Child protection

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South Australia's child protection system failing those in need

Adelaide Now
NICK HENDERSON, STATE POLITICAL REPORTER
June 25, 2008 08:30am


THE system designed to protect children is failing and the number of notifications of child abuse is set to jump again this year, social workers warn.

Only the most serious cases of suspected child abuse could be investigated because of huge increases in the number of reported cases and limited resources, social workers yesterday told The Advertiser.

"It puts a lot of pressure on us . . . at the end of the day you must decide what is investigated and what is not investigated," one said.

Reader comments about specific cases of abuse or neglect cannot be published

As revealed by The Advertiser in April this year, there were 18,434 notifications of child abuse or neglect in SA in 2006/07 which required some form of action to be taken by the department. Only 5806 were fully investigated and more than 2200 of the notifications were substantiated as abuse or neglect.

The number of reports of abuse is expected to exceed 20,000 when figures for this financial year are released.

Public Service Association general secretary Jan McMahon said tier two reports, which are deemed to require investigation, and tier three reports, the lowest category of risk, were not being responded to appropriately.

"Tier two and tier three reports, those suggesting a slightly lesser degree of risk to children, are almost invariably not responded to, or face long delays, due to a lack of social workers and child protection workers," she said.

"If they could actually get to see tier three then they could provide assistance to the family which would then help it never get to a tier two or one."

Families and Communities Minister Jay Weatherill said the remaining notifications were dealt with "by other means, such as referral to other services". "All notifications are taken seriously and are assessed," he said.

Mr Weatherill said money was allocated in this year's Budget to employ more social workers in the northern suburbs.

Department sources said four social worker vacancies remain in the northern suburbs and can not be filled.

National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect chief executive officer Maree Faulkner said the case was "just the tip of the iceberg".

"Hundreds of Australian children are dying every year . . . and thousands more are being seriously damaged because of personal, community and government inaction."
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This has come to light because of a story in the news recently, its an ALEGED case of neglect by the mother of 12 (i think) children in a 4 bedroom housing trust house. Now i was lissioning to the families and comunity services minister on the radio this morning and to be honest i feel sorry for the guy. He said that the department is currently trying to modify a house so that they can all fit safly and in the mean time the department is working with the family to help impove the lives of these children and there mother (im assuming from the comments of him that its a single parent family). I think we are heading for a change of goverment in this state but i honestly cant see what more the goverment (of either persuasion) can actually do. We have vertually every goverment worker complaining about the pay they are reciving and after seeing the buget i cant honestly see where the goverment can find the needed money. I think the federal goverment is going to need to slash there own surplas to fork in for these vital services
 
orleander did you read the artical?

he doesnt HAVE cutody, he is living in vic and she in SA with the children
 
yes though concidering the fact that CPS is in volved i doubt he would actually want that check. Recently the law has been changed so that state offices of CPS can dictate to centerlink that the money be "income managed". Ie he cant spend $1 anywhere that centerlink and the state officers dont want him to.
 
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