Child Protection Department reports more children fleeing state care, breaching curfew

GROWING numbers of children are running away from state-run houses or ignoring curfews, prompting the Child Protection Minister to seek meetings with young people repeatedly fleeing their homes.

A GROWING number of children are fleeing state-run houses or ignoring curfews, prompting the Child Protection Minister to seek meetings with young people who repeatedly run away.

The Advertiser is aware of runaways as young as 10 years old, who often leave to be with their families and even travel from the city to regional areas.

While state-run homes have security systems, paid carers are not allowed to detain young people.

In the past 12 months, 249 children missed curfew or were reported missing from houses where they live in the care of paid child protection workers, up from 207 the previous year.

The number of absconders has risen from 162 in 2014-15, mirroring growth in the number of children in state care.

However, the number of times children went missing has fallen from 5106 reports in 2016-17 to 3929 in the past 12 months.

Numerous runaway cases are detailed in the Nyland Royal Commission report into the state’s child protection system, including an 11-year-old boy who was reported missing on 40 occasions and another child who had only slept in their government-run home for four out of 65 nights.

The Advertiser was recently told of an 11-year-old girl repeatedly travelling a significant distance to be with family.

Child Protection Party founder Tony Tonkin said his organisation received at least one report a month of a runaway from state care, including children as young as 10.

He said some were bullied by other children or felt they were not listened to by carers.

Child Protection Minister Rachel Sanderson has asked to meet with children who regularly abscond to understand the reasons why.

“How do we make their living conditions better that they would stay there, or do they need to be moved? Are they being bullied?” she said.

Ms Sanderson said it was important to keep children in care busy through education and sport.

Child Protection Department chief executive Cathy Taylor said young people in state care took part in social and sporting activities and most returned home on time. She said runaways were “usually running towards something or someone, rather than running away from care”.

In her report, Royal Commissioner Margaret Nyland recommended opening a “secure” facility from which children could not escape, and where they could receive intensive therapeutic care.

The former Labor government accepted the recommendation but did not progress it.

Ms Sanderson, who has previously backed a secure facility, said “all options are on the table”.