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"Death in care criticism "

THE State Government will consider new safety measures for psychiatric patients in care after a Coroner hit out at a "fatalistic professional attitude" to the risk of suicide.

Helen Jeffrey, 30, suffocated herself with a plastic bag provided by Nambour General Hospital staff on March 24 last year.

She had been admitted to the psychiatric intensive care unit after attempting suicide and became the second sectioned psychiatric patient in two years in Queensland to end her life using a plastic bag.

Maroochydore Coroner Ken Taylor last week made nine recommendations over Ms Jeffrey's death to Health Minister Stephen Robertson – expressing surprise that hospital staff had not identified plastic bags as a potential suicide aid.

"I have felt somewhat uneasy about what I shall, for the sake of convenience, term a fatalistic professional attitude towards suicide risk," Mr Taylor wrote.

A spokesman for Mr Robertson said the Minister was awaiting a copy of the recommendations which include a call to remove all objects "not uncommonly used as a means of suicide or attempted suicide".

Mr Taylor also recommended that Mr Robertson examine the feasibility of fitting remote pulse-monitoring wrist bands to all psychiatric patients held in state care.

Staff psychiatrist Keith Muir told the inquest that, in 35 years of clinical experience, he had never encountered such a death.

Asked by Mr Taylor if he was alarmed by the presence of plastic bags in psychiatric units, Dr Muir said: "Yes and no."

"The fact is that people who are determined to kill themselves . . . you know, that old expression, 'Where there is a will, there is a way'," Dr Muir said.

Mr Taylor said it was with a "considerable degree of incredulity" that he received the evidence that plastic bags had not been identified as a potential suicide aid before Ms Jeffrey's death.

Although Ms Jeffrey's family was entitled to be disappointed, the Coroner made no criticism of the standard of care.

"I am satisfied there was no wilful neglect," he said.

The Health Minister's office said plastic bags were already being removed "where ever practical" from psychiatric wards in line with precautions triggered by Ms Jeffrey's death.

But the spokesman said it would be difficult to eliminate their presence because plastic bags were necessary to line "communal" bins for potentially infectious or unhygienic waste.  (Source :http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/death-in-care-criticism/story-e6freoof-1111112550110)

"Grandmother questions foster care death by holding Leduc protest"

Delonna Sullivan dod 4 mths in Alberta Canada foster care 216caA Warburg area woman isn't giving up on her granddaughter's memory and is leading a charge to look into Alberta's foster care deaths.

The women took to Leduc's main street to protest in front of the Alberta Family and Child Services office Friday, July 15, with around a dozen supporters and hundreds of signs, some of which read "stop killing our children" "work with families not against them" and "Secrets? What are you hiding and covering up?"

"On April 5, a social worker from this office went to my daughter's place to apprehend her roommate's (two) children," the grandmother explained, speaking in front of the Leduc office. "As an afterthought they apprehended my daughter's baby, and refused to let any family member take that baby and just stuck her in a foster home on the south side of Edmonton."

An affidavit signed by a social worker two days later, on April 7, claimed that the child needed to be removed as "the infant has been subjected to disharmony in the home and the child is left with inexperienced babysitters" and her mother "appears to suffer from an alcohol addiction."

On April 8, the grandmother visited the baby at the foster parent's house with her daughter. She said that they were distressed by what they saw.

"She had poop on the side of her bum from not being cleaned up properly previously. She had such a diaper rash it was disgusting," she said.

"I asked (the foster parent) how long she had diarrhea. When we saw her on Friday she had diarrhea for three days. And I asked if she had taken her to a doctor and (the foster parent) said 'no, if she's not better by Monday I'll make an appointment.' Monday she died. She let that baby lay there and suffer for five days without taking her for any sort of medical attention."

"Qld reviews foster child's crash death"

Queensland's child safety minister says there will be a full review into the case of a foster child who died when she crashed her carer's car.

Police say they were not chasing the 13-year-old when she crashed a car she had taken from her carer's home into a tree at Redbank Plains on Wednesday night.

The officers were on their way to the home the girl was sharing with foster carers when they spotted her at traffic lights.

They activated their flashing lights and the girl sped through a red light but officers chose not to pursue her, Queensland Police Union president Ian Leavers has said.

Child Safety Minister Tracy Davis said the girl was known to authorities and a full review of the case is under way.

On completion it will be reviewed by the Commission for Children and Young People, she said.

The police Ethical Standards Command is also investigating the incident.

