Qld Public Advocate calls for urgent reform for disabled parents

A damning report which exposes difficulties parents with cognitive disabilities face, has called for urgent reform after shocking case studies of babies being removed from their homes.

Public Advocate Dr John Chesterman said the reforms were essential to ensure children in Queensland had the best possible start in life, while also protecting the rights of parents with disability

Babies taken from their mothers within weeks of birth are among the harrowing cases that triggered urgent calls for sweeping reform in a landmark report this week by Queensland’s Public Advocate.

The report, Supporting Parents with Cognitive Disability in Queensland: The Need for Reform, tabled in parliament on Monday, outlines two key recommendations and identifies widespread failings across the state’s child protection, health, disability, and legal systems.

It calls for an end to systemic discrimination that results in the unnecessary separation of parents with cognitive disability from their children.

At the centre of the proposed reforms is the creation of a Ministerial Advisory Committee to review how existing policies and practices impact these parents.

The committee would include senior government officials such as the Directors-General of relevant departments, the Chief Practitioner (Child Safety), and experts, including an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person.

The committee’s role would be to examine early intervention practices, the adequacy of supports for parents with cognitive disability, and the accessibility of the child protection litigation process.

Particular focus areas included reviewing mandatory reporting procedures, parenting capacity assessments, and the development of culturally appropriate services for Indigenous families.

Public Advocate Dr John Chesterman said the reforms were essential to ensure children in Queensland had the best possible start in life, while also protecting the rights of parents with disability.

“The aim behind this report and its recommendations is to ensure the best possible upbringing of children in Queensland, by supporting parents in their exercise of one of the most fundamental roles a person can play,” he wrote.

The report included a harrowing case study of a mother whose children were taken away.

The report features disturbing real-life examples of parents with cognitive disability who have had their children removed, often without sufficient support being provided to help them retain custody.

Among them is Kiah, a young Indigenous mother who grew up in out-of-home care and had contact with the youth justice system.

Despite actively engaging with support services, her first baby was taken by Child Safety just four weeks after birth following a parenting assessment.

A second child was also removed because Kiah could not secure a place in a supported parenting centre in time.

She said the impact was devastating.

“I was not able to deal with the grief of losing my children,” she said.

“The number of times I wanted to kill myself … my pregnancy is what kept me alive,” Kiah said.

Determined to change her future, Kiah fought to keep her next pregnancy, which was twins.

With intensive assistance from a behaviour specialist and a supported parenting centre, she successfully cared for the twins and has since moved toward full reunification with her older children.

She is now raising four young children at home.

The report also found that many parents with cognitive disability avoided accessing prenatal care or parenting education for fear it would trigger child protection involvement.

Delays in NDIS plan reviews, inaccessible information, and insufficient specialised training for Child Safety Officers were also identified as serious barriers.

The Public Advocate has called for the committee to deliver six-monthly progress reports.

The report also recommended the state fund a dedicated advocacy scheme under the Queensland Disability Advocacy Program to provide parents with cognitive disability both short- and long-term support when dealing with health, disability, and child protection services.

Other proposals included peer support groups, in-home parenting assistance, and “mother and baby units” offering intensive support to expectant parents with cognitive disability in crisis.

Findings from the Disability Royal Commission, which showed that mothers with intellectual disability were six times more likely to have their children removed, were also noted in the report as supporting the need for urgent action.

The Public Advocate has called for the advisory committee to deliver six-monthly progress reports and to complete its work within two years.

The state government is yet to formally respond to the recommendations.

Originally published as Qld Public Advocate calls for urgent reform for disabled parents