The following is the report Pru Goward Family and Community Services Minister referred to in the 7.30 report on Friday on Child deaths.
There obviously appears to be tension between the Minister and this department with Goward attacking the department by saying she had been misled.
Clearly, as with most of the other government department, there would be no investigation policy and anyone who complained would be fucked over by management.
Child Deaths 2010
Annual Report
Learning to improve services
© Copyright, Department of Family and Community Services, Community Services, 2011
Published by
Department of Family and Community Services
Community Services
4–6 Cavill Avenue
ASHFIELD NSW 2131
Phone (02) 9716 2222
www.community.nsw.gov.au
If you think a child or young person is at risk of signifi cant harm,
contact the Child Protection Helpline on 132 111
ISSN 1839-8367The purpose of Child Death Annual Reports is to increase accountability and transparency, and publiclyshare e orts to improve child protection practices in NSW. The reports are designed to better inform thepublic about Community Services, its role in protecting children and its limitations.
This report is not presented as an expert report and should not be treated as such in any Court or Tribunal.To comply with the Law and to protect the privacy of children and families, names or identifying details of individual cases have not been used.Percentages listed in fi gures throughout this report may not add to 100% due to rounding.
Contents
Minister’s Foreword
4
Executive Summary
6
Chapter 1: Child Deaths – the Context
10
1.1
Child Deaths 2010 Annual Report: objectives
11
1.2
Child deaths: the context
11
The child protection system in NSW
11
The role of Community Services: the capacity challenge
12
The social context
12
Public understanding of child deaths
13
1.3
Oversight and review in NSW
14
The NSW Ombudsman
14
The NSW Child Death Review Team
14
The NSW Coroner and NSW Police
15
The Domestic Violence Death Review Team
16
The Children’s Guardian
16
1.4
Community Services’ Child Death Reviews
17
A systems approach to child death reviews
17
Chapter 2: Child Deaths in 2010
18
2.1
Child deaths in NSW in 2010
19
2.2
Circumstances of child deaths
20
Death from illness and/or disease
21
Prematurity related deaths
22
Motor vehicle related deaths
23
Suspected suicide deaths
24
Sudden and Unexplained Deaths in Infancy (SUDI)
25
Suspicious injuries
27
Other circumstances of death
28
2.3
Characteristics of the children and young people
28
Age
28
Gender
29
Aboriginality
30
2.4
Community Services’ involvement with the families
31
Reports to Community Services
31
Prenatal reports
31
Children in out-of-home care
32
Brighter Futures
32
2.5
Reported risk factors
32
Risk factors
32
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Chapter 3: Lessons for Improvement
34
3.1
The enduring challenges of child protection
35
Assessing risk holistically
35
Asking the hard questions
36
Focusing on the child
36
Balancing safety and cultural sensitivity
37
Prioritising professional supervision
37
3.2
Working with competing priorities
38
3.3
Assessing cumulative and changing risk
41
3.4
Assessing risk from new partners or adult household members
44
3.5
Working with intergenerational risk factors
46
3.6
e
ngaging parents, caregivers and children
50
3.7
Working with risk in early intervention
54
Chapter 4: Improving Services Through Reform
58
4.1
l
eadership and goals
59
4.2
Reform in Community Services
59
Boosting accountability and transparency
60
Working better and smarter
60
Improving services: the challenge
61
4.3
Conclusion
62
References
63
Glossary
65
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