South Australia's Department for Child Protection (DCP) Complaints Handling Deemed Adequate in Independent Review
An independent review conducted by BDO Australia has found that the South Australian Department for Child Protection (DCP) has a "generally sound" process for handling complaints. This comes despite ongoing claims from foster carers about a "toxic culture" within the agency.
The review, which cost taxpayers $27,500, was commissioned by Child Protection Minister Katrine Hildyard in July 2023 following calls from some foster carers for an independent unit to investigate complaints about department workers.
The BDO review found that the DCP has "comprehensive" complaints policies and that its Complaints and Feedback Management Unit (CFMU) is "competent". The review also found that CFMU representatives "confirmed that all forms of feedback are valued by DCP at all levels".
However, foster carers contacted by the ABC, who did not want to be named, reiterated claims that there was a "toxic culture" within the department. They said the review did not address their fear of repercussions when lodging complaints and that they were not consulted by BDO during the review.
The BDO report states that DCP selected eight cases for the consultancy firm to review, two of which related to complaints lodged by carers. The remaining cases comprised complaints lodged by biological parents, family members, and children.
According to BDO, some department workers "expressed difficulty in defining a complaint". This inconsistency in applying Level 1 complaints management processes leads to an incomplete recording of feedback and an incomplete understanding of complaints and concerns at a local level.
In response to the review, a DCP spokesperson said the department was "considering" the recommendations and was "focused on helping ensure carers are well supported". They also stated that the department would consult carers on ways to support them in referring complaints to the ombudsman and that staff would receive more training on managing complaints.