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Wednesday May 23, 2012

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Child abuse 'worsening' in Victoria

Posted by: 3AW Radio | 24 October, 2011 - 7:43 AM
DHS

TOM ELLIOTT: Yesterday the Herald-Sun reported that last year 8400 children in this state had to be placed into out-of-home care because for various reasons their parents were not able to provide a stable family environment.

There are many reasons kids have to be removed from their parents, but amongst the most common are drug abuse, violence and neglect to a level that endangers the children’s welfare – and in some cases, their lives.

When Neil Mitchell interviewed the state minister for community services, Mary Wooldridge, it was evident that lack of funding is one important reason why so many kids suffer at the hands of their parents. Put simply, the department lacks the resources to investigate and intervene in the many thousands of child abuse cases reported to it.

While lack of funding for community services is undoubtedly a big problem, I think a genuine solution has to go deeper if we’re to reduce parental abuse of children in our society.

This is a politically incorrect view, but there are many people out there who shouldn’t be allowed to breed in the first place. And while the federal govt’s $5000 baby bonus was designed to ease the financial strain of bringing a newborn into the world, sometimes I wonder if it’s acting an incentive for the wrong sort of people to have kids.

Given, however, that we probably can’t stop hopelessly inadequate parents from having children, then I think we should do the next best thing. And that involves not just placing more kids in foster homes on a temporary basis, but rather permanently removing abused kids from their parents’ care, and putting them up for adoption into families who’ll show the children the love they deserve.

There is a huge number of couples out there who’d love to have children, but who for various reasons are unable. Such people are forced to look overseas for suitable adoption candidates, even though there are thousands of badly treated kids on our very doorstep crying out for better homes.

I appreciate that this is a radical solution, but difficult problems like repeated child abuse from within the home demand such an approach.

After all, when it comes to a choice between the right of two irredeemable heroin addicts to keep their neglected kids, vs the children’s right to be properly cared for, well I’d go with helping the kids every time...

YESTERDAY: Victoria faces a worsening problem with abused children, with almost one thousand found to have been seriously neglected by their parents in just one year.

A Herald Sun investigation has found cases of used syringes in toddlers' toy boxes, and children being left to starve among human waste and rat infestations.

In the worst substantiated cases, children have been found in conditions so bad, they had to have rotted teeth removed, and to be taught how to sit at a table.

PLAY: Minister for Community Services Mary Wooldridge admits that Victoria needs to do a better job.

Hayley let down by the system

Hayley's case has upset many people The childcare worker who was with the two-year-old girl Hayley when she died after allegedly being bashed by her father says more could have been done for her. Neil Mitchell speaks to her grandparents and Hayley's childcare worker.

 

Blog comments Your Say

  • I'm dealing with DHS at the moment as the carer of 2 kid's who have been in our care for 2 1/2 yrs they have been in out of home care for over 3 1/2 yrs with no contact with there birth parents DHS need to wake up stop putting the lives of these children in the hands of 23-24yr olds who have no experience. The parents have all the rights over the children even if the children say they don't want to see or talk to them it means nothing DHS still try to arrange contact with the birth parents. Parents are given notice approx 7 days that DHS are coming so of course they are straight and showing a united front. The parents get Barristers children get DHS unless we get them legal rep which we can't as we are only carers. It's not just DHS that need's to wake up so do the courts who give these kid's back to parent's. As parents/carers we will fight to protect these kid's from becoming a statistic as much as we can but the system is against us DHS is all for reuniting kid's with their biological parent's no matter what they say their disposition is
    LISTEN TO THE CHILDREN FOR ONCE.

    Notjustacarer Thursday 27 October, 2011 - 11:23 AM

  • Dhs need to smarten up big time people tell them whats happening but they do nothing... They get played by some of these parents tht realy should not b aloud to have children in there care...
    My hubby rang them bout something they said to him that they usually have a good eye for these things & they will look into it but still nothing changes

    bec Monday 24 October, 2011 - 4:43 PM

  • Stacy, that is an amazing and brave revelation, good luck to you, I have profound respect for you and you are incredible to be able to turn your life around like that and good luck to you and your family, your message needs to be heard. All the best.

    Jan Monday 24 October, 2011 - 1:21 PM

  • We whine and complain condem and and feel shme at the increasingly delcining state of many of our parents and the effects of this lifeless life on our children but we will silence and physically put down any dissent or cry for real change in this state that is trying to bring conscience and reason back to the way we do 'business' both internally and externally in our society and world...yep..makes perfect hypocritical sense! After all - you reap what you sow.

    Blue Monday 24 October, 2011 - 1:14 PM

  • What about taking children to a protest?should these morons be charged with child abuse as well>??

    Steve Monday 24 October, 2011 - 12:20 PM

  • BLAME BLAME BLAME,is this what we have become???? This is a generation of neglect, Mental Health,Affordable Housing, and a over stretched Healthcare system.
    Hats of to Stacey C,more people need to step up if they are allowed to have kids.Think of the big picture and not just the baby bonus.

    Andrea G Monday 24 October, 2011 - 12:11 PM

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