NSW: More than 150 children known to DoCS died in 07: report

AAP General News (Australia)
04-22-2009
NSW: More than 150 children known to DoCS died in 07: report

SYDNEY, April 22 AAP - More than 150 children known to the Department of Community
Services (DoCS) died in 2007, the NSW Ombudsman's report into reviewable deaths reveals.

The report found that of the 603 child deaths in NSW in 2007, 162 were classified as
reviewable in that the child, or a sibling, had been reported to DocS or died in suspicious
circumstances.

Of the reviewable deaths, 152 of the dead children, or their siblings, had been the
subject of a report to DoCS in the previous three years.

In 2006, 114 children who were known to DoCS died.

The second volume of the ombudsman's report on reviewable deaths in 2007 was tabled
in NSW Parliament on Wednesday.

NSW Community Services Minister Linda Burney released similar figures last October,
but at that time she said there were 156 reviewable deaths.

Ombudsman Bruce Barbour said that the increased figure was not an indication of worsening
practice by DoCS, but largely a reflection in the substantial increase in the number of
children reported.

He took issue with the capacity of DoCS to assess risk and the adequacy of identification
and reporting of risk of harm to children.

"These are not new problems," he said.

"We have raised these repeatedly in past reports."

Mr Barbour's report found that of the 162 reviewable deaths, 43 children died from
abuse, neglect or in suspicious circumstances.

More than 50 per cent of the reviewable deaths involved children under one year old,
40 of whom were less than a month old.

Thirty-six of the deaths were Aboriginal children.

Mr Barbour has not made any recommendations in his report because the NSW government
recently announced radical reforms to the child protection system.

Under the changes, DoCS will only respond to reports where a child is at "significant
risk of harm".

The ombudsman will now only review deaths that occur in suspicious circumstances or
as a result of abuse and neglect, meaning he will examine fewer cases.

As a result, the reviewable child deaths report will be handed down once every two
years instead of annually.

AAP nr/hn/it/cdh

KEYWORD: DOCS

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