Staff working with Victoria’s vulnerable youth say child state care system is ‘ticking time bomb’

Social workers have detailed a litany of violent incidents - which includes a teenager stabbing a caseworker with a meat carver - with calls for more protection.

Social workers have detailed a litany of violent incidents and neglect in residential care across Victoria.

A teenage girl allegedly stabbed a social worker and children as young as eight years old have been left alone without access to food under “disgraceful” state care conditions.

Staff working with some of Victoria’s most vulnerable children say they fear the state’s troubled child state care system is a “ticking time bomb” after a 12-year-old girl in state care was charged with murder last month.

Social workers have detailed a litany of violent incidents and neglect in state care properties across the state.

They include a 14-year-old girl stabbing a caseworker with a meat carver, children carrying knives and other sharp objects such as scalpels, a young boy being sent to school without shoes, children being repeatedly sexually exploited and teenagers consuming drugs at their care properties.

Some staff called for workers to be equipped with knife-proof clothing and trauma first-aid kits to deal with knife wounds after discovering that multiple children had begun carrying weapons.

Documents seen by the Sunday Herald Sun show multiple state care workers raised concerns about several other youths not having access to food, or to food that was edible.

The worker’s chose to speak out after a 12-year-old girl was charged with murder after allegedly stabbing a woman to death in her western suburbs apartment on November 16.

The stab wound of a state care worker attacked by a 14-year-old girl. Picture: Supplied

The worker left is position after repeated complaints filed to state care were ignored. Supplied

The veteran caseworker who was stabbed in his left arm by the 14-year-old girl in August told the Sunday Herald Sun he left his position just weeks ago after repeated complaints he filed to his employer and to state care were ignored.

“She went straight to her bedroom and grabbed a meat carving knife … I was a second too late and she lunged at me while moving in a stabbing motion,” he said.

“I could tell something like this was coming … they (care provider) are setting them up to fail.

“The worst thing about it was the fact that it could have been avoided if things were just done a bit differently.”

State care staff reportedly witnessed the stabbing and the department is investigating the incident.

A current social worker, who asked to remain anonymous because he is not authorised to speak publicly, told the Sunday Herald Sun his former employer had requested he falsify welfare reports for two young boys before they were delivered to state care earlier this year.

“They put me in these situations where they were asking me to break the law,” he said.

“I verbalised the fact that I can’t write a report out of nothing, because it wouldn’t be accurate.

“Documenting every shift and incident reporting is mandatory across the board but that wasn’t being done.

“They wanted me to make up a report on how well they’re doing and go in and cover everybody, but there was no documentation, no incident reports. There was nothing.”

One worker said some children in state care are set up to fail.

A former social worker, who specialises in disability care, said she and other staff were tasked with caring for wards of the state despite not having the formal training to do so.

“They’re not recruiting specialist workers. I had no idea I’d be given child protection kids to look after,” she said.

“It’s just ridiculous. These kids are set up to fail. It’s terrible.

“This can’t continue.”

In one “traumatic” incident, a teenage girl entered the service provider’s office and attacked a small group of staff members by hitting them and damaging furniture.

The worker said violence had become so rife among youths living in her employer’s accommodation that staff had been driven to quit or take stress leave.

“I thought she was going to kill me,” she said.

“How can staff be safe when some of these kids have machetes in the house?”

A Department of Families, Fairness and Housing spokeswoman said: “Children and young people who live in (state) care are often those who have experienced the greatest level of trauma and who, therefore, require the most expert care and support.

“They are supervised by staff carers 24 hours a day 7 days a week, with at least one adult on site at all times.”

According to the department’s annual report released last month, there are on average 9,366 Victorian children in care placements each day.

A report by the Commission for Children and Young People found that the highest proportion of reported incidents involved children in state care, despite those youths making up just five per cent of the total number of young people living in out-of-home care.

The state care providers declined to comment.