Child Protection Minister Rachel Sanderson reveals abuse cases found in ‘lost’ emails
MORE than 110 abuse reports which fell through the cracks of a government email system are now deemed serious enough to require investigation by authorities.
- 9000 child protection notifications did not reach the department
- The recommendations of the Royal Commission
MORE than 110 reports about suspected child abuse or neglect which fell through the cracks of a government email system have now been deemed serious enough to require investigation by police or child protection authorities.
The Sunday Mail revealed that 8762 reports made to the electronic Child Abuse Report Line were not properly submitted, dating back to July 1, 2013.
A Child Protection Department review has since examined 2200 of the reports, made over the past 12 months.
It found 112 reports met the threshold for action by the department, including 52 that have been referred to SA Police.
This suggests they could include details of physical, sexual or emotional abuse or neglect.
The system is used by mandated notifiers, including doctors, teachers, nurses, psychologists and social workers.
Child Protection Minister Rachel Sanderson revealed in Parliament that she was first advised that there had been a problem submitting e-CARL reports on June 8.
Department Chief Executive Cathy Taylor confirmed the problem on July 1, following queries from the Sunday Mail.
Ms Sanderson said on Tuesday that the first priority had been to “ensure the immediate safety of affected children, as well as determine the extent of the issue”.
“An internal investigation commenced immediately,” she said.
It found that people using the e-CARL system to make reports had saved a draft of their report but not submitted the draft, so it remained in their personal inbox.
To prevent the problem in future, the Department has introduced an automated reminder email to be sent to users if they have a draft report remaining in their inbox for 48 hours.
A second reminder will be sent after another seven days.
After 21 days any remaining draft reports will be deleted.
Ms Sanderson said her department was continuing to assess reports saved prior to the past 12 months and “anticipated the proportion of reports meeting the threshold for a response by the
Department for Child Protection will continue to decrease”.
