- Queensland-first Census into self-placing children finds 51 of the 772 children missing were young offenders out on bail, and 27 of the children absent or missing from care were under 12.
- The Census exposes an issue the former Labor Government ignored, which put some of Queensland's most vulnerable children and the community at risk.
- The Crisafulli Government will trial embedding child safety officers with police at three sites to strengthen information sharing between Queensland Police Service, Youth Justice and Child Safety.
- The Crisafulli Government is delivering safety where you live by preventing crime and keeping young people on the right track.
A Queensland first Census into self-placing children has found 772 vulnerable children were missing from their placements, including 27 under the age of 12, and 51 young offenders who were self-placing were out on bail.
Additionally, of the 772 children in the Census, 33 were considered missing and while 31 were located, active police investigations are ongoing into the location of two children who remain unaccounted for.
The Census – which was ordered by the Crisafulli Government – shines a light on the issue that was ignored by the former Labor Government during their decade of decline, which risked the safety of the vulnerable children and communities across Queensland.
The Census of self-placing children found*:
- 81 children were subject to a youth justice order.
- 51 were on bail.
- 144 have been subject to another youth justice involvement.
- 325 have a diagnosed disability or mental health disorder.
- 269 have a suspected disability or mental health disorder.
- 371 children noted they were missing or absent because they don't like the placement or prefer living elsewhere.
- 55 said they did not feel safe in their placement.
- 57 said they had conflict with another person living at their placement.
- 586 children found to be missing or absent during the census were found to be frequently missing or absent, or both.
- 44 per cent of the children are engaged with school.
The Census of the 772 self-placing children also found eight children were homeless, with the audit finding**:
- 49.4 per cent were known to be staying with their parents
- 26 per cent with friends/acquaintances
- 21.7 per cent with extended family
- 5 per cent with adult siblings
- 2.8 per cent with former carers
- 3.5 per cent with partner/partner's family
- 3.3 per cent moving between locations
- 1.1 per cent sleeping rough
As an immediate measure, the Crisafulli Government will embed Child Safety Officers with police at three sites to ensure a rapid information exchange with police and youth justice as part of a pilot.
The pilot will trial in Cairns, Caboolture and Logan and will see a Child Safety Officer (CSO) working after hours with police and youth justice officers to:
- Conduct risk assessments on children in care
- Analyse child protection information on the ground
- Assist in returning the child to their placement
- Act as a conduit to child safety to improve continuity of care and case work.
The Crisafulli Government will also strengthen information sharing between Child Safety and the Queensland Police Service by establishing a rapid information exchange to ensure officers on the ground have the information they need on children they encounter.
The Department has also been instructed to investigate options of how to best protect vulnerable children and the community by ensuring children in the state's care return to their placement.
The announcement comes as the Commission of Inquiry into the Child Safety system – which will expose the failures and damage Labor's broken system has caused the State's most vulnerable children and communities - holds its first public hearings in Cairns this week.
The Crisafulli Government is delivering the foundation of safety where you live by preventing crime before it happens and keeping young people on the right track, by continuing to roll-out reform including the State's first SecureCare facility, a dual-carer model in residential care, increasing the child safety frontline workforce by 20 per cent and a pilot of a new professional foster carer program.
Minister for Child Safety Amanda Camm said the Crisafulli Government was taking immediate action following the census.
"When I announced the audit into self-placing children, I said it was unacceptable to have one vulnerable child missing or absent from their state-placed care, and the results of the census have only strengthened that belief in my mind," Minister Camm said.
"To have 51 children out on bail and 81 subject to a youth justice order in the State's care and have them not be where they are supposed to be, is extremely concerning.
"That's why the Crisafulli Government has acted and will trial embedding Child Safety Officers with police to strengthen information sharing between the department and the police to ensure better outcomes for children in care and the community.
"It's also important to investigate all options on how we can ensure children in care are staying where they are supposed to be staying and not putting themselves in dangerous environments, or out roaming the streets at night breaking the law.
"These actions, along with our other reform, will lead to better outcomes for children in care and our communities.
"For 10 years the former Labor Government knew about these missing and absent children and never ordered a single audit to get an understanding of where they were or why they were not in their placement.
"It shows a complete lack of care for vulnerable children and an attitude of don't ask, don't tell that infected the department during their tenure in government, something the Crisafulli Government has turned around in 10 months of delivery for Queensland."
