Latest child safety data shows true scale of ice scourge in Queensland

Emerging “ice corridors” across southeast and Central Queensland mean 749 children – or one in every three – found to be in need of protection in 2016 had a parent using the drug.

Child Safety Minister Shannon Fentiman revealed the alarming statistics as part of the new December 2016 quarterly data report, unveiled today ahead of the Palaszczuk Government’s inaugural ice summit in Rockhampton.

She said Queensland parents known to the child protection system also used ice more frequently than they drank alcohol, according to the first year-long study into the drug habits of families known to the Department of Child Safety.

“The new child safety figures are deeply disturbing and demonstrate the damaging impact of ice on communities right across the state,” she said.

Ms Fentiman said 60 per cent of children who had a parent using ice, were aged under five.

“It’s especially concerning to me that so many children whose parents were using ice were so young,” she said.

“The study also showed us that where parents were using ice, they were also more likely to have a criminal history (78 per cent), a diagnosed mental illness (73 per cent), they were more likely to have experienced domestic and family violence in the past year (68 per cent) and more likely to be homeless (19 per cent).”

The most commonly substantiated type of harm for children whose parents were using ice was neglect (59 per cent), emotional harm (29 per cent), physical harm (11 per cent) and sexual abuse (one per cent).

Ms Fentiman said it was a positive sign that it was concerned family members, friends and neighbours who were the ones alerting authorities when they believed a child was at risk.

“In 22 per cent of cases, the referral to child safety came from a concerned family member, friend or neighbour, which shows our message about everyone playing their part to keep kids safe is starting to hit home,” she said.

“This is why it is so important to continue that message about everyone in the community having a role to play to keep our kids safe.

“But the prevalence of ice use also tells us that we need to continue to invest in early intervention and prevention services to provide mums and dads with hands-on, in-home help so they can be better parents.”

More calls to Child Safety and more investigations commenced

Ms Fentiman said the latest December quarter performance data showed Queensland’s child protection system was continuing to see improvements.

“The data shows improvements in commencing and completing investigations, and this is happening at a time when notifications are also increasing, with around 1624 more than the same time last year,” she said.

“I am pleased the number of investigations we have commenced is up and the number commenced on time is also higher, despite staff working through more notifications.

“In particular, 90 per cent of investigations needing to be started within 24 hours – are starting on time.

“There is still room for improvement, however, with the number of investigations commencing on time requiring a five-day or 10-day response, remaining stable with previous quarters.

“We expect this to improve by the next reporting period, which will reflect the impact of 129 new child safety workers who are now on the ground across Queensland.”

Complexities of families

Ms Fentiman said the new practice framework and growing complexities of families experiencing domestic and family violence, ice and drug use, mental illness and intergenerational contact with child protection, meant investigations were taking longer.

“Just 45 per cent of our investigations were finalised within the 60-day timeframe, which is a small decline on previous quarters however, we are getting to our most urgent cases,” she said.

“The data showed the percentage of investigations that required a 24-hour response finalised within 60-days was 74 per cent.”

Ms Fentiman said an overhaul of Regional Intake Services across the state combined with the roll-out of specialist investigation teams, and a new quality assurance flying squad to drive management improvements across individual Child Safety Service Centres, will all drive improvements in investigation timelines.

Substantiations and caseloads down

“Pleasingly, despite more reports of children being at risk, the number of children who were substantiated as being in need of protection decreased slightly, which is on trend with previous years,” she said.

“Importantly, caseloads for child safety officers dropped to 18.5.

“This shows the investment we are making to restore frontline staff and services is starting to have an impact on the workload of our hard-working child safety workers.”

Carer numbers increased over the year

Ms Fentiman said while the number of carer families decreased by 27 over the quarter, overall there were 124 more carer families in the year to December.

“This is why our recent $15 million announcement to cover the childcare gap for foster carers, and changes to cut red tape and empower carers to make decisions about the children they look after, are so important,” Ms Fentiman said.

“We’ve also delivered new training sessions for carers on wide-ranging topics, including specialist domestic violence training for carers where children have experienced family violence.

“We have also delivered intensive staff training to make sure foster carers are a valued partner and member of each child’s care team.

“It’s vital we ensure carers have the financial and professional support they need, they get the respite care they deserve and we remove any barriers that stand in the way of them making decisions in the best interests of the children they care for.

“Our new foster care recruitment campaign will also encourage more Queenslanders to open their hearts and their homes to a child in need.”

The December 2016 quarterly data is available online: https://www.communities.qld.gov.au/childsafety/about-us/our-performance

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