THE NSW Government has opened the first of five new properties in Western Sydney ensuring more vulnerable children are moved from unsuitable emergency accommodation and into more stable homes.

Known as the Waratah Care Cottages, the new properties will provide safe homes for children and young people who will be cared for by highly trained, accredited staff with expertise in looking after kids at risk.

The cottages will support a number of children who are currently living in High-Cost Emergency Arrangements (HCEAs) who cannot be immediately placed with a relative or a foster carer.

The Waratah Care Cottages will further assist the Minns Labor Government to deliver on a commitment to reduce the number of children and young people in unsuitable HCEAs and scrap Alternative Care Arrangements (ACAs) altogether.A report by the Advocate for Children and Young People (ACYP), released in August, detailed the harrowing experiences of children living in HCEAs where numerous young people described being left alone in extremely unsafe situations.

One child described their experience living in HCEAs as making them feel like a “dog being moved from cage to cage.”First introduced under the former government, HCEAs were supposed to be only used for short periods, in emergency situations but were increasingly overused because of a spiralling shortage of foster carers.

In November last year the Minister for Families and Communities, Kate Washington stood up a specialist team within DCJ to tackle the overuse of HCEAs. Since then, the NSW Government has:
Reduced the number of children placed in ACAs, the worst type of HCEA from 139 to just 27 (an 81% reduction).