On 17 March, Labor released its Community Services Policy for the election. The Policy commits Labor to:

• Introduce a Family Literacy program for families from culturally diverse backgrounds – helping children in those families to improve their reading skills and develop to their full potential;
• Continue the roll-out of the $750 million five-year Keep Them Safe plan;
• Implement the integrated One Place One Plan program for areas of entrenched disadvantage;
• Expand and strengthen early childhood services, including by providing 95 per cent of NSW children with early childhood programs for at least 15 hours a week, 40 weeks a year by 2013;
• Employ 25 additional staff for the Helpline After Hours Crisis Response Team, which delivers critical child protection responses, and two supervisors for the Domestic Violence helpline;
• Continue to work closely with non-government partners; and
• Stabilise then reduce the number of children entering care and gradually transfer most OOHC services to the non-government sector.

NCOSS welcomes this recommitment to the Keep Them Safe Action Plan including the budget and the commitment to the transfer of OOHC to the non-government sector.