what is being planned will, under current settings, effectively result in a
polarised city, one newly built in town centres and transport corridors for
childless households, where the great growth in urban population is
expected to come from, and the other, a suburban population in low
density housing where families will be catered for. While this may be an
over-simplification, the current trends in development certainly point us in
that direction. Indeed, what the example of the middle suburban higher
density market shows is that this strict social demarcation is unlikely, but
that failing to plan for families in the new high density city will inevitably
lead to the kinds of problems revealing themselves in city’s disadvantaged
middle suburbs, these were themselves the product of planning decisions
made 30 years ago to create neighbourhoods that promoted higher
density without consideration of who might actually end up living there.
A number of critical policy questions remain that invite urban researchers
to focus more specifically on children in the higher density city:
 What impacts does living in a flat have on early development and early
learning?
 How much does the transitoriness of the flat market affect children?
 Is it a built form issue or the fact that flats tend to be rental and
therefore concentrated in high mobility neighbourhoods?
 How does lack of interior space, close proximity to neighbours, and
poor open space provision impact on children?
 How different are these children from Australian norms?
 What is the impact of a lack of useable open space on children’s
development and wellbeing?
 What are the longer term impacts on development, health and
wellbeing of living for a long period during childhood in higher density
housing?
11
 A key question to answer is to what extent does the built form affect
children’s’ outcomes or is it much more a cultural, economic and social
issue – would the children living in these flats have the same outcomes
if they lived in houses?
A rapidly rising feature of Australian outer suburbia is the master planned
community (MPC). Security is central in a MPC, particularly the safety of
children:
“The idea of feeling safe while strolling around the estate, even
after dark which a number of informants did, and in allowing
children to play with other children outside the home provides
residents with confirmation as to the physical security of their
housing choice. Additionally, physical security involves the belief
by parents that children can be protected from falling in with a
‘gang’ (a fear many parents in the study expressed) because they
socialize with families holding similar values and parental styles as
themselves”.Gwyther (2004)1
Children & Young People in the Outer Suburbs
Specific initiatives for children and young people in outer suburbia that
may warrant more attention are:
 A more considered concentration on the experiences of adolescence in
outer suburbia to be led by local government with an accent on
provision of spaces for fostering creativity.
 As a general observation, there do seem to be far more sporting and
leisure opportunities provided for young people than the creative arts.
 The frequently cited reasons for aberrant youth behaviour – boredom
and isolation – do seem to have purchase in outer suburbia, and
offering more outlets for creative expression may prove to be an
effective measure to not only prevent such behaviour but more
1
Gwyther, G (2004) Paradise Planned: Community Formation and the Master Planned
Estate, PhD Thesis, University of Western Sydney
12
importantly have young people feel much more active contributors to
their whole community’s well-being.
 Analysis of how educational institutions integrate the experience of
living in a new community with the school curricula and the extent to
which schools provide the space for understanding children and young
people’s experiences of living in their local community.
 The relationship between place and children and young people’s health
and wellbeing where there persists a sense that the significance of
place is rather crowded out by medically oriented responses to the
specific health scares of the day like obesity, drug use, diabetes, and
mental health. Growing interest by large public and private urban
development corporations and key children’s advocacy organisations
like the New South Wales Commission for Children and Young People
in place-based measures of children’s well-being point to optimistic
signs that this gap is being narrowed.
 A more active analysis of how youth-specific affairs organisations and
networks in the outer suburbs organise and advocate to draw further
attention to the particular issues of disadvantage for children and
young people in these areas. As Woolcock’s (2006)2 case study of an
MPC showed, these issues are largely being picked up by the few notfor-profit agencies active in outer suburbia, many associated with the
Christian churches, and whatever the quality of their responses, the
piecemeal nature of youth service provision does not do justice to the
scale of how many young people reside in these areas.
2
Woolcock, G. (2006) Child Friendly Outer Suburban Communities: A Case Study, Australian
Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY) commissioned paper, www.aracy.org.au
13
The Voice of Young People in the Design of Child and Youth
Friendly Cities
Forum participants heard from two young people who were winners of a
competition organised by the Department of Planning and Local
Government which challenged South Australian students to design a
better neighbourhood.
Year 11 Pembroke student Andrew Brummit opted to submit plans for
increased use of electric cars and creating a community feel. Andrew has
ambitions to become an urban planner and some of his ideas for creating
a better neighbourhood included:
 Increase parklands in the area, with many trees – particularly native
ones that don’t need a lot of water;
 More healthcare centres and shops – this will attract more people to
the area and create more jobs;
 More buses and trams to improve access to public transport;
 Adelaide should have an improved recycling system, with recycling
stations strategically placed around the city;
 The provision of retirement accommodation to create a strong
community feel;
 The addition of solar panels to housing roofs to lower the city’s carbon
footprint, save electricity and increase use of energy from a renewable
source with reduced emissions;
 The provision of car charging stations in car parks to raise the
awareness of the use of electric cars which will drastically reduce the
city’s carbon footprint;
 The provision of quality health services including hospitals; and
 More effective capture, storage, filtering and use of storm water.
14
Catherine Douglas-Hill and Andrew Brummit
Year 9 St Peter’s Collegiate Girls School student Catherine Douglas-Hill
designed Adelaide as the Emerald City, reflecting her passion for
protecting green and open spaces and broadening the use of solar power.
Catherine’s suggestions for Moving South Australia towards a Child and
Youth Friendly State included:
 Provide opportunities for children and young people to make decisions
about their community;
 Provide the right services to meet the needs of children and young
people;
 Provide an unpolluted environment with green spaces to play;
 Provide a safe community;
 Provide opportunities to participate in cultural and social events;
 Ensure South Australia is an accepting state; and
 Ensure the provision of adequate healthcare, education and shelter.
The people in Catherine’s Child and Youth Friendly State:
 Will be more environmentally conscious:

