The Tasmanian Government has announced the establishment of a new Department of Education, Children and Young People, combining the now superseded Department of Education with some functions of the Department of Communities Tasmania.
The new department’s oversight will include public education, child safety and welfare, foster care, youth justice, Libraries Tasmania and Child and Family Learning Centres.
New Minister of Education, Children and Young People, Roger Jaensch said the department will be a child-centred organisation.
“It will strengthen departmental administrative structures to remove siloes and deliver better services and outcomes, as well as further ensuring systems, policies, processes and procedures are strong, integrated and build a culture where a child’s development, education and safety, is everyone’s responsibility,” Mr Jaensch said.
Minister Jaensch said the department’s immediate priority was to ensure that current service users saw little change in the way they were supported.
It is hoped that over time, children, young people, and their families will benefit from improved co-ordination of services and supports, better sharing of information, and an ongoing focus on wellbeing and engagement in learning, the Minister said.
