Parents in the child protection system

This report documents the experiences of parents who have been involved with Tasmania’s child protection system. It identifies the challenges of negotiating a successful way through the child protection system for parents and for the workers who support them. It found that parents struggle with the difficulties of operating within an adversarial system where they have minimal power in decision making. The stories from parents and workers provided data from which the report recommendations were made. The five main positive directions to emerge were the need for accessible information, consistency in service provision, support for positive change, the value of skilled advocates and the role of participation in removing stigma.