A 13-year-old boy has been left in a homeless shelter for months, with a family member accusing Tasmania’s child protection department of “gross negligence.”
The family member, who cannot be named due to child protection laws, repeatedly urged authorities to intervene. She warned that the boy was “hanging around a tent city of homeless adults,” involved with drugs, and even dealing them. When she learned in August that the child was homeless and questioned why no action had been taken, she was told that only two response staff were available in the area.
“Those levels of staffing lead to deaths of children,” she said. “It creates instability because workers burn out and can’t provide the proper care these kids need. Ultimately, these kids pay the price, and it can change their lives forever.”
The department was unable to confirm to the media how many staff were working in the child’s area between August and September. However, in the north-west region, staffing had decreased from 16.7 full-time employees the previous year to just 12.7 during that period.
Across the entire state, the average staffing level was 85.6 employees, down from 102 the previous year. The reduction highlights concerns about the department’s capacity to adequately support vulnerable children.
+ There are no comments
Add yours