Kids in state care five times more likely to die

Authorities are spending their money in the wrong places as they try to protect the state’s most vulnerable children, experts warn.

Children who end up in state care are five times more likely to die than those who never have contact with South Australia’s child protection system.

But authorities spend eight times as much on managing children in care than on support services to prevent them from entering the system in the first place.

Advocates are calling for a huge shift in investment to pump more funds into early support for struggling families.

It comes after the deaths of Munno Para six-year-old Charlie and Craigmore seven-year-old Makai, who both died of suspected neglect and whose families were known to government agencies. No charges have been laid.

“We’re not putting the resources into families that are distressed … and it then leads down the path to removal (of a child) or really appalling consequences,” said UniSA Professor Leonie Segal, who has examined funding and mortality rates in the state’s child protection system.

Productivity Commission reports show SA spends about $640m a year on child protection services.

About $500m is spent on housing children in state-run homes with paid staff, or with foster carers or extended family.

Charlie

Makai.

There are about 4700 children in these living arrangements.

Less than $24m is spent on intensive family support services – which was offered to about 1200 children living with their parents in 2020-21 – and less than $39m on other family support services.

“We could treble or quadruple that,” Professor Segal said.

“Once a child is removed, we spend a lot of money there, but before that there’s really very little resources.

“You can’t just come in one or two times and think we’re going to sort this family out.

“We need to hang in there until these families are more stable and capable, but that might be 12 or 18 months.”

Child Protection Department deputy chief executive Fiona Ward said most families reported to the department were dealing with “active domestic violence, unmanaged mental illness, current substance addiction and housing instability” and such complex needs required intensive intervention and support.

Ms Ward said there had been “incremental increases in investment” over the past two years.

Over that time, changes in policy have meant that Human Services Department workers provide most of the support to children who are known to authorities but have not yet been removed by Child Protection.

Aboriginal Children’s Commissioner April Lawrie said the government “puts a lot of money into the acute end of removal, only to find that that is such a costly approach”.

“The human cost is diabolical; the economic impact is astronomical,” she said.

Craig Rigney, who runs Aboriginal-led support service KWY, said investing more money “upfront will save us billions”.

“That takes time and investment but we know that it works,” he said.