The South Australian government will review the “interactions” four agencies had with the Adelaide mother of a six-year-old girl who died after a suspicion of negligence.
Key points:
- The family had interactions with four government agencies “for the past two years.”
- Child Protection Minister Katrine Hildyard called the death “heartbreaking”
- SAPOL will put maximum resources into Taskforce Prime
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SA Deputy Police Commissioner Linda Williams said Charlie died Friday after being rushed to Lyell McEwen Hospital early in the morning.
He said Taskforce Prime would focus on the “broader cause and circumstances of Charlie’s death” and police would put “maximum resources” into the investigation.
“This is very important to us. We take it very seriously,” he said.
Ms Williams said “it was too early to tell” if her death was preventable given that there had been interactions between the family and police, and she did not know when Charlie had last gone to school.
He did not comment on whether Charlie was malnourished.
“We want to understand what happened to Charlie and how he ended up in the circumstances he did,” he said.
Ms Williams said police will also investigate the alleged negligence of the other five children, aged between seven and 16, at the Munno Para house, who have been cared for.
Acting Prime Minister Susan Close says the review will examine whether there are lessons from the latest case of criminal negligence. (ABC News: Ethan Rix)
Acting Prime Minister Susan Close said her government would do a review so that four agencies, the Department of Human Services, the SA Housing Authority, the Department of Education and the Department of Child Protection , had been involved with the family.
“What interactions occurred, could they have been different and is there a lesson?” she said.
The system needs to be improved, Minister
Child Protection Minister Katrine Hildyard said contact between the family and government agencies has occurred “over the past two years,” but was unable to comment on the nature of those interactions.
“This is an absolutely heartbreaking situation: it’s tragic that a six-year-old girl has lost her life,” he said.
He said he understood how frustrating it would be for South Australians given the number of coronal consultations and reviews that had been carried out on the child protection system.
Support for young people and families
“We will analyze the entire chronology of the services provided and the agencies involved in relation to this particular issue, the roles, responsibilities and interactions with the respective agencies and the effectiveness of government interventions and services,” he said.
He said the government needed to understand “what else can we do” to improve the system.
“Child protection is incredibly complex, it’s a system that needs to do better,” he said.
“My government and I will be relentless in our efforts to improve the system.
“I find it shocking every day when I think of the fact that one in three children in South Australia now has some sort of notification or interaction with the child protection department at some point in their life.
“I find that fact compelling in terms of action.”