Catch more public transport;

Will buy higher quality environmentally friendly products;
15

Work in businesses designed to make a community, national or
global difference; and

Education in schools will be more closely linked to being a ‘green
thinker’.
Associate Professor Geoff Woolcock’s Keynote Address; Building ChildFriendly Communities: Facing Up to the Challenges followed. According
to Woolcock’s research the top three things of most concern to children
and young people growing up in Australia are:
 Alcohol;
 Body image; and
 Drugs.
An on-line survey completed by a national representative sample of 600
children and young people aged between 10-14 years found that:
“A quarter of children are so troubled about the state of the world
that they honestly believe it will come to an end before they get
older.” Tucci, Mitchell and Goddard (2007)3
Parents are more fearful for their children and more risk averse resulting in
an increase in parent involvement in children’s transport to school.
Urban Research Program
www.griffith.edu.au/centre/urp
Associate Professor Woolcock’s PowerPoint presentation
Tucci, J.; Mitchell, J. & Goddard, C (2007) Children’s fears, hopes and heroes: Modern
Childhood in Australia. Australian Childhood Foundation
3
16
South Australia is using the Australian Early Development Index (AEDI) to
establish how South Australian children are faring in comparison with
children around Australia.
Neighbourhood Effects
Neighbourhood Effects:
Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC)
Australian Early Development Index (AEDI)
(Edwards 2005)
Urban Research Program
www.griffith.edu.au/centre/urp
Associate Professor Woolcock’s PowerPoint presentation on the AEDI
In each of the five domains of the AEDI, the average score for South
Australian children is the same as, or higher than, the national average:
 Physical Health and Well Being – same as National Average;
 Social Competence – same as National Average;
 Emotional Maturity – same as National Average;
 Language and Cognitive skills – higher than National Average; and
 Communication Skills and General Knowledge – same as National
Average.
The significance of particular demographic factors related to South
Australian results are as follows:
Geographic location

45.1 per cent of children living in very remote South Australia are
developmentally vulnerable on one or more of the AEDI domains.
17

31.6 per cent of children living in very remote South Australia are
developmentally vulnerable on two or more of the AEDI domains.
Socio-economic status of communities where children live

31.6 per cent of children living in the most socio-economically
disadvantaged
communities
in
South
Australia
are
developmentally vulnerable on one or more of the AEDI domains.

17.2 per cent of children living in the most socio-economically
disadvantaged
communities
in
South
Australia
are
developmentally vulnerable on two or more of the AEDI domains.
Australian Indigenous children

49.6 per cent of Indigenous children in South Australia are
developmentally vulnerable on one or more of the AEDI domains.

32.1 per cent of Indigenous children in South Australia are
developmentally vulnerable on two or more of the AEDI domains.
Language diversity

23.1 per cent of children who are proficient in English and speak
another language at home in South Australia are developmentally
vulnerable on one or more of the AEDI domains, compared to
94.1 per cent of children who speak a language other than
English and are not proficient in English.