Officers were headed to the girl's Collingwood Park home after an emergency call saying the girl had become violent and had taken the car.

Mr Leavers said they spotted the vehicle at an intersection and flashed their red and blue lights.

But they made the decision not to follow her after she ran the red light.

"Police immediately stopped the intercept and got out of their vehicle and discontinued immediately," Mr Leavers told the ABC.

"The 13-year-old has taken a corner and lost control of the car and crashed into a tree and was killed instantly."

Foster Care Queensland executive director Bryan Smith said many people would be affected by the tragedy, including her foster carers, birth parents, and child protection officers involved in her care.

He said the girl's foster carers would be offered counselling.  (Source : http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/qld-reviews-foster-childs-crash-death-20120412-1wsu5.html)

 

"Baby boy dies after being hit by government (DoCS / FACS) car in driveway of Ipswich home"

Braxton Nowlan who was run over at his grandmothers driveway in Clarke St, Ripley.

UPDATE: A Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services spokesman has this afternoon confirmed that a department car was involved in an incident yesterday afternoon in which a young boy died..

“The department is providing the utmost care and support to both family members and staff,” he said.

“The department will review this incident and this review will also be externally scrutinised. The police are continuing their investigation and will also prepare a report for the coroner’s office.”

The Department of Child Safety said due to ongoing investigations it did not intend on commenting further.

Earlier:15 month-old boy killed yesterday when he was hit by a car reversing down the driveway of his Ipswich home has been remembered as a “happy-go-lucky” child with a “smile that could lighten up a sad face”.

Braxton James Nowlan, who would have turned two in August, was hit and killed on the driveway outside his Ripley home by a government car in the tragic accident.

"Mother locks daughters in bedroom so pedophile partner can stay over"

A convicted pedophile is reportedly allowed to live in the same house as two young girls so long as their mother locks them in their bedroom at night.

The girls grandmother claims social services approved the plan before the girl's step-dad moved in, despite knowledge of his history.  She says the girls, both under the age of 13, are given a baby monitor so they can let their mother know if they need to go to the bathroom.  “The alarm and the other so-called precautions stop my granddaughters being abused are a load of rubbish,” she told the Sunday Mirror.

The New Stolen Generation by DOCs Rally at Parliament House Sydney - Wed 2 June 2010 9am till 12

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DOCs Rally Updates

First of all, a huge thank you to all those who came to the Rally out front of Parliament House yesterday (Wednesday 24 Feb 2010), on behalf of NSGBD (New Stolen Generation By DOCs).  The morning was a huge success with a lot of publicity gained on the corruption within the child protection system, further shown by Pru Gowards statements in todays paper about the implementation of consent orders to be mandatory. 

Pru Goward states that consent orders are signed, yet all legislation under the 1900 Crimes Act states it is blackmail.  Ms Goward had promised the spokeswoman for NSGBD that she would meet with her yesterday to discuss all the issues surrounding the protests, yet failed to even turn up, another political figure showing their lacking of spine when it comes to the crunch on a real matter.

Just as the last stolen generation had to wait so many years before every man and his dog jumped on the bandwagon to collect funding to make money it looks like this stolen generation is copping the same attitude.  Unfortunately we will not wait that long for the sentencing to begin.

The Australian Crime Commission are aware of the gathering of evidentiary documents proving fraud / misleading documents / cases being contaminated by docs workers, and it is matter of time before the sentencing will begin.  For those docs workers who have had the upper hand for so long and destroyed so many lives, your time is running out.

"Rally to reunite Colleen, Kirsten and "Kerrry 2" Stolen by DoCS! Repeal All Child Protection and Forced Adoption Laws! Support Women's and People with Disabilities' Right to Choose! Justice for All New and Past Stolen Generations by DoCS."

Poster Kerry 2 DoCsBusters 2f69bColleen Fuller and her daughter Kirsten have been fighting for the return of their son and grandson ‘Kerry 2’ who was stolen by the Department of Human Services (DoCS) in November 2007. Colleen as well as Kirsten, is of Aboriginal descent; both have disabilities, and are struggling to overcome poverty.

NSW Department of Human Services did this to ‘Kerry 2’, Kirsten and Colleen on the basis of Kirsten’s disability, Aboriginality, poverty and being unwed mother.  In 2008 a Local Court in Sydney ruled for a progressive restoration to reunite ‘Kerry 2’ and Kirsten to the exclusion of the father - After 12 months the Department of Human Services (DoCS) were to remove their services.  The father until he addressed his violence and substance abuse issues was not permitted to live in the home of Kirsten and ‘Kerry 2’ for 12 months to 2 years.

