There were 9268 Queensland children who could not live safely at home at the end of September, data reveals.
The heartbreaking figures are revealed in the Queensland government's Child and Family Performance Statistics for the 12 months to September 30, 2016.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were significantly over-represented in the system, accounting for almost 42 per cent of all children in out-of-home care.
Child Safety Minister Shannon Fentiman said for the first time in three years, the child safety data was showing signs of improvement in Queensland.
The number of investigations that started on time was up – 677 more in September compared with June.
The number of finalised investigations was up – 450 more to 20,249 in total.
And frontline staff achieved that, despite having to deal with 180 more investigations.
Ms Fentiman said the September data showed clear improvements on investigation timelines, pointing to an improvement of 3 per cent from the June quarter, despite an increase in notifications.
The data showed 91.7 per cent of notifications had an investigation started – an improvement from March, which was at 85.2 per cent and June which was at 90.4 per cent.
There was an improvement in the proportion of investigations started within timeframes – 38 per cent, up from 35 per cent in June.
The time frames are either 24 hours, five days or a 10 day response, with Child Safety officers required to sight children before any investigation can be recorded as being started.
Caseloads for child safety officers working with children in care was relatively stable, at 19.
There were 1200 more notifications compared with the same time last year.
And 89 per cent of investigations which needed to be started within 24 hours started on time.
"What this data tells us is the department is delivering more timely responses to child safety cases - we are beginning to turn the corner on these performance measures despite being busier than ever," Ms Fentiman said.
More people were also reporting suspected harm and abuse than the three months prior.
The data also showed there were 116 more carer families.
Ms Fentiman said the September data also reflected the growing complexities faced by families who came to the department's attention, including mental illness, drug and alcohol abuse, and criminal history.
About two-thirds of households that were substantiated for harm or risk of harm to a child had a parent with a current or past drug or alcohol problem, compared with about half of all households in 2006-07.
Nearly half had issues of domestic and family violence within the past year, compared with 35 per cent in 2006-07.
Ms Fentiman said an extra 129 staff and the rollout of specialist investigation and assessment teams had a positive impact.
"All of the improvements we are seeing have happened before new staff hit the ground," she said.
"The extra 129 frontline support staff we are hiring will go a long way towards further improvements.
"To date, 100 of the 129 additional staff are on the ground, with the remaining positions to be filled by March."
The department was under pressure at the end of 2016 over the death of Caboolture toddler Mason Jet Lee.
A final report into Mason's death is due to be released at the end of January.
On Sunday, Opposition Child Safety spokeswoman Ros Bates demanded Ms Fentiman release the September data, accusing the government of being "notoriously slow" to make it public.
"With more children at harm due to drug-addicted parents, we need a system that is able to protect them and right now, the system can't," Ms Bates said.
