When she turned 15, she’d been through several, and many years in between witnessing things no child should ever be exposed to.

Now, as an adult, the Cranbrook woman is still trying to navigate ways to deal with the trauma that has followed her from growing up in the child safety system.

But, Ms Ryan says she was one of the lucky kids.

The former foster child has opened up about the Department of Child Safety where she spent most of her youth, the failures, the successes, the issues and the ugliness which has changed her forever.

Ms Ryan, now 20, first entered the system when she was two years old.

She was in care twice more in her young life, when she was seven years old, and again at 15 years old.

Those tough years would shape her into the woman she is today, but also leave her with life changing scars.

“I remember when I was 17 my case officer asked me if there was anything child safety could work on,” Ms Ryan told the Townsville Bulletin.

But she doesn’t remember her response. Her memories from childhood are patchy and blocked out from trauma.

“I’m never going to lead a normal life.”

Ms Ryan has PTSD, anxiety, depression and mental health problems.

She has never had a proper relationship, struggles connecting with people, and can only work part-time.

She attempted to study science at university, but her traumatic brain injury meant this was too much of a struggle for now.

“There’s a lot of trauma for me to unpack which I’m still going to therapy for.”

Ms Ryan has seen it all, from residential care houses, to fall outs with her carers and a turnover of case workers too many to count.

The Child Safety department’s mantra is to keep kids safe at all costs.

But this year, revelations have been aired by the Townsville Bulletin about children being reunified with abusive parents.

In Ms Ryan’s experience, while her parents weren’t abusive and did their best, reunification methods didn’t always work.

“(They) said the goal for kids coming into care was reunification, and they aimed to do that in two to three years.

“As soon as parents show the first sign of improvement, they go, ‘okay, we’ve got to reunify the kids’. And then the whole cycle starts again.”

Ms Ryan said many kids don’t make it through reunification, and fall into the cracks of crime.

Many of those children live between residential care houses and detention centres, without stability or support.

She spent one night at a residential care house after a fight with her carer when she was 17, and never went back.

“It felt like a show house, it had no feeling to it and was so barren.”

Two young children were in the house with her who couldn’t be controlled.

“One kid threw some of my devices across the room. If that’s what they were like, I’m glad there was no teenagers there.

“Even as a 17-year-old I wasn’t allowed to have my medications on me. I wasn’t allowed to have any devices at night.”

Ms Ryan considered herself one of the lucky kids after spending three years with a carer who loved her.

“She was an older lady, in her 60s. She had a very different way, but took on teens and advocated for us.

“She pushed and pushed for us to have things, she put us on her health care, I was able to get my braces because of her.

“She took us on trips, and outings, and dealt with it all, all the tantrums and arguments, she dealt with it all.”

But even as a child, she witnessed her carer being treated badly by the department.

“The lack of support from child safety and her issues with them drove her to stop doing foster care.

“Carers aren’t equipped to deal with everything they are faced with.”

Those who are employed by the department to manage the cases of foster kids, child safety officers, were even less equipped, according to Ms Ryan.

“There is a revolving door of case workers, it was really hard.

“One would do all these things to help, and then a new one would come in and you had to tell them your history all over again.

“I seemed to notice the nice ones would just magically vanish after a while and some horrible other one would replace them.”

Ms Ryan stayed with this carer until she became an adult and transitioned out of foster care.

But the issues continued in life in the real world.

“I wasn’t equipped to deal with independence. The first two years have been really tough.

“You’re kind of just thrust into it and they hope for the best, but most kids end up on the streets dealing with crime and alcohol issues.

“Kids coming out of care are going to need some level of support.”

Last week, the department announced it will extend funding support for foster children until they are 21 years old to help transition into adult life.

A spokeswoman from the Department of Children said it was aware of the region’s issues.

“We have been working hard to address concerns raised by Townsville carers and continue to encourage them to discuss any issues with senior management,” she said.

“The department is committed to ensuring vacant positions are filled in a timely manner, and in circumstances where staff movements do occur, the department strives to ensure minimal disruptions to families, and children and young people in care.”