Child protection failures: 65 Victorian children dead in  just a year

Vulnerable children are dying at a rate of more than one a week in Victoria, a shocking toll that has ­exposed a a crisis in the state’s welfare system.

Victorian Principal Commissioner for Children and Young People Liana Buchanan.

Sixty-five Victorian children and teenagers known to child-­protection authorities died in one year, a shocking toll that has ­exposed a crisis in the state’s ­welfare services.

Victorian Coroners Court data, released to The Weekend Australian, has revealed vulnerable children are dying at a rate of more than one a week.

In 39 of the 2019-20 fatalities, contact with child protection services was inactive at the time of death, and 26 cases were active, according to the coroner.

Separate to the coronial data, The Weekend Australian has ­obtained a highly classified report by the Commissioner for Children and Young People that ­reveals child protection is being overwhelmed.

The 59-page report, stamped “confidential — not for public distribution”, examined four of the 65 deaths and delivers some damning findings. Two cases from earlier in 2019 were also investigated.

The report criticised child protection for being too slow in dealing with aspects of the six cases, who were all aged under two, when they died.

“The inquiry found that Child Protection was too often focused on monitoring compliance rather than understanding and responding to the parents’ underlying support needs,” it states.

“Child Protection’s assessment and intervention was often ­delayed, in some cases for months, leaving young children in vulnerable situations.

“This delayed response may be attributed to increasing pressure on the workforce impacting the ability to prioritise urgent tasks.”

The report highlights the harrowing case of Baby M, who despite five separate investigations by child protection authorities, was left in the care of a relative with drug and domestic violence issues. The child died, aged just 15 months.

The coroners court data reveals SIDS, suicide, car accidents, suffocation, drugs and assaults are the most common causes of death among the at-risk group, which spans infants to 18-year-olds.

“In general terms, a child was more likely to be known to Child Protection in an external cause death (i.e. unintentional, suicide, assault) than in a natural causes death …, ” the coroners court ­stated.

The death toll has prompted calls from child health experts and a government whistleblower for a royal commission into child protection. “They are the kind of numbers that should at least raise the possibility of a royal commission being a reasonable response,” said a child and adolescent ­psychiatrist. This figure is large enough to prompt some questions, not just about the number, but what the process is. How are these followed up? What is the ­accountability?”

A Victorian government whistleblower, familiar with child protection services, says demand fuelled by last year’s 111-day coronavirus lockdown is surging, and the service is battling funding shortfalls and a shortage of ­experienced case workers.

“The system is not coping; kids are being left in at-risk environments,” the whistleblower said. During the lockdown, face-to-face home visits were banned and case workers conducted teleconferences with families which, the whistleblower said, left children exposed.

At the request of The Weekend Australian, the coroners court reviewed its 2019-20 files on child fatalities. The review identified the 65 cases where the victim was known to the Department of Health and Human Services. Child protection has since been transferred to the new Department of Families, Fairness and Housing under minister Luke Donnellan.

A government spokesman said “every death of a child is a terrible tragedy” and “we know we need to do more to protect young Victorians”. He cited a $1bn funding boost for the sector in the last state budget.

“Giving families who are under pressure or in crisis the tools they need to support their children and stay together is essential to reducing the number of children requiring state care,” the spokesman said.

The government declined to comment on the confidential Commissioner for Children and Young People’s report, saying it was still being assessed.

The whistleblower said they weren’t surprised by the 65 deaths. “One of the issues in relation to CP (child protection) is they focus on one protection issue with the family when in fact most families who come to the attention of CP have multiple comorbidity issues,” the whistleblower said.

According to the data, 16 children known to the children’s watchdog died of suicide, compared with 11 who took their lives but were not known to child protection services. Eight children who had come under the watch of child protection were killed in car crashes, higher than the three who were not known to authorities.

In addition to the 65 child protection cases, the Coroners Court is investigating another 78 child deaths during the 2019-20 financial year.