The department is also considering paying a 20 per cent loading to child protection staff who volunteer to work with COVID-19 positive children, prompting accusations of a “danger money payment”.

The Public Service Association has labelled the strategies “high risk” and has accused the department of failing to adequately plan for the impact of COVID-19 on an already understaffed sector.

“There is absolutely no excuse for placing under-trained staff into state residential care houses,” PSA acting general secretary Natasha Brown said.

“It’s not only dangerous for those staff, but also for the vulnerable children who require skilled staff to ensure their special needs are adequately met.

“That the Department has become so desperate they are looking at recruiting relief teachers and school support staff to staff residential care houses shows they have completely failed to address the chronic staffing shortage we have been constantly highlighting for at least the last two years.”

Up to 10 per cent of the department’s workforce remains unvaccinated.

The union is concerned that includes dozens of residential care workers, despite a recent vaccine mandate.

In a letter sent last week to Child Protection Department chief executive Cathy Taylor, PSA general secretary Nev Kitchin said: “It is appalling that your department failed to realise the impact of the Emergency Management Direction for Disability Support Workers on so many Child Protection Services before the last week.”

“This borders on incompetence and potentially maladministration in managing the care of young people in care when it is known that around 1200 children in care are under an NDIS plan, that the workers take children to education and early childhood settings in the course of their work or duties and they take children into healthcare settings as part of their work or duties,” Kitchin wrote.

Taylor responded in a letter yesterday saying it was “inaccurate” that the department had failed to prepare for the impact of COVID.

“Extensive planning has, and continues to take place in response to the rapidly changing environment,” she wrote.

In her letter, Taylor said 31 new care staff had started on Monday “and will undertake induction, orientation and on-the-job training, prior to them being rostered to undertake any ‘single-handed’ shifts”.

“A number of these new recruits were scheduled to commence employment in the planned February 2022 intake, and we have been able to negotiate their earlier commencement to assist in managing the workforce impacts of the Directions and staff vaccination choices,” she said.

Taylor said the department was finalising plans “to support the use of social workers and other skilled child protection workers where necessary to ensure the continued care and protection of children and young people…”

She also said the department was seeking expressions of interest from relief teachers and school services officers “who may be available during the school holiday period”.

“Suitable training will be provided and it is our intention that these staff would be rostered with experienced Child and Youth Workers where required,” she said.

Taylor also wrote about a “proposed 20 per cent loading for staff who volunteer to work with COVID-19 positive children”.

“We are working with SA Health in relation to interim plans and arrangements for the management of COVID-19 positive children as the state transitions to living with COVID-19,” she said.

“Interim measures during the transition period may include hospitalisation where clinically appropriate, use of Medi-hotels, and/or use of dedicated residential care facilities for this purpose.”

Taylor said the department was working with SA Health “to prepare for these responses” and had received expressions of interest from experienced child and youth workers “willing to engage in the planning and preparations, and in the provision of care to children and young people in these settings should this be required”.

“An attraction allowance is proposed to incentivise these roles whilst those staff are engaged in establishing and providing these new models of care,” she said.

“SA Health will provide specialised infection control and related training to these staff in the first instance.

“Advice from interstate residential care providers indicates that their experience has been that, with the proper training and use of PPE and other infection control measures, there is very minimal likelihood of contracting COVID-19 in these settings.”

In his letter to Taylor, Kitchin had asked: “Is this a ‘danger money payment’ or an attraction/retention allowance?”

“Further, given that this work presents a risk to the families of workers, are there plans to manage that risk?” Kitchin wrote.

“Are Youth Workers expected to work with COVID positive young people and then go home to their families at night?”

In a statement, Child Protection Department deputy chief executive Fiona Ward said “the Department for Child Protection (DCP) is aware of the PSA’s concerns, has already met with and continues to be in contact with the PSA”.

“The PSA’s assertion that DCP has not been preparing for the impact of COVID-19 is inaccurate,” Ward said.

“Given the Department for Child Protection is an essential service, extensive contingency planning has been undertaken to prepare for and respond to the impact of COVID-19 on the care we provide to children and young people.

“The department continually evaluates this planning, taking into account Emergency Management Directions and the potential impact to our workforce of isolation and quarantine requirements and changes in how we provide care to children and young people who test positive.

“We thank our hardworking front-line staff for continuing to support and care for our most vulnerable children and young people in care.”

Ward said almost 90 per cent of the department’s entire workforce had received one or more dose of a COVID vaccine and “we continue to work directly with individual staff members to support them to get vaccinated”.

“As is the case across many departments, approximately five per cent of staff are absent from the workplace on long term leave, for example maternity leave or long service leave,” she said.

“The remaining five per cent continue to assess their vaccination choices at this time.”