Distressed Qld foster carers lift lid on child safety department

Distressed foster carers have blown the whistle on Queensland’s child safety department, with bombshell leaked emails showing requests for psychological help for troubled kids rejected and claims of physical violence dismissed. SEE THE EMAILS

Distressed foster carers have lifted the lid on Queensland’s child safety department, with bombshell leaked emails showing requests for psychological help for troubled kids rejected and claims of physical violence dismissed.

The Courier-Mail spoke with several whistleblower carers who said they had been left disheartened and aghast at how their complaints and pleas for help were routinely disregarded as they cared for high-needs, at-risk children.

An email to a foster carer about a violent child in their care. Source: Supplied.

An email response to a concerned foster carer. Source: Supplied.

Instead carers were told to sit violent children with their hands on their heads, or bribe them with ice-cream to behave.

The finger was also pointed at a high level of turnover of child safety officers – with one foster carer claiming officers regularly couldn’t remember the names of kids to whom they were assigned.

In an email seen by The Courier-Mail and marked URGENT, a carer Sally – not her real name – requests psychological help for a troubled child in their care, but was told by a department staffer “we do not believe (the child) needs psychology”.

“It is not the responsibility of the department to fund this and if I raise this with the team leader it will be denied,” the email states.

Concerned foster careers have revealed calls for help have been rejected and claims of physical violence dismissed. Generic file photograph

Alarmingly, the officer then says “explain to (child) she is lucky to have a placement with you given her track record”.

Another email states a child will “punch holes in the wall” and “punch the other children”, and “everyone in the house feels physically threatened by her and has been physically assaulted at least once by her”.

But in a lacklustre response a department child safety officer wrote “can you get (child) to hold her hands on her head while on the wall” – with the carer explaining “the wall” was a place at their home where kids were asked to sit to calm down.

The email then says “alternatively you could get her to go for a walk to calm down”.

Sally told The Courier-Mail she was told by department staff to “bribe them with ice-cream” when kids in her care were being physically violent.

She said while she had little issues caring for young children and needed minimal departmental assistance, when she began taking on older, troubled teens officers were “very dismissive”.

“There are no ways to discipline a naughty child – not allowed to take phones, send them to their rooms – I was told that was psychological damaging and isolating,” she said.

She also said while some child safety officers were “wonderful, and bent over backwards to help us and the kids”, she was alarmed at some of the others.

“Some were awful, and wouldn’t even remember the kids names – it was very upsetting,” she said, while also blaming a high-turnover of staff.

In another email a carer asks the department about attending a wedding, and is told in a two- line response “there is no respite available for (the children) and we cannot give you approval to take them to the wedding”.

Concerningly she is then told “if you don’t want the children anymore we can have them relocated to residential care”.

Craig Crawford was last week moved into the Child Safety portfolio. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

In another foster family, a carer Judy – also not her real name – expresses concern that a child came home “red-raw and really sick from sun exposure” from a biological parent visit.

An officer in response to her concerns says “I acknowledge that he did get sunburnt, as the vast majority of us all did that day”.

“(Child) did not look red or burnt during the day and I can assure you that. We do not class this as him “being hurt” in (parent) care.”

In another instance about the safety of a biological parent’s home, a carer is told by a senior leader “parents/family do not have to provide care or living environments to the same standards as carers”.

“As carers you are obliged to meet the household safety standard as well as meet the standards of care. This is a different (higher) level than is expected for parents.”

Multiple carers agreed there should be a royal commission into the sector.

Queensland currently has more than 11,500 children in care across the state – and about 6000 carer families. Of those, about 1500 are first time carer families, with a similar number falling out of the system.

A department spokesman said “Foster carers are the backbone of our child protection system”.

We work closely with Queensland Foster and Kinship Care to provide carers with the help and advocacy they deserve, and we encourage them to escalate any issues that can’t be resolved,” he said.

“Violence is never tolerated, and we work with carers and other services to address any behavioural concerns. When a child has at risk behaviour, a positive support plan will be developed with members of the care team, including foster and kinship carers, which focuses on prevention strategies and support.”

The department went on to say child safety staff facilitated access to mental health services in partnership with Queensland Health and in consultation with their foster or kinship carer.

“We also have specialist services clinicians in each region to provide support to children and young people who have complex disability, mental health and/or high-risk behavioural needs,” he said.

“Many children who have entered care are living with the impacts of trauma, including abuse, violence and neglect.

“Where matters cannot be resolved at a local level, carers can pursue a formal complaint through the department’s complaints process.”

Former Child Safety Minister Leanne Linard – who had held the position since the 2020 election – was this week punted from the portfolio and replaced by Craig Crawford.

LNP child safety spokeswoman Amanda Camm said the stories were examples of bullying and manipulation.

“Hundreds of carers are opting-out, many are in counselling, while others have health concerns and sleepless nights from the stress of their experiences,” she said.

“We know how overloaded child safety officers are and now it’s clear foster carers are also victims of a government in chaos and crisis.”

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Originally published as Distressed Qld foster carers lift lid on child safety department