Michelle Draper : June 30, 2011
Six Victorian teenagers who died in the past four years were known to child-protection services and had long histories of neglect, a report has found.
The report, which reviewed the deaths of 28 children known to child protection from 2007 to 2010, found most died from congenital illnesses or sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
However, seven of the deaths were teenagers, with six having lengthy and complex histories with child protection.
The six adolescent deaths "occurred in the context of long-term neglect with histories of multiple reports (five or more) to child protection over extended periods", the report said.
Three of the teenagers committed suicide, while the other deaths were due to drugs, congenital illnesses or accidents.
The annual report, by the Victorian Child Death Review Committee (VCDRC) and tabled in state parliament on Thursday, analyses the deaths of child-protection clients.
In many cases, the children who died came from homes with parents suffering from mental illnesses or drug and alcohol problems. Family violence was also a major issue.
Despite this, many families were not connected with the right services to deal with these problems, the report found.
"Parental substance use, mental illness and family violence were risk factors known to be present in a significant number of families, however there appear to be few connections by families with the specialist services which might assist in addressing these issues," it said.
In 2010, 29 child deaths - mostly children under three years of age - were referred by the Department of Human Services to Victoria's child safety commissioner, the report said.
The figure was three higher than in the previous year.
Seventeen children were involved with child-protection services when they died, while 12 had their cases closed in the past year.
Community Services Minister Mary Wooldridge said the report highlighted the systemic failures of the child-protection system which she blamed on the previous Labor government.
"A key conclusion of the report is that we need to do far better to comprehensively respond to the range of issues these families face given the devastating impact that they can have on the children," Ms Wooldridge said.
A government-initiated inquiry into protecting Victoria's vulnerable children is due to report in November.
http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/child-protection-fails-vic-teenagers-20110630-1grsm.html
The report, which reviewed the deaths of 28 children known to child protection from 2007 to 2010, found most died from congenital illnesses or sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
However, seven of the deaths were teenagers, with six having lengthy and complex histories with child protection.
The six adolescent deaths "occurred in the context of long-term neglect with histories of multiple reports (five or more) to child protection over extended periods", the report said.
Three of the teenagers committed suicide, while the other deaths were due to drugs, congenital illnesses or accidents.
The annual report, by the Victorian Child Death Review Committee (VCDRC) and tabled in state parliament on Thursday, analyses the deaths of child-protection clients.
In many cases, the children who died came from homes with parents suffering from mental illnesses or drug and alcohol problems. Family violence was also a major issue.
Despite this, many families were not connected with the right services to deal with these problems, the report found.
"Parental substance use, mental illness and family violence were risk factors known to be present in a significant number of families, however there appear to be few connections by families with the specialist services which might assist in addressing these issues," it said.
In 2010, 29 child deaths - mostly children under three years of age - were referred by the Department of Human Services to Victoria's child safety commissioner, the report said.
The figure was three higher than in the previous year.
Seventeen children were involved with child-protection services when they died, while 12 had their cases closed in the past year.
Community Services Minister Mary Wooldridge said the report highlighted the systemic failures of the child-protection system which she blamed on the previous Labor government.
"A key conclusion of the report is that we need to do far better to comprehensively respond to the range of issues these families face given the devastating impact that they can have on the children," Ms Wooldridge said.
A government-initiated inquiry into protecting Victoria's vulnerable children is due to report in November.
http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/child-protection-fails-vic-teenagers-20110630-1grsm.html
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