Two Families SA carers suspended from working with children referred to SA Police for further investigation
TWO Families SA carers suspended from working with children have been referred to police for further investigation.
TWO Families SA carers suspended from working with children have been referred to police for further investigation.
The man and woman were among 25 carers suspended after concerns were raised in an audit of the employment histories of almost 500 staff who supervise children in state-run homes.
No charges have been laid against the pair.
Education and Child Development Department chief executive Tony Harrison said he understood the allegations under investigation did not concern sexual abuse.
Mr Harrison said the issues that prompted the referral to police were raised after the audit of employment histories was conducted.
SA Police said in a statement that it was “aware of the two matters raised by the Minister, however as both inquiries are ongoing we will not be providing any further information at this stage”.
In early October, Mr Harrison and Education and Child Development Minister Jennifer Rankine
revealed that 25 Families SA residential care workers had been banned from working alone with children and “high concerns” were registered about another 77 through the audit.
This morning they released an update on the staff flagged by the audit.
Of the 25 suspended workers, 12 have been cleared to return to work, one has resigned and 12 are still being assessed, including the two who have been referred to police.
Of the 77 other workers, 61 have been cleared to continue working with children, three have resigned, nine are undergoing further assessment and four are off work due to workers’ compensation claims.
Ms Rankine said the four resignations were for personal reasons and unrelated to the audit.
Of the 102 staff flagged by the audit, 40 are women and 62 are men.
Overall, there are 21 staff still being assessed by Families SA to determine if they can continue working with children.
It is not known how long that process will take.
“In the case of those workers that require further assessment, they have been advised that their matter is still being considered, and that further information will be provided relating to their specific matters,” Ms Rankine said.
“I appreciate this has been a challenging time for staff involved in the process, but I make no apologies for putting the interests of those children in our care first.”
Ms Rankine said counselling and support had been available to all staff throughout the assessment process.
Opposition child protection spokeswoman Rachel Sanderson said the process of assessing the 102 staff flagged by the audit had been “incredibly slow”.
She said the results showed it was important for there to be ongoing supervision of staff working with children, not just initial background checks at the time of employment.
The audit followed revelations in The Advertiser in July that a Families SA carer charged with sexually abusing seven preschoolers was investigated a year before for alleged inappropriate behaviour involving a female toddler in his care, before being cleared to again work with children.
The audit was conducted by an independent firm of organisational psychologists, based on records held by Families SA covering recruitment and employment history, under the direction of former Police Commissioner Mal Hyde.