CHILD PROTECTION FACILITY
— KALGOORLIE
960. Hon ROBIN SCOTT to the Leader of the House representing
the Minister for Child Protection:
I refer to a child protection facility
on Aslett Drive in Kalgoorlie, which houses neglected children. I was recently
advised that the facility was set on fire, causing damage of around $400 000.
(1) Who is responsible for setting
and enforcing the rules for these children?
(2) Is it true that the children may
come and go from the facility as they please?
(3) Is the
minister aware that children in the facility are breaking into cars at 3.00 am,
threatening rape and murder of the staff employed to care for them, and
engaging in solvent sniffing?
(4) If yes to
(3), does the government concede this is another failure in a long line of
failures by the Department of Communities?
Hon SUE
ELLERY replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question. I might just make this point: children are in care
for all sorts of reasons, not necessarily because of neglect.
(1)–(3) The
Department of Communities is responsible for the protection of children in the
care of the CEO, in accordance with the Children and Community Services Act
2004. Department of Communities staff do not have the legal authority to
deprive a young person of their right to liberty in the community. If a child
or young person in care leaves a residential group home, staff intervene to
persuade the child or young person to
return, and will report their absence in line with established protocols
between the Department of Communities
and the Western Australia Police Force. The minister is regularly briefed on
child protection matters. Some
children in care have experienced significant trauma, which can lead to complex
behavioural features. Department of Communities child protection staff
work with a child or young person to identify long-term trauma-informed
strategies that assist in reducing their risk-taking behaviours. Criminal or
threatening behaviour in the community, including when it involves a child or
young person, should be reported immediately to the WA Police Force.
(4) No.