18 hours ago
Tasmanian boy left homeless due to child protection department's 'gross negligence', family member says
A 13-year-old boy was left languishing in a homeless shelter for months because of the Tasmanian child protection department's "gross negligence", a family member says.
The family member, who cannot be named due to child protection laws, repeatedly urged the department to act, warning the boy was "hanging around a tent city of homeless adults", taking drugs and dealing them.
When she found out in August that the child was homeless, and questioned why authorities had not intervened, she said a department worker told her there were only two response staff on in the area.
"I understand that your office is grossly understaffed — this is not your fault, but it's also not [the child's]," the family member wrote to the worker.
Having worked in the child protection system interstate, she told the ABC that understaffing could lead to "permanent harm".
"Those sorts of levels of staffing lead to deaths of children," she said.
"It leads to instability because then the workers burn out and they can't provide the correct level of care for these kids. But, ultimately, these kids pay the price, and it changes the path of their life permanently."
The department could not tell the ABC how many staff were on in the child's area between August and September, but in the north-west there were 12.7 full-time employees, compared to 16.7 the year before.
Across the entire state, the staffing figure for that period was 85.6 on average, down from 102 the previous year.
In October, the child's primary worker told the family member the boy was under the department's guardianship as per an interim order, and that a 12-month order was in process.
But the boy continued to bounce around the state homeless, with the family member holding "serious concerns" about how his case was being managed.
"No disrespect to you…as you have been thrown in the deep end, but [his] case is complex and cannot be effectively managed if you have not met him and there is back and forth between the northwest and the south which further slows things down. It needs to be managed by an experienced team in the south who can physically get out to see [him]," she wrote in an email.
The worker said the department was in search of stable accommodation for the child but there had been "some difficulty".
"I have followed up with the progress frequently, but the matter sits above me at this point in time, so I am unable to escalate it myself. [His] case has also been requested to transfer south due to that is where he is currently located, but due to the current placement request potentially being state-wide, the case transfer has been put on hold," the worker wrote.
Often gone from the shelter for days, the child was seen advertising the sale of drugs online.
"It's not acceptable that an at-risk 13-year-old child is being left to his own devices and there isn't a plan in place to return him to placement," the family member wrote to the department.
"I'm worried about the path that he is currently on and that it's going to lead to him being further abused or overdosing, in juvenile detention, seriously hurt, or worse."
The family member said the department no longer responded to her questions about the child's current situation and that she would make a formal complaint about the handling of his case.
The department could not comment on individual matters for legal and privacy reasons.
Tasmania's child protection department has been increasingly handling notifications about children in potential risk through pathways other than launching an investigation.
Around 75 per cent of notifications for non-Aboriginal children, and more than half for Aboriginal kids, were "dealt with by other means" last financial year, data from a Productivity Commission report shows.
It contributed the increase to "a change" in how cases are recorded since the Commission of Inquiry into the Tasmanian Government's Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
"During and following the commission of inquiry there were increases of historical abuse being reported. These notifications were assessed and closed as 'dealt with by other means' under 17 (2)(b), when no current risk to children is identified," the department said.
Senior program manager at Anglicare, Marni Bos, said the non-government organisation received referrals from child safety — some that required a higher level of intervention than the organisation could offer.
She said across the state, there was a "high demand" for their outreach program for kids with complex needs.
The Supported Youth Program provided support, counselling and mediation for children aged 10 to 18 who were in an unstable home, disengaged from education, experiencing substance abuse or struggling socially.
"In that program over the last 12 months, we have case managed 135 young people across the north, north-west," Ms Bos said.
"We have limited services in the north, north-west, and so that can be a contributing factor [for high demand]."
She said greater awareness of their rights among young people, family violence and lack of housing had also contributed to the increase in demand.
Interim Children's Commissioner Isabelle Crompton said around 400 children between the ages of 10 to 17 presented to the state's homelessness services each year.
"Prevention and early intervention systems have not met the needs of this highly vulnerable group of children whose homelessness relates to a lack of appropriate or safe care," she said.
"I know from speaking with children and young people that experiencing homelessness on their own can lead to offending behaviour and further unsafe situations," Ms Crompton said.
Youth offences in Tasmania have risen from 3,800 in 2022 to 5,782 last year.
Tasmania Police Assistant Commissioner of Operations Adrian Bodnar last month said 57 people were responsible for half of the youth crimes in the state.
"It's a small cohort of youths that are creating the bulk of the issues for us in the community," Assistant Commissioner Bodnar said.
The state's Liberal and Labor parties have not yet outlined their policies for the child protection sector, ahead of the election next month.
Labor spokesperson Sarah Lovell said she was aware the system had been "chronically underfunded and under-resourced for over a decade".
"Our commitment is to deliver a properly resourced, responsive, and accountable system that genuinely supports the wellbeing of vulnerable children and families," Ms Lovell said.
Premier Jeremy Rockliff said: "We're supporting all the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry, which includes increased investment in child protection."
