Allegations Against Employees In The Area Of Child Protection, 2005: A Critical Essay

Allegations against Employees in the Area of Child Protection, 2005

A Critical Analysis

An important and increasingly marked issue in Australia is the welfare and wellbeing of children and young people in educational settings. Staying safe is something that every child and young person should be entitled to expect at school. In this context, the DET has a duty to respond to and/or investigate allegations against employees.
The NSW Department of Education has addressed child safety, welfare and wellbeing as paramount in its policy, �Allegations against Employees in the area of Child Protection’, 2005. Such a policy is essential at a time when the surfacing of many �alleged’ victims seeking justice for acts perpetrated against them many years ago, is splashed across newspapers and televisions nationwide. At a time when new disciplinary measures against public school teachers in NSW are being implemented and the number of teachers facing official action over allegations of sexual misconduct is on the rise (Zimmer. E. 1999: online), a policy such as this needs to be in place to protect all concerned.
This policy seeks to provide a clear guide for what constitutes an allegation and procedures for dealing with allegations against an employee and in the case of victims or witnesses, the type of support available. The main focus of this policy involves:
1. Procedures to be followed in response to allegations being made against employees of the Department of Education and Training (DET) in the area of child protection.
2. The fair treatment and the rights of each individual during an investigation and any applicable disciplinary process.
3. Monitoring, evaluation and reporting requirements.

The specified goals and strategies of this policy reflect the model of retributive justice, that is, violation of rules and freedom and rights of others. Gale, T & Densmore, K. 2000: 15. In this model, guilt is absolute until proven innocent and the focus is on...