Victoria’s troubled child protection system revealed by whistleblowers

Children as young as eight in state care are being left alone for up to 10 hours a day, as some access drugs and engage in inappropriate relationships, concerned caseworkers have revealed.

Children as young as eight in state care are being left alone in State care.

Children as young as eight in state care are being left alone for up to 10 hours a day and at times overnight without access to food or clean clothing.

Whistleblower caseworkers have lifted the lid on Victoria’s troubled child protection system, revealing the state’s most vulnerable children often go unsupervised for hours at a time.

While alone, children have turned to drug use and inappropriate relationships with other kids in care, it can be revealed.

Despite protocols outlined by the state government that require wards of the state living in care homes to be supervised by an adult at all times, some troubled teenagers are left alone overnight for most nights of the week.

It comes after the Herald Sun uncovered a slew of violent incidents and neglect within residential and other state care services across Victoria.

These included a caseworker being stabbed with a meat carver, staff being asked to falsify welfare records of young children and children being repeatedly sexually exploited.

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

The worker left their position after repeated complaints filed to state care were ignored. Picture: Supplied

The revelations follow a 12-year-old girl who was in state care being charged with murder.

Documents obtained by the Herald Sun reveal additional complaints relating to children not having food available in their accommodation or expired food needing to be thrown out, and boys under the age of 10 years old engaging in inappropriate behaviour with one another while unsupervised.

In emails addressed to the NDIS Commission’s complaints division and Department of Families Fairness and Housing placement managers, workers alleged authorities had failed to address previously raised concerns about children not attending school, poor hygiene and children not having access to medication they required.

Whistleblowers say “nothing has been done at all” to address fears raised with Child Protection that children in state care had been neglected and left to “run rampant” under a “remote care” approach some providers have adopted.

One social worker, who did not want to be named, told the Herald Sun that her former employer instructed staff to remain in offices nearby, or inside their cars throughout their shifts in a desperate bid to protect them from violent outbursts at the hands of their young clients.

“Staff didn’t feel safe … they (children) often assault staff,” she said.

“They would recommend for them to stay in their cars if they felt unsafe.

“They (kids) are running rampage.”

Children as young as eight in state care are being left alone for up to 10 hours a day. Picture: Supplied

A caseworker, who left his role just weeks ago after being forced to take stress leave, said he was shocked at the lack of supervision being enforced by state care directors.

“I’ve never seen it before,” he said.

“There were issues in every single house.”

“Police officers have turned up and the kids are doing drugs, and the kids treat it like it is a joke.”

In one instance, a teenage girl remained inside her accommodation smoking marijuana and ice with a machete in her possession.

Earlier this year, “inexperienced” staff reportedly forgot to collect a young boy from his primary school.

A DFFH spokeswoman said the $548 million allocated to care services in this year’s budget was the largest investment in children and young people in residential care in the last decade.

There are on average 9366 children living in out-of-home care across Victoria on a given day.

The Department’s most recent annual report shows there were 128,705 reports about children’s wellbeing and safety in the past year.

The state care providers declined to comment.