1300 Qld kids harmed after Child Safety deemed them safe

Damning new data revcals the extent of vulnerable children being harmed despite being given the all-clear from Child Safety officers.

MORE than 1300 Queensland children were harmed within months of the Department of Child Safety deeming them safe, shocking new statistics show.

The Courier-Mail can reveal that 551 kids were harmed within three months of an all-clear from Child Safety, and 1382 were harmed within a year.

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All the children had been reported to and investigated by Child Safety, which decided “not to substantiate’’ abuse or neglect.

The startling statistics for 2016-17 are buried in hundreds of data tables published by the Productivity Commission in recent weeks.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare will release new data today showing that Child Safety substantiated 5884 cases of abuse or neglect — including 477 unborn children and 495 babies — during 2017-18.

They included 1051 cases of physical abuse, 321 of sexual abuse — two-thirds of them girls — 1991 cases of neglect and 2521 cases of emotional abuse, such as witnessing domestic violence or drug use.

Child Safety dismissed 11,832 reports following investigation, the new data shows.

Bravehearts founder Hetty Johnston

Bravehearts founder Hetty Johnston slammed the “appalling’’ revelation that 1382 Queensland children had been harmed after Child Safety dismissed concerns for their welfare.

“It shows the initial assessment and triage isn’t working — when concerns are raised they’re not being properly investigated,’’ she said yesterday.

“Imagine if a doctor wrongly diagnosed 1000 patients and they were harmed as a result.”

Child Safety Minister Di Farmer yesterday said the statistics did not tell the whole story, as a child or family’s circumstances could change over time.

“Child Safety may assess that a child has not been harmed and is not at a significant risk of future harm, leading to a decision of unsubstantiated,’’ she said.

“Some factors may change after this that leads to a child becoming harmed, for example a new partner might join the household, or a parent may start using drugs.’’

Ms Farmer said Child Safety had fielded 122,000 reports of abuse and neglect in the past 12 months — 13,500 more than the year before.

Child Safety Minister Di Farmer

She said the State Government was hiring 458 extra Child Safety staff over three years, including 93 in 2018-19, to lower the average number of cases per worker from 20 under the LNP Government to 17.

“The safety and wellbeing of all Queensland children is our highest priority,’’ she said.

Productivity Commission data also reveals that Queensland child safety investigations are slower than in most other states.

In Queensland, investigations began within a week for barely a quarter of child safety alerts — compared to at least 75 per cent in Victoria, Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory.

Only 12.8 per cent of investigations in Queensland were completed within a month, compared to 37.9 per cent in Victoria, 20.6 per cent in Western Australia and 12.7 per cent in South Australia.

And 38.4 per cent of investigations in Queensland lasted longer than 90 days — more than double the rate in Victoria.