What Might a Restructured System for Vulnerable Children Look like?

The Australian Government in 2021 issued a National Children’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy that proposed changes be made to service delivery systems to improve the wellbeing of children who live in vulnerable families. This chapter summarises proposals that have been reviewed in other chapters of this series about ways that services for vulnerable children in Australia can be improved. The chapter describes past reviews of services for vulnerable children, and brings together recommended proposals. The chapter discusses proposals for families with dual disability where both a parent and their child have been diagnosed with a mental health condition. While families with dual disability might appear to be a very difficult combination for clinicians, this chapter proposes that reallocation of existing resources will enable very significant advances to be made by addressing issues that are raised by families that involve dual disability and complex issues. The chapter summarises changes that are recommended for legal services, child protection services, health services, disability services, professional bodies, and universities.