Tuesday, 15 October 2024

Child protection

Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (12:41): (683) My question is for the Minister for Children. Minister, why was an eight-year-old boy in state care allowed to roam the streets, leaving the facility each day to beg for money at the train station, according to a caseworker and as reported just recently in newspaper articles?

Lizzie BLANDTHORN (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Children, Minister for Disability) (12:42): I thank Ms Crozier for her question. At the outset I would say that it is not appropriate for me to comment on an individual case if the member is referring to an individual case. But what I would say is that this government has made the biggest ever investment in therapeutic care in residential care. That is despite the fact that Victoria has the lowest rate of residential care, 5.3 per cent, and we also have the highest rate of kinship care, which is obviously the preferred placement model for children in care as far as is possible and as is safe and as is in the best interests of the child – that a child be placed in kinship care. But we do have therapeutic care and we do have the largest ever investment in the last budget – more than half a billion dollars – in therapeutic care, which is about ensuring that we have therapeutic supports wrapped around all placements in residential care, which is about ensuring that not only do we have the appropriate staffing levels of course but we also have the other supports that help children.

Some of those children – in fact all children who are in residential care have had a fairly traumatic experience of one kind or another, but it is about ensuring that all children in residential care are receiving the therapeutic supports that they need, the disability services that they need, the psychology services that they need and the family support services that they need to support them in their residential care journey. But also as far as is safe and is possible and is in the best interests of the child, those children are returned from residential care to kinship care or foster care or indeed to their biological family. The complexities of the children in these environments are great, and every child is different. Always at the heart of every decision around the placement of a child, whatever their age, is what is in the best interests of the child and where we can ensure that the child gets the services that they need.

Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (12:44): Minister, thank you for that response. I am not asking for the individual details of the case, but it is a clear failure of what is occurring in the system, given this eight-year-old boy was allowed to roam the streets and do what he was doing. You mentioned therapeutic care. According to the report the boy was not receiving therapeutic care, was not being adequately cared for and had not been seen by his former child protection officer assigned to him for eight weeks. Clearly there are issues in the system. Minister, can you advise why this child was so neglected and did not receive that therapeutic care that you have just spoken about whilst under state care?

Lizzie BLANDTHORN (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Children, Minister for Disability) (12:45): As I said from the outset, I cannot comment on individual cases. I will not comment on individual cases here or in the media. It is entirely inappropriate, and –

Georgie Crozier: On a point of order, President, I am not asking for the details about the eight-year-old. I cited what was reported, but there are clearly failures in the system. I was asking the minister: why was the state government letting this child down – so neglected?

The PRESIDENT: I think the minister did answer the question.

Georgie Crozier: It is a systems issue – the government is failing – it is not about the boy.

The PRESIDENT: A point of order is not an opportunity to repeat the question. I call the minister to the question.

Lizzie BLANDTHORN: Ms Crozier did put to me alleged particulars of the particular case in question that she is referring to, and as I said, I will not comment on individual cases. But what I will talk about is that this government has made the biggest ever investment in residential care, more than half a billion dollars – far more than when those opposite were described by the Auditor-General as having –

Georgie Crozier: On a point of order, President, my question was very simple: can the minister advise why this child was so neglected and did not receive the therapeutic care that the minister spoke about? I would ask you to bring the minister back to the question rather than debating the answer.

The PRESIDENT: The minister is being relevant to the question.

Lizzie BLANDTHORN: Ms Crozier, I advise you to go and have a look at Hansard following this debate. You have put the particulars as you have read them in the Herald Sun to me in relation to a particular child. I will not be drawn into providing commentary in relation to a particular child, but what I will say is that those who work in child protection each and every day are making decisions – (Time expired)