Rethinking child protection during a pandemic: Insights from Cathy Taylor

There are more than 4,000 children and young people under guardianship in South Australia. Cathy Taylor, Chief Executive of the Department for Child Protection, spoke recently about how the public sector has worked with carers and the non-government sector to provide these children and young people with safe care during the current pandemic.

‘These are children and young people who’ve experienced trauma and abuse and neglect. And then you overlay the whole question of COVID-19.

And what does it mean, not to have contact with people that you know and trust?’

The Department used this lens to think about how it delivered its services, the critical and essential elements of these services, and how it could deliver them in a way that kept people safe.

A link to a video of the interview, which included a question and answer session, is available below.