secure the of a child. This includes protecting them from harm, protecting their rights ‘best interests’ and promoting the child’s development. In each case, people might reasonably disagree about what is in the best interests of that child. Advice and advocacy to and for children and families, both legal and non-legal, at all stages, is critical to maintaining a fair and just system. It is essential that children, young people and parents are aware of what is happening, understand their rights and have an effective voice, and that any intervention is appropriate and lawful. Lawyers have a legitimate and central role in this process. Investment in new initiatives and greater training capacity to support legal practitioners to deliver the necessary services is needed. We must try doing things differently, accepting that we may not always get the results hoped for. However, unless we are prepared to try new approaches we will continue to put ever-increasing resources into a system that does not meet the needs of some of the most vulnerable members of our community. As the primary provider and funder of legal services to children, young people and families in the child protection system, there are a number of things that VLA can do better. However, we cannot do this alone. It requires the assistance of private practitioners and community legal centres, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Court of Victoria. It also requires us to Children’s look beyond the usual range of partners to identify new ways of doing things working with families, – carers, health providers and others to improve outcomes: a whole-of-sector response. The set of Actions that VLA will take as a result of this Review are set out in the next section. Not all of the Actions can be implemented at once. Some will take time to develop, while others can only be implemented after related Actions have been implemented. It is expected that it will a number of years to implement all of the Actions. We are looking forward to working together to improve outcomes for children and families in the child protection system.
secure the ‘best interests’ of a child. This includes protecting them from harm, protecting their rights and promoting the child’s development. In each case, people might reasonably disagree about what is in the best interests of that child. Advice and advocacy to and for children and families, both legal and non-legal, at all stages, is critical to maintaining a fair and just system. It is essential that children, young people and parents are aware of what is happening, understand their rights and have an effective voice, and that any intervention is appropriate and lawful. Lawyers have a legitimate and central role in this process. Investment in new initiatives and greater training capacity to support legal practitioners to deliver the necessary services is needed. We must try doing things differently, accepting that we may not always get the results hoped for. However, unless we are prepared to try new approaches we will continue to put ever-increasing resources into a system that does not meet the needs of some of the most vulnerable members of our community. As the primary provider and funder of legal services to children, young people and families in the child protection system, there are a number of things that VLA can do better. However, we cannot do this alone. It requires the assistance of private practitioners and community legal centres, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Children’s Court of Victoria. It also requires us to look beyond the usual range of partners to identify new ways of doing things – working with families, carers, health providers and others to improve outcomes: a whole-of-sector response. The set of Actions that VLA will take as a result of this Review are set out in the next section. Not all of the Actions can be implemented at once. Some will take time to develop, while others can only be implemented after related Actions have been implemented. It is expected that it will a number of years to implement all of the Actions. We are looking forward to working together to improve outcomes for children and families in the child protection system.
vla-child-protection-legal-aid-services-review-final-report.docx