Building the child protection workforce of the future is a key driver behind a child protection careers roadshow across the state’s regions over the next two months.

The Department for Child Protection’s recruitment team will share information about careers supporting vulnerable children through sessions for communities in the Adelaide Hills, Murraylands, South-East, Eyre Peninsula, Yorke Peninsula and Spencer Gulf.

Public career and volunteering expos are planned in five towns, along with information sessions for tertiary education students. There will also be separate sessions in various locations targeting potential new youth workers, who care for young people living in residential care homes.

Recruitment staff will target students studying a range of disciplines related to supporting families, including social work, community services, social sciences, human services and health, to share information about jobs in the child protection and family support sector.

The Department for Child Protection is committed to attracting and retaining a highly skilled, professional staff to deliver critical services supporting and safeguarding children, young people, families and carers across South Australia.

Its efforts to build and retain a workforce to support the increasing level of need among local families are underpinned by two major strategies – a DCP-specific workforce strategy and another for the whole of the child protection and family support sector.

Among priorities is increasing the number of Aboriginal staff working in frontline and corporate roles, to help ensure Aboriginal children and young people in care maintain a strong connection to their family, community and culture.

Some regional offices also offer incentives for staff members to relocate, where this is needed to meet local demand. These may include accommodation or subsidised housing, return flights and reimbursement of relocation and education expenses.

The Department is hosting sessions in Mount Gambier from 21-22 September, Mount Barker on 30 September, Port Lincoln on 8 October, Port Augusta from 13-14 October and Port Pirie on 15 October.

For more information, or to register for an event, visit bit.ly/dcp-roadshow

Comments attributable to Department for Child Protection Chief Executive Jackie Bray

Child protection and family support services across the country are collectively facing challenges to build and retain the workforces they need to meet increasing demand from families.

Programs such as this one are helping spread the word about the breadth of work opportunities available across frontline and corporate roles, where people make a real difference for their community.

Child protection staff have some of the most important roles in our state – they protect children and young people from abuse and harm, support them to meet their goals, and help families to make decisions about children’s safe care.

While there’s no doubt that this work can be challenging, our staff are often quick to share with me how incredibly rewarding their jobs are, offering the ability to make a real and lasting difference in children’s lives.