10.4 per cent of children who are proficient in English and speak
another language at home in South Australia are developmentally
vulnerable on two or more of the AEDI domains, compared to
67.2 per cent who speak a language other than English and are
not proficient in English.
The Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY) have
developed
indicators
for
encouraging
child-friendliness
within
communities:
 Learn how to listen, plan and take action with local children and young
people;
18
 Recognise that local children and youth and their families are valuable
contributors to community life;
 Provide safe places to play close to home and connect communities
with the care of children. Increase opportunities for children and young
people to access green open space and natural areas;
 Develop a joint community vision and imagine together what a childfriendly community would look like locally;
 Design creative spaces for and with children and young people and
provide people with a reason to come into those spaces and use them;
 Establish practical and friendly pathways for families and young people
to get the services they need; and
 Make time when working with children and young people to counter the
idea that consultation with children and youth is a one-off event.
The final event on the forum program was a panel with the following
participants, followed by questions from the floor.
 Professor Brendan Gleeson, Keynote Speaker, Director of the Urban
Research Program at Griffith University, Queensland Australia.
Professor Gleeson's research interests include urban planning and
governance, urban social policy, disability studies, and environmental
theory and policy. He has authored, co-authored and co-edited several
books and has written numerous opinion pieces for the Sydney
Morning Herald, the Courier Mail and the Canberra Times. He is coauthor (with Nicholas Low) of Justice, Society and Nature: an
Exploration of Political Ecology (1998), which received the prestigious
Harold and Margaret Sprout award in 1999 from the International
Studies
Association.
In
2006
Professor
Gleeson’s
Australian
Heartlands: Making Space for Hope in the Suburbs won the inaugural
John Iremonger Award for Writing on Public Issues.
19
Professor Gleeson has worked professionally in a range of countries,
including Britain, Germany, New Zealand, the USA and Australia. In
early 2002, he was appointed by the Australian Capital Territory
Government to act as a key adviser on a major restructuring of the
Territory’s planning and land development administration. He was a
member of the Australian Capital Territory Planning and Land Council
2003-6 and is currently a member of the Board of the Queensland
Urban Land Development Authority. He has most recently been
appointed as a fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and currently
lives in the suburbs of Brisbane with his partner and their two children.
 Associate Professor Geoffrey Woolcock, Keynote Speaker, is an urban
sociologist based at Griffith University in Brisbane. His work with
large-scale public and private sector organisations concentrates on
developing measures of communities' strengths alongside national and
international efforts to measure well-being led by the OECD. In
particular, he is focusing on qualitative and quantitative indicators of
child-friendly communities across the Australian urban landscape.
Geoff is an experienced social researcher with considerable expertise
in social and community service planning and evaluation, including
social impact assessment and project evaluation. He has 20 years
community-based research experience nationally and internationally, in
housing, youth and health sectors, particularly HIV/AIDS prevention
and education.
 Felicity-ann Lewis is President of the Local Government Association of
South Australia, Mayor of the City of Marion and a Senior Lecturer at
the Flinders University School of Education. Mayor Lewis was first
elected as Mayor of the City of Marion in 2000 and was re-elected in
2003 and 2006. As a passionate supporter of reform in local
government, Mayor Lewis has served on the LGA State Executive
Committee since 2001, and the LGA’s Metropolitan Local Government
Group. She has been a member of the LGA’s Financial Sustainability
20
Advisory Committee since its formation as well as the LGA
Governance Advisory Committee and was elected President of the
LGA in 2009. Mayor Lewis has a strong interest in health promotion
and community development.
 Sarah Schulman co-leads The Australian Centre for Social Innovation's
Radical Redesign work. The Centre works in, with, and for
communities to co-design, prototype and scale new approaches to
complex social problems, like child protection, the subject of the
Centre's current project. Radical Redesign blends service design,
social science, and business methodologies to rebuild public services
and systems from the user's perspective. Sarah co-directs InWithFor, a
new organization set up to improve problem-solving methodologies and
build capacity to think and do differently. The design plus policy
problem-solving approach comes from more than 12 years trying to
engage users in the design, delivery and evaluation of public policies.
Most of the past approaches Sarah has applied, failed. As a 13 year
old, Sarah founded Youth Infusion, a youth-run organisation that
trained government agencies around the world how to meaningfully
engage youth. She found changing policy was not enough. Sarah's
