Child, Youth and Family is under extreme pressure and needs urgent change, according to a major review of the service released today.
Judge Mick Brown's long-awaited report makes 57 recommendations to improve the service, but he said it was obvious that most of the problems were due to factors beyond the
department's control.
"Child, Youth and Family is justifiably annoyed and entitled to be indignant at what is unfairly dumped on their doorway," said Judge Brown.
He said the Government should give a "clear, unequivocal commitment" for extra funding, so the service could be revamped and to provide the quality of personnel required.
However, some factors were largely within the department's control, including the culture that had developed within the organisation and the quality of social work practised.
The Government commissioned Judge Brown, a former Principal Youth Court Judge, to investigate how CYFS placed at-risk children with caregivers and how CYFS responded to reports of child abuse or neglect.
