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Left behind: Systemic inquiry into responses to children and young people who are the subject of multiple reports to Child Protection was tabled in the Parliament of Victoria on Thursday 4 June 2024.
The inquiry makes 17 findings and 13 recommendations to strengthen the child and family system’s capacity to provide more meaningful support earlier in children and young people’s lives.
Why we did this inquiry
We established this inquiry in November 2024 to examine how effectively the system responds to children and young people who are the subject of multiple reports (or re-reports) to Child Protection.
When a report to Child Protection is judged not to meet the threshold for it to intervene, the child’s family may be referred to other support services, and the report is closed. In this inquiry we explored whether this response protects children and young people from harm.
In our work, we have seen that some children and young people repeatedly come to the attention of Child Protection, often over many years, without their circumstances improving. The reported concerns are often deemed not to meet the threshold for Child Protection intervention, and referrals are sometimes made to support services. These referrals are often unsuccessful. This means children and young people are left in risky situations with the potential to experience more harm.
In our Lost, not forgotten inquiry, we called this the ‘refer and close roundabout’. In this inquiry, we examined cases where this roundabout concluded with the death of several children and young people by suicide. Despite the recommendations made in that inquiry, and some changes in policy and practice since, the issue persists.
What we looked at
This inquiry considered the impact of this pattern on children and young people and made recommendations to the Victorian Government aimed at ensuring that children and young people are not left in situations of chronic risk and ongoing harm.
The inquiry’s terms of reference were to:
- examine the service response to children and young people whose circumstances are assessed as not meeting the threshold for statutory intervention, including:
- the effectiveness of referrals to support services
- the number of referrals that are closed and result in re-reports, the reasons for closure, and the outcome, including whether there are further re-referrals to the same service
- the types of harms and risk experienced by the children and young people in these situations including any escalation of risk
- make recommendations to improve responses and ensure that children and young people at risk and those experiencing cumulative harm are provided with appropriate supports.