"The former government outsourced child protection and out-of-home care to NGOs and that's meant we're not only paying more for these services, but we're also losing experienced casework staff to the NGO sector," Ms Washington said.

"Fewer frontline caseworkers makes it very difficult for the child protection system to do what it's meant to do - protect children.

"Child Protection Caseworkers are dedicated and passionate professionals who have incredibly complex and challenging jobs, but for years they haven't felt valued.

"We've already lifted the cruel wages cap that the former government imposed on these essential frontline workers, but we much have more work to do.

"That's why the NSW Labor Government is embarking on significant structural reform of the child protection. We must attract and retain caseworkers then ensure they feel supported and valued while they do one of the most important jobs in the world - keeping children safe."

A mass exodus of frontline caseworkers from the troubled child protection system is being blamed on privatisation, causing untold levels of stress and burnout.

READ MORE about our investigation into the broken child protection system:

Hundreds of workers have recently opened compensation claims while the number of kids in crisis being seen continues to drop.

The latest data from the Department of Communities and Justice shows that the statewide caseworker vacancy rate has spiked by five percentage points to 12 per cent between July and September last year.

Just 17 per cent of the 18,193 children deemed at risk of significant harm (ROSH) in the 12 months to September 30 in the Hunter Central Coast region last year were seen by a case worker .

That rate was 24 per cent during the previous year, an increase in real terms of 1,221 kids suspected of suffering instances of physical or sexual abuse, neglect, violence or serious emotional harm who are not being seen by a caseworker.

A department spokeswoman said the work performed by child protection caseworkers is high volume in nature as well as complex and challenging.

"They are central to everything we do," she said.

"DCJ is focussed on monitoring and strengthening caseworker welfare by providing wellbeing checks for caseworkers to support psychological safety and general wellbeing."

The department has refused to release the number of staff on sick or stress leave citing privacy concerns.

"As at, 31 December 2023, 145 Caseworkers had an open workers compensation claim and of these, 37 were in relation to claims by Caseworkers in the Hunter / Central Coast District."