In 2007 the Auntie, Uncle of the father with the assistance of the father, tried to force Kirsten to have an abortion of the foetus - with the threat that DoCS were going to take the child from Kirsten the moment ‘Kerry 2’ was born. Kirsten requested the father to leave after this threat was made to defend the right to choose.  After ‘Kerry 2’ was born - before Colleen, the mother, and their community even had a chance to begin to raise ‘Kerry 2’;  DoCS took the child with the assistance of the Auntie, Uncle and the father.  

At the time neither the father, the Auntie or the Uncle advised Colleen and Kirsten that the father had a history of violence, as well as substance abuse until it came out in court.  In 2009 DoCS overturned the local Court decision after applying for a stay of the Local Court order.

"Gunnedah grandmothers rally against removal of Indigenous kids"

Pru rally pic 3 14 feb 2014 sml fbd7bOn the sixth anniversary of the Australian government's apology to the Stolen Generations, grandmothers from Gunnedah have protested against what they say is a new generation of stolen children.

The group Grandmothers Against Removals was formed in January in an effort to highlight the process of removal used by the New South Wales Department of Children’s Services.

The New South Wales Greens say the number of children taken since the Stolen Generations Inquiry in 1997 has tripled.

"When the 'Bringing Them Home Report' was released in 1997 about the Stolen Generations there were a little under 3000 kids in long term care across Australia," said Greens member, David Shoebridge.

"We wind through to 2012 and there's been effectively a five-fold increase in the number of children that's been taken from Aboriginal families from across Australia."

With around 6,000 Aboriginal children currently in out-of-home care in New South Wales, the Grandmothers Against Removals refuse to remain silent.

"26 May 2014 National Day of Action Rally at every Child Protection Office Nationwide"

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UNITE WITH ONE POWERFUL VOICE - BRING OUR CHILDREN HOME

The Gunnedah Grandmothers Against Removals have called for a National Day of Action on 26 May 2014 (the anniversary of the day the “Bringing Them Home” report was released and National Sorry Day).

This is a day for all victims of the Australian Child Protection Industry to UNITE with one voice to BRING OUR CHILDREN HOME and force the Failed Government Departments to be accountable for the damage they have caused to the lives of vulnerable children and families.

SORRY TO THE STOLEN GENERATION, THE FORGOTTEN AUSTRALIANS AND FOR PAST FORCED ADOPTIONS IS MEANINGLESS WHILE EVER THE CRIMES OF GOVERNMENT CONTINUE.

Network in your local areas, and any groups you belong to for our cause. Organise your own Rallies, local and group events, posters, t- shirts and banners all over Australia for the National Day of Action 26 May 2014.

This is our Day for Action all over Australia so start planning how you can all contribute to make it a success. All ideas are welcome.

If you fear your local office then travel to another office where you are not known. We are many and united together we have a powerful voice that needs to be heard to save another generation of vulnerable children.

You Stole my child.
You hoped I would go away.
You underestimated my love.

I will never give up.
I will be a voice for my child.
I am not alone.
There are many like me.
By circumstance united.
Together we will be heard.
We will never stop fighting for Restoration.

"STOP the DOCS Friday afternoon swoop and scoops. STOP Goward's new laws. Support and opportunity for families NOT child removal.

The removal of Aboriginal children from families across NSW and Australia is at crisis point. A higher number of Aboriginal children are currently in "out of home care" than were removed from their families at any time in the twentieth century.

The Bringing them Home report in 1997 argued that the paternalism and discrimination of the Stolen Generations era remained alive in many of the practices of child protection agencies. It showed that the majority of children were being removed for "neglect", a consequence of the social inequality suffered by Aboriginal people.

Bringing them Home's recommendations for reform were ignored and the number of Aboriginal children in "out of home care" has increased more than five times since 1997. In NSW, approximately one in ten Aboriginal children is currently in care. The pain in communities is immense and many are taking about "a new stolen generation".

New amendments to Child Protection legislation have been introduced by Community Services Minister Pru Goward and are currently before the NSW Parliament. These laws will make it even harder for families who have lost children to DOCS removals to be reunited. Adoption will become possible once a child has been in care for just six months if they are under two year old, or twelve months if older than two. "Guardianship" orders