‘Optimistic’ child protection workers leave kids at risk, Premier concedes

SA’s Premier has conceded that children can be left at risk with drug-addicted or violent parents - and explained why it happens.

Misguided “optimism” among child protection workers that struggling parents will overcome drug addiction, family violence or mental illness may be leaving children at risk, the Premier has conceded.

Peter Malinauskas has confirmed the scope of a review being undertaken by former Police Commissioner Mal Hyde includes examining whether frontline workers are keeping kids with their families at the expense of their safety.

As far back as 2016 a royal commission warned that “excessive” and “naive” optimism about the likelihood that dysfunctional families could improve safety in their homes was leaving children in harm’s way.

Asked yesterday if he believed this was still the case, Mr Malinauskas said: “I am concerned that that is the case, absolutely.”

“One of the questions that we are examining, and is on Mal Hyde’s mind through his inquiries, is is there a predisposition towards keeping children with their parents in a way that is contrary to the interests of their children?”

Premier Peter Malinauskas. Picture: Naomi Jellicoe

Mr Hyde’s review was ordered after news broke that two children known to the Child Protection Department - Charlie Nowland, 6, and Makai Wanganeen, 7 - had died while living with their families.

Mr Malinauskas said he met with Mr Hyde last week and understood his report would be finished before the end of the year.

In her 2016 examination of the child protection system, Justice Margaret Nyland warned of “excessive” and “naive optimism” among frontline workers “about the potential for extremely disadvantaged and poorly functioning families to change”.

“There was repeated evidence of practitioners failing to understand the difficulty for people to overcome addiction and substance abuse problems, violent behaviour and serious mental health conditions,” she wrote.

Nyland identified a “clear preference” for “keeping families together at all costs” and as a result: “Children often suffered the consequences of misguided efforts and were left in unsafe situations where they sustained further harm.”

At a press conference in April, Child Protection Department chief executive Cathy Taylor said her staff were investigating record numbers of reports of suspected abuse or neglect and “we are certainly making sure that we don’t leave children in unsafe environments”.

Since those comments the deaths of Charlie and Makai have been revealed and three other children have been seriously harmed, allegedly by relatives.

Mr Malinauskas acknowledged that the Nyland report “raised very serious questions about making sure that the interests of the child was paramount”.

“Whether or not that has been realised, in terms of culturally (in the department) is a live question, and one we’re certainly looking at,” he said.

“We also have to ask ourselves what is the state capacity to take children away (from unsafe parents) and where do they go ... which is a resource issue as well.”