South Australian Royal Commission into child protection finds a system in ‘disarray’
A ROYAL Commission has delivered a damning assessment of a child protection system in “disarray”, overwhelmed by demand and in need of near-total reform if it is to keep children safe.
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ROYAL Commissioner Margaret Nyland has delivered a damning assessment of a South Australian child protection system in “disarray”, overwhelmed by demand and in need of near-total reform if it is to keep children safe.
Ms Nyland’s mammoth report, released publicly on Monday, prompted an apology from Premier Jay Weatherill to the children the state has failed to protect and an initial $200 million funding pledge.
The Premier, who as families minister more than a decade ago promised to fix the system, now faces Opposition calls for his resignation.
The Child Protection Systems Royal Commission was sparked by the arrest of paedophile carer Shannon McCoole, and has already led to the suspension of three Families SA staff named in her report.
Among its 260 recommendations are calls to transform how concerns about abuse are raised and then responded to, and the screening of people who work with vulnerable children.
Ms Nyland also wants more funding for early intervention and support services and extra staff to enable the agency to properly investigate concerns.
She noted that a “staggering” 61 per cent of Families SA notifications that required follow-up in 2014-15 were instead closed without any action because there were more urgent priorities and not enough staff.
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“The problems besetting Families SA and the child protection system proved to be far greater than anyone had initially envisaged,” Ms Nyland’s scathing report states.
“The greatest challenge was trying to find a way to fix a system in disarray.
“From the outset of this commission it was obvious that workers undertaking the difficult business of child protection felt undervalued, under-resourced and overwhelmed by a system which lacked the capacity to respond appropriately to children in need of care and protection. Regrettably, there is no quick fix.”
Ms Nyland has given the State Government until December to provide an initial response to her recommendations and has asked for annual progress reports for the next five years.
Mr Weatherill described the report as “harrowing reading” which would have an “immediate” impact on how people viewed the problem.
He conceded authorities had failed children and that the report levelled “substantial criticisms” at his Government, but would not give a guarantee it could completely prevent abuse of children in the future.
“We failed to protect the children left in the care of Shannon McCoole,” he said.
“We failed in our responsibility to keep these and other children safe from harm.
“I am sorry for failing in this most fundamental duty to the children in our care.”
Child Protection Reform Minister John Rau said the Government was already drafting new legislation to implement the recommendations, which could be introduced to Parliament as early as September.
MORE COVERAGE
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How Shannon McCoole turned into a monster
Mr Rau said the new Education and Child Development Department chief executive, Rick Persse, had written to three staff named in Ms Nyland’s report – supervisors Shane Sterzl, Katherine Decoster and Lee Norman involved in a “toxic workplace culture” in Families SA – and they had been “suspended pending an investigation”.
McCoole committed offences against children in his care between 2011 and 2014 and was also an administrator of a global child pornography website.
He was jailed for 35 years in August last year.
Of the hundreds of recommendations put to it, the State Government has already agreed to:
SPLIT Families SA from the Education and Child Development Department.
APPOINT a new chief executive of the new Child Protection Department.
STOP carers working alone, on single-person shifts, with children living in emergency accommodation such as hotels or rented apartments.
ABANDON a trial of non-social workers taking calls to the abuse report hotline.
Mr Weatherill said many of the other proposals were “very expensive” and would require further consultation.
Welfare and advocacy groups have broadly welcomed the report, which recommends giving non-government organisations a greater role in caring for and supporting vulnerable children.
However, former Families SA policy and planning director Anthony Kemp questioned how authorities would “prioritise what’s important” when faced with so many recommendations.
“You have to hunt your way through to find anything that will make a difference for the children,” Mr Kemp said.
“I’m struggling to find hope in these recommendations, there’s too many. It’s a shopping basket.”
Opposition Leader Steven Marshall said Ms Nyland’s report made it clear the state’s child protection system was “in crisis” and Mr Weatherill was “inextricably” linked with that failure.
“There is now no choice but for Jay Weatherill to resign,” Mr Marshall said.
Public Service Association general secretary Nev Kitchin said the report “provides real hope” for Families SA workers represented by the union.
He acknowledged that reforming the system would “take time” but urged the Government “to act decisively ... for the sake of South Australian children”.
Guardian for Children and Young People Amanda Shaw said the report could “be the impetus for a necessary and bold transformation of our child protection system”.
“(But) this is not the job of just one Government agency,” she said.
KEY RECOMMENDATIONS
ESTABLISH a Commissioner for Children and Young People.
STOP carers working alone, on single-person shifts, with children living in state-run homes.
STOP using paid agency staff to care for children in state care, on rotating shifts, except in “genuine emergencies”.
LIMIT the wait time to make a phone call to the Child Abuse Report Line to 30 minutes.
STOP the practice of closing cases without investigation (within five years).
IMPOSE stricter and shorter timelines on deciding whether to permanently remove a child from their birth parents.
ESTABLISH a visitor scheme to check-in on children living in state-run homes.
ABANDON a trial of non-social workers taking calls to the abuse report hotline.
ALLOW people to make notifications about unborn children.
ESTABLISH a Child Protection Service at the Lyell McEwin Hospital.
GIVE more autonomy to foster carers about decisions related to children in their care.
LIMIT the number of children living together in a state-run home to four, unless they are part of a larger sibling group which must be kept together.
STOP housing children aged under 10 in state-run homes.
