A well-connected think-tank has today condemned current child protection measures and urged the establishment of a Royal Commission to oversee the wholesale redesign of social care and mental health services for the sake of vulnerable children.

The CSJ paints a picture of many child protection and mental health services as being in crisis, and alleges many youngsters are slipping through the net, often due to high thresholds for  – with a group of ‘long children' who are not cared for either by their parents or the state.