Yesterday, both the Queensland Family and Child Commission and the Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services released reports and other information about child death and serious injury case reviews in 2015-16, as well as a supplementary review relating to the ‘When a child is missing’ report.
Annual Report on the Queensland Child Death Case Review Panels 2015-16
The department’s report refers to a total of 66 reviews of the department’s involvement with 7 children or young people who sustained a serious physical injury and 59 children or young people who died. Thirteen panels considered case reviews that were grouped according to a predominant theme, and, as the report states, “There were recurring themes and areas for improvement that appeared across multiple panels.” With reference to individual cases, each panel makes findings about systemic improvements, such as those involving improvements to service delivery and interagency coordination. Two critical issues identified in 2015-16 were firstly, domestic and family violence and secondly, suicide by children, present respectively in 70% of all cases reviewed and 27% of child death reviews. Cases are generally reviewed 7 to 9 months after an incident. The review process is two-tiered: internal systems and practice reviews and Child Death Case Review Panels that consider the departmental review of all child deaths and children who suffered serious physical injuries if they were in the department’s care or were known to the department in the 12 months prior to their death. Child Death Case Review Panels comprise of external, departmental and other government agency members and always included at least one Aboriginal member. To access a copy of the Annual Report on the Queensland Child Death Case Review Panels click here.
Annual Report: deaths of children and young people in Queensland 2015-16
The Queensland Family and Child Commission (QFCC) report details all registered deaths of children in Queensland. The number in 2015-16 was 390, down from 445 the previous year. Three-quarters of deaths in the last year (291) were caused by either disease or medical conditions contracted after or before birth, with infants accounting for 73% of those deaths. Road accidents accounted for 18 deaths; eight children drowned; and 29 died from Sudden Unexpected Deaths in Infancy and SIDS. The QFCC has also prepared a series of factsheets about key findings, inter-jurisdictional comparisons, and 12-year data tables to show analysis of child deaths since data have been collected in Queensland. To access a copy of the QFCC Annual Report: deaths of children and young people in Queensland 2015-16, factsheets and other related documents, click here.
Supplementary report into Recommendation 28 from Remembering Tiahleigh – A report into Queensland’s children missing from out-of-home care
The QFCC also released a supplementary report into recommendation 28 that required the QFCC to review legislation, policies and procedures relating to information sharing to protect children in regulated service environments. The recommendations make changes to legislation, policies and procedures to increase visibility of home-based services to support regulation and monitoring; improve information sharing between agencies about potential risks to children to support earlier responses; and strengthen processes for assessing the suitability of individuals who provide services to children from their home. To access a copy of the Remembering Tiahleigh – A report into Queensland’s children missing from out-of-home care and the supplementary review, click here.