Neville's incompetence leaves thousands of vulnerable children exposedMonday, May 10, 2010 FOI DATA REVEALS 2,388 CHILDREN HAVE NO CASE WORKER The incompetent Minister for Community Services, Lisa Neville is responsible for the growing number of at-risk and abused children without a child protection case worker than six months ago, Shadow Minister for Community Services Mary Wooldridge said today. "This is a shocking display of the Community Services Minister’s incompetence and the Brumby Government’s inability to protect our most vulnerable children," Ms Wooldridge said. "Six months ago the Minister for Community Services, Lisa Neville, wrung her hands, furrowed her brow and said that Victoria’s 2,000 neglected and abused children without case workers was unacceptable. "However, data obtained by the Opposition under Freedom of Information shows that at the end of December 2009 there were 2,388 children in the child protection system without a case worker. "This figure represents a nine per cent increase from the already woeful June 2009 numbers that drove the Victorian Ombudsman, in his report into Victoria’s child protection system, to express significant concern with respect to the high proportion of unallocated cases. "The situation is out of control in metropolitan Melbourne where there has been a 78 per cent increase in six months in the number of unallocated cases. "Of the neglected and abused children without case managers, 735 have such serious personal circumstances that they have been to the Children’s Court and had a court order issued. "Victorians rightly expect that every child who needs a case worker has one. The Brumby Government knows this and has admitted that this should be the reality. "The Minister, during a radio interview in August last year, claimed to have been working on what to do in relation to ‘unallocated’ for ‘eight, nine months’. "It is unbelievable that while claiming to have been actively working on a solution for more than a year, Lisa Neville has not only failed to adequately address the problem, but has actually allowed it to worsen. "It is a complete travesty that the Brumby Government has failed to ensure that Victoria’s most vulnerable children have the protection and support they need to help overcome the many obstacles they have already experienced in their young lives," Ms Wooldridge said.
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