Child deaths reveal services at fault
30 July 2010
More than half of the 26 children who died while under the watch of
child protection authorities in Victoria last year had parents with
known histories of substance abuse and violence.
The latest Victorian Child Death Review Committee report
paints a grim assessment of an overworked, understaffed government
department that is failing to properly assess the risks some children
face while at home.
It found that of the 16 deaths from April last year to March
this year, 44 per cent of the victims had ``extensive child protection
involvement'', and up to 14 protective intervention orders had been
filed on the families.
A further four children were on Children's Court orders -- including three teenagers who committed suicide.
Fifteen of the children were in the care of their families when they died, while one was in out-of-home care.
The report, tabled in state parliament yesterday, found there
were problems with ``assessment'' of risks done by the caseworkers at
the Department of Human Services.
``Many child-death inquiries identify that insufficient
information is collected on which to reasonably base an assessment,''
the committee said.
``There is not enough direct contact by Child Protection with
families. Significantly, there is often even less contact with the
child or children who are the subjects of the reported concerns.''
The committee also noted the department had an inexperienced workforce that was pushed to the limit.
``The case reviews paint a picture of the corrosive effect of
chronic staffing shortages and workload pressures,'' the report says.
Opposition community services spokeswoman Mary Wooldridge
said the report showed Victoria had a ``corroding child protection
system'', where services are chronically under-staffed and under
pressure.
``This is the third report in nine months that shows John
Brumby and his government do not care about vulnerable children who . .
. are being re-traumatised, neglected and in some cases dying,'' she
said.
Community Services Minister Lisa Neville said all the committee's recommendations had been accepted and would be implemented.
|
