We're calling for a
Child Connection System
Because every child deserves to be known, loved and held in connection
Why we're here
We are a growing community of individuals and organisations who are committed to the fundamental reform of child protection and out-of-home care (also called foster care).
There are more than 45,000 children in out-of-home care across Australia. Too many of these children don't get to experience long term, safe and secure relationships.
We've replaced connection with excessive compliance, forms and risk assessments. Relationships with families and carers are being undermined by rules and regulations. Too many children are being raised by rotating shift workers.
This is a system that, by design, denies children the one thing they need most: real, lasting connection. This isn’t just a policy issue. It’s a heartbreak. Because relational deprivation is harm.
Our call for change
We believe there's an alternative paradigm - where protection comes through connection.
We want a world where every child in out-of-home care is wrapped in safe, steady relationships with adults who show up, stay close, and stand firmly in their corner.
The neuroscience is clear: the more attuned, caring adults a child has, the safer and stronger they become.
It's time for Child Connection System where human connection, not red tape, shapes a child's future
WHO IS THIS FOR?
To those who have felt the pain rippling through generations.
To those who have seen parents’ and children’s faces, not just during a ‘contact visit’ but before and after.
To those who agree that the cost of maintaining the current status quo is unpalatable.
To those who hold hope for being able to create better outcomes for children.
To those who have seen a locked food cupboard in a group home.
To anyone who has felt poverty and housing instability.
To those who know that violence and neglect must be addressed but also know that the system meant to help is, itself, causing harm.
"Let's put people, not process, at the heart of the system."
WHAT WE BELIEVE
These are our principles that guide us.
Our deepest loyalty is to children’s wellbeing and ensuring they have safe, lasting connections – not to rules designed to manage legal or organisational risk, or to time-framed availability.
Paperwork doesn’t change people’s lives, people do. Healing happens in human connection and real presence.
Change is already underway. Being part of it demands more than intention – it calls for brave, ongoing reflection and action.
Children are best supported when adults unite and find trust together. Families, kin and carers carry the wisdom to find pathways and possibilities for nurturing relationships and a sense of belonging.
First Nations ways of caring come from a deep understanding that everything is connected: people, place, spirit, and story. First Nations communities must hold the power, resources and leadership to care for their children in ways that are grounded in culture, community and connection.
Relationships are messy, and no system can eliminate all risks or pain. But there is a better way – one that causes less harm, holds people through hard times, supports those who support others, and responds with empathy and humanity, not judgement.
THE MOVEMENT IS GROWING
People working inside the system are using their influence to make space for connection-based care. They’re no longer simply managing policy or programs. They are part of shifting culture from within.
Care workers, caseworkers and practitioners are naming the harm and standing for something better. They’re not waiting for top-down solutions. They’re reimagining a system grounded in trust, honesty and relationship.
Grassroots organisations, community groups, families and neighbours are forming networks of care and showing the way. They’re asking “What do you need?” and acting with care. They’re becoming what every child needs: attuned, reliable adults who are in their corner.
Let's raise kids in real relationships.
When care isn't caring: A reality check on relationships
June 2025
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Roundtable on relational reform with Mark Smith
May 2025
Relational approaches in social work and child protection
April 2025
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