Whistleblower says Charlie’s Munno Para family had more than 500 case notes

A whistleblower says government departments had hundreds of notes on the little girl who died of apparent malnutrition at Munno Para. And they had seen her recently.

Four government agencies — the Department for Human Services, SA Housing Authority, Department for Education and Department for Child Protection — had contact with the family of a six-year-old girl who died of suspected neglect.

Separate police and government investigations will examine the involvement of the agencies and the circumstances of the death of Charlie, who was found unresponsive at her family’s Munno Para home on Friday.

Malnutrition is the official cause of the young girl’s death but other details remain largely unknown, with Child Protection Minister Katrine Hildyard refusing to answer questions because of concerns the police investigation would be affected.

A government whistleblower who came forward on Tuesday alleged the last contact the family had with child protection authorities was about two weeks before Charlie died.

The whistleblower, who agreed to speak on the condition of anonymity, said notes on case management system C3 reveal a Child Wellbeing case manager visited the family home and found her with her eyes closed.

Charlie from Munno Para.

The worker attempted to encourage Charlie to attend school by telling her there were animals there that she could play with, but she did not respond.

Later, as the worker was speaking to Charlie’s mother before departing the home, another child called out that Charlie had vomited and her mother ended the conversation, indicating she would tend to her daughter.

No follow-up correspondence with the family regarding Charlie’s wellbeing was recorded on the C3 system, it is claimed.

The whistleblower said there were more than 500 case notes on the family, with school attendance the main concern.

Child Wellbeing, a program run by the Department for Human Services, had been working with the family since February 2021.

Neighbours said they heard screams of “Charlie’s not breathing” at about 1am Friday, and attempts were made to perform CPR before the girl was rushed to the Lyell McEwin Hospital, but she could not be saved.

The whistleblower’s claims have not been corroborated by Ms Hildyard or the department, which refused to confirm details but issued statements saying a SA Police taskforce has been established to investigate the tragic event.

“All government agencies, including DCP, will be fully co-operating with the investigation and the DPC review,” a statement said.

A different source said workers who had recently tried to visit the home had been refused entry by Charlie’s mother.

The Advertiser asked Ms Hildyard six times about whether child protection authorities had seen Charlie on their last visit but she repeatedly said “I can’t comment because of the police investigation”.

Deputy Police Commissioner Linda Williams. Picture NCA NewsWire / Emma Brasier.

When asked another three times to explain why the investigation prevented her from disclosing the information, she said “I am being cautious in terms of not wanting to do anything that would deter the police from fulsomely conducting their investigation” before eventually handing over to SA Police Deputy Commissioner Linda Williams.

It is understood the investigation will involve interviews with child protection workers involved with the case.

Describing the situation as “heartbreaking” Ms Hildyard said she understood the frustrations of South Australians at the multiple inquiries into the system.

“Child protection is incredibly complex, it is a system that has to do better,” she said.

“I, and our government, will be relentless in those efforts to improve the system.”

Deputy Commissioner Williams said Taskforce Prime had been assembled to investigate the death, which was first made public in a press release issued Monday afternoon — more than three days after it happened.

She said the taskforce would focus on the “broader cause and circumstances of the death”, but it was still too early to say whether the death was avoidable. She could not reveal the last time Charlie attended school.

“The death of any person is tragic but the death of a young child, a six-year-old girl, obviously causes concern for everybody to want to know how this occurred and understand the circumstances,” she said.

Acting SA Premier Susan Close. Picture NCA NewsWire / Emma Brasier.

Minister for Child Protection Katrine Hildyard. Picture NCA NewsWire / Emma Brasier.

Ms Hildyard and Deputy Commissioner Williams fronted the media alongside Deputy Premier Susan Close, who is acting as premier while Peter Malinauskas is on holidays.

Dr Close announced the chief executive of the Department of the Premier and Cabinet would lead a different review into the “multi-agency involvement with the family and the child”.

That review will look at the chronology of services delivered, the roles and interactions of the agencies, the effectiveness of interventions and identification of any system improvements.

Dr Close said “child protection is an incredibly challenging part of public policy”.

The findings of the review will inform a different, independent review that was announced by Mr Malinauskas and Ms Hildyard earlier this year, which is looking into whether coronial recommendations made following the deaths of children have been implemented.