Dr Lisa J. Griffiths, Chief Executive Officer, OzChild
Every child deserves a safe, loving home – and we know how to make that happen. This National Child Protection Week, let’s focus on what’s possible: a system that helps families stay strong, supports carers to succeed, and ensures children grow up connected to community and culture.
Australia has a real opportunity to follow the lead of cities like New York, and countries like Scotland to rebuild a system that truly has the best interests of children at heart. Queensland’s Commission of Inquiry into Child Safety has sparked important conversations about residential care. But conversations alone don’t change lives – action does. And the good news is, we already have solutions that work.
Children thrive in family environments. That’s not just intuition; decades of research show that stable, nurturing relationships build the “architecture” of the developing brain, shaping health, learning and wellbeing for life. When children grow up in residential care, those foundations are harder to lay. But when we invest in family-based care, we give children the best chance to heal and succeed.
Professional care models like Treatment Foster Care Oregon (TFCO) are proving this every day. TFCO provides specialist carers with intensive training and wraparound support, so children with complex needs can move from residential care into safe, therapeutic homes – and then step down to long-term family or kinship care. It’s a bridge to permanency, not a stopgap.
The best way to reduce residential care is to stop children from entering it in the first place. That means scaling up proven programs like TFCO and envisioning new professional care models for children and young people who need it most, strengthening kinship networks, and making sure families get help early – before stress turns into crisis.
This isn’t just the Government’s job. It’s a whole-of-community effort. Service providers, funders, carers, and everyday Australians all have a role to play in creating a system that protects children and supports families. When we work together, we can turn pressure into possibility.
Children can’t live in inquiries. They live in families, schools and neighbourhoods. Let’s make sure those places are strong, safe and full of opportunity. Because when we invest in children today, we build the Australia we all want tomorrow.
Dr Lisa J. Griffiths, Chief Executive Officer, OzChild
Dr Griffiths is the Chief Executive Officer at OzChild, Victoria’s longest-running child welfare organisation and Australia’s largest provider of evidence-based programs in child protection, family violence and youth justice.
Lisa is a Professor and Senior Fellow at the Australian Graduate School of Leadership and holds a Doctorate in Business Leadership and focuses on evidence-based ethical leadership.
A Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and the Centre for Evidence-Based Management, Lisa is a passionate advocate for children’s issues and strongly advocates for utilising effective strategies that benefit Australian children, young people, and families.
As Chair of the National Foster Care Sustainability Group and a founding member of Allies for Children, Lisa is committed to transforming the Child and Family Welfare sector, advocating for the essential support that carers, children, and young people deserve.
Families Australia has announced the appointment of Dr Lisa J. Griffiths as its new Chair of the Board, following the transition of outgoing Chair Deb Tsorbaris to the role of Australia’s National Children’s Commissioner.
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