academic work looks at how to change the civil servant practice behind
the policies. She hopes to receive her doctorate in social policy from
Oxford University this year where she was a 2005 Rhodes Scholar.
21
Where to from here?
Following on from the Forum, the Council for the Care of Children will
consider undertaking further work in these areas at its Planning Meeting in
July:
 Receiving examples of Child and Youth Friendly initiatives in South
Australia to encourage debate and build capacity of organisations to be
child and youth friendly.
 Exploring the ways of enabling children and young people to
participate more actively within their communities, particularly in the
planning, design and use of services provided for their needs.
 Examining ways of providing communities with the capacity to meet the
specific needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and
young people.
 Focusing on ways of increasing the active participation of children with
disabilities; children in the care and protection system and children who
have caring responsibilities, especially those caring for a family
member/parent with a mental illness within their communities.
 Considering the development of a child and youth wellbeing survey for
South Australia which asks children and young people about their
positive wellbeing, and also explores issues that may impact negatively
on
their
wellbeing
such
as
mental
health
problems,
caring
responsibilities, bullying, hopes and fears, and safety.
22
Appendix 1: Participants at the Forum
The Council for the Care of Children
Dr Diana Hetzel (Chair)
Jane Chapman
Kaye Colmer
Jayne Lehmann
Emily Rozee
Departmental members of the Council
Sue Barr representing CE DFC
Presenters (in order of presentation)
Hon Jennifer Rankine MP
Emily Rozee (CCC)
Professor Brendan Gleeson (Griffith University)
Andrew Brummitt (Pembroke)
Catherine Douglas-Hill (St Peter's Girls
Collegiate)
Associate Professor Geoffrey Woolcock
(Griffith University)
Panel Members
Professor Brendan Gleeson (Griffith University)
Associate Professor Geoffrey Woolcock
(Griffith University)
Felicity-ann Lewis (President LGASA, Mayor of
the City of Marion)
Sarah Schulman (Australian Centre for Social
Innovation)
Ministerial Representatives
Senator Dana Wortley for Hon Kate Ellis MP
Jadynne Harvey (Office of the Minister for
Education and Early Childhood Development)
Phil Robinson for Hon John Hill MP
Representatives from the following
organisations
Aboriginal Health Council of SA Inc
Adelaide City Council
Anglican Community Care
Anglicare SA
Attorney General's Department
Australasian College of Physicians
Australian Institute of Architects (SA Chapter)
CanDo4Kids Children's Charity
Centre for Work and Life, Hawke Research
Institute UniSA
Child Death and Serious Injury Review
Committee
Children, Youth & Women’s Health Service
Community Child Health Chapter, Royal
Community and Neighbourhood Houses and
Centres Association Inc
Delfin Lend Lease
de Lissa Chair in Early Childhood Research
Department of Education and Children's
Services
Department of Families, Housing, Community
Services and Indigenous Affairs
Department for Families and Communities
Department of Planning and Local Government
Department of the Premier and Cabinet
Early Childhood Australia Inc – SA
Flinders University
Inclusive Directions Inc
Land Management Corporation
Law Society of SA
Local Government Association of SA
Lutheran Community Care
National Council of Single Mothers and their
Children
Novita Children's Services Inc
Office for Youth
Office of the Guardian for Children and Young
People
Pembroke School
Planning Institute of Australia SA Division
South Australian Council of Social Service
SA Health
The Salvation Army
St Peter's Girls Collegiate
The Second Story
Shelter SA
The Smith Family SA
Stepping Stone (SA) Childcare & Early
Development Centre Pty. Ltd
Tabor Adelaide
United Nations Youth Association of South
Australia
Uniting Care Wesley
Uniting Care Wesley Port Adelaide
University of South Australia
Youth Affairs Council of SA
Council Secretariat
Elizabeth Owers
Sally Chapman
23
Appendix 2: Guests invited but unable to attend
The Council for the Care of Children
Mellita Kimber
Simon Schrapel
Townsend House Inc
Uniting Care Wesley Port Pirie
Urban Ecology Australia
The University of Adelaide
Departmental members of the Council
Joslene Mazel (DFC)
Chris Robinson (DECS)
Nerida Saunders (DPC)
Dr Tony Sherbon (SA Health)
Ministerial Representatives
Hon Kate Ellis MP, Minister for Early
Childhood Education, Child Care and Youth
and Minister for Sport
Hon Mike Rann, Premier of South Australia,
Minister for Social Inclusion
Hon Paul Holloway MP, Minister for Urban
Development and Planning
Hon John Hill MP, Minister for Health
Hon Jay Weatherill MP, Minister for
Education, Minister for Early Childhood
Development
Hon Gail Gago MP, Minister for the City of
Adelaide
Hon Grace Portolesi MP, Minister for Youth
Representatives from the following
organisations
Aboriginal Family Support Service
Association of Major Charitable Organisations
(SA) Inc
Autism SA
Carers Association of South Australia
Child and Family Welfare Association of
Australia Inc - South Australia Branch
CIC Australia
City of Onkaparinga
Department for Transport Energy and
Infrastructure
The Disability Information and Resource
Centre
Flinders Medical Centre
Houghton Primary School
Housing SA
Minister's Disability Advisory Council
NIFTeY SA
Office of the Public Advocate
Office of Recreation and Sport
Office for Women
Port Augusta & Regional Health Services
24