Queensland Consolidated Acts

CHILD PROTECTION ACT 1999 - SECT 7

7 Chief executive’s functions

(1) For the proper and efficient administration of this Act, the chief executive’s functions are—

(a) providing, or helping provide, information for parents and other members of the community about the development of children and their safety needs; and

(b) providing, or helping provide, preventative and support services to strengthen and support families and to reduce the incidence of harm to children; and

(c) providing, or helping provide, services to families to protect their children if a risk of harm has been identified; and

(d) providing, or helping provide, services for the protection of children and responding to allegations of harm to children; and

(e) providing, or helping provide, services that encourage children in their development into responsible adulthood; and

(f) helping Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to establish programs for preventing or reducing incidences of harm to children in the communities; and

(g) ensuring children have meaningful and ongoing opportunities to participate in decisions of the chief executive about programs and services relating to the purposes of this Act; and

(h) providing support and training to approved carers to help them care for children under this Act; and

(i) negotiating and reviewing a statement of commitment between the State and organisations with an interest in the care of children under this Act that includes the provision of support and resources by the department to approved carers; and

(j) promoting a partnership between the State, local government, non-government agencies and families in taking responsibility for, and dealing with the problem of, harm to children; and

(k) promoting a partnership between the State and foster carers that recognises the integral part played by foster carers in caring for children under this Act; and

(l) promoting and helping in developing coordinated responses to allegations of harm to children and responses to domestic violence; and

(m) cooperating with government entities that have a function relating to the protection of children or provide services to children in need of protection or their families; and

(n) ensuring access by children in care to advocacy services and cooperating with the services to help ensure that the children’s concerns are dealt with; and

(o) consulting with clients of the department and of organisations involved in providing services relating to the purposes of this Act and with client representative groups; and

(p) arranging for independent Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander entities for Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander children to facilitate the participation of the children and the children’s families when making decisions in relation to the children; and

(q) reviewing, under chapter 7A , the department’s involvement with certain children who have since died or who have suffered serious physical injury—

(i) to facilitate ongoing learning and improvement in the provision of services by the department; and

(ii) to promote the accountability of the department; and

(iii) to support collaboration and joint learning between the department and other relevant agencies; and

(r) providing, or helping provide, public education about child abuse and neglect and to encourage people whose occupation involves responsibility for children and members of the public to report suspected child abuse and neglect to the chief executive; and

(s) collecting and publishing, or helping to collect and publish, information and statistics about—

(i) harm to children; and

(ii) the life outcomes of children in care; and

(iii) the relationship between the criminal justice system and the child protection system; and

(t) promoting and conducting research into—

(i) the causes and effects of harm to children; and

(ii) the life outcomes of children in care; and

(iii) the relationship between the criminal justice system and the child protection system; and

(u) encouraging tertiary institutions to provide instruction about harm to children and its prevention and treatment.

(2) In this section—

"children in care" means children in the chief executive’s custody or guardianship.

"relevant agency" see section 245B .