Our people
DoCS employs almost 4,000 full-time and part-time staff, including people from Aboriginal and culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, to help us best identify and meet community needs.
Our workforce includes caseworkers, psychologists, legal officers, community program officers, researchers, statisticians, economists, children’s services advisors, communications professionals, policy analysts, managers and administration staff.
Caseworkers make up nearly half of the DoCS workforce. Caseworkers can work in a number of different areas, including:
- child protection: assessing reports and providing assistance to families to reduce harm for the enable the child or young person and, if necessary, take Children's Court action
- street teams: reducing crime, risk taking and anti social behaviour by children and young people in areas such as Redfern, Cabramatta and Kings Cross
- Joint Investigation Response Teams (JIRT): where professionals from DoCS and NSW Police undertake joint investigation of child protection matters, where serious physical or sexual assault of children is involved
- out-of-home care: supporting children and carers where children are unable to live safely with their birth parents
- early intervention: assessing strengths and needs of families and assisting them access a range of appropriate services
- DoCS Helpline: taking initial reports from people with concerns about the safety and wellbeing of a child or young person, and assessing what further actions may be taken
- Aboriginal caseworker: consulting and advising on Aboriginal children who are ‘at risk’, and the placements of Aboriginal children and young people who are in out-of-home care
- multicultural caseworker: providing enhanced services to children from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) families and communities
As at 30 June 2007, the NSW Department of Community Services was administered through six operational areas.
Operations
Operations division delivers frontline services across NSW and supports the introduction of new policies and procedures and improvements in professional practice to caseworkers. It also delivers statewide specialist services such as the DoCS Helpline, adoption services, psychology services, Joint Investigation and Response Teams and disaster recovery with partner organisations.
Service System Development
Service System Development division was established in January 2007 from an amalgamation between the former Communities and Policy division and the former Research, Funding and Business Analysis Division. The new division is responsible for corporate planning and reporting, research and analysis, and developing policies and guidelines for service provision across the key DoCS program areas as well as managing funding to service providers. The division is also responsible for reform of the children’s service sector and for regulation of children’s services.
Communities
Communities division works across the government and non-government sectors to develop co-ordinated, strategic approaches to issues facing young people, children and families and implement community programs locally. These include youth initiatives, services for women experiencing domestic violence, parenting and family support services.
Strategy, Communication and Governance
The Strategy, Communication and Governance division provides leadership in the management and accountability of DoCS including freedom of information, governance and corporate and ministerial information. The Media and Communication Branch informs and educates stakeholders through community education campaigns, publications, the internet and the media.
Corporate Services
Corporate Services provides administrative, financial and legal services, information and communication technology, funding administration and building management services.
Corporate Workforce Strategies
Corporate Workforce Strategies includes Aboriginal and multicultural services, human resources, learning and development, and workforce planning. It leads DoCS recruitment drive to fill more than one thousand new caseworker positions by 2008.
NSW Minister for Community Services
The NSW Department of Community Services supports the NSW Minister for Community Services and Minister for Youth to perform their executive and statutory functions.
The Hon. Reba Meagher MP served as Minister for Community Services and Minister for Youth until 2 April 2007. The Hon. Kevin Greene MP was appointed the NSW Minster for Community Services and the Hon. Linda Burney MP was appointed the Minister for Youth on 2 April 2007.
The roles of the Minister and Director-General are defined in sections 15 and 16 of the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998.
Management
The Director-General is the head of the NSW Department for Community Services. The Director-General leads the Executive which has responsibility for:
- setting strategic policy and operational direction by debating and determining strategic positions, priorities and programs in the policy and operational context
- setting management directions for DoCS by guiding major organisational policies and processes including statutory compliance, resource allocation, performance and risk management and organisational change
- gathering and sharing business intelligence by monitoring and reviewing the external and internal operating and policy context, identifying emerging issues, listening to the expectations and perceptions of key stakeholders and sharing these observations with others
- communicating information, advice and leadership behaviours and values both within DoCS and externally.
