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5. Child concern reports

Graphs

 Number of child concern reports received, Queensland, 2013-14 to 2017-18

Proportion of child concern reports received, by primary source, Queensland, 2017-18

Tables

Table notes

What is a child concern report?

A child concern report is recorded when the information received does not suggest a child is in need of protection. A child safety officer may respond to a report by:

• providing information and advice to the person reporting the concern
• making a referral to another agency including a Family and Child Connect Service, an Intensive Family Support service or an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Family Wellbeing service.
• providing any relevant information to the police where there is a possible criminal offence.

Why this topic is important

A child concern report may still indicate there is cause for concern though it does not suggest a child is currently in need of protection.

Services can be offered to assist the child and their family, including referral to prevention and early intervention services. Families are also encouraged and assisted to explore other areas of support, such as wider family and local community.

A child safety officer's role at intake includes offering referrals to build and strengthen a family’s network to increase safety and support for children, young people and their families with the aim of preventing the need for future involvement in the child protection system.

Trends

In 2017-18, the department recorded 95,538 child concern reports. This is an increase of 11.9 per cent compared to 2016-17.

The number of children subject to a child concern report increased by 9.4 per cent, from 55,441 children in 2016-17 to 60,665 children in 2017-18.

Over the past five years the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children subject to a child concern report decreased by 6.3 per cent from 14,697 in 2013-14 to 13,778 in 2017-18. The number of non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children subject to a child concern report decreased by 11.9 per cent from 53,249 in 2013-14 to 46,887 in 2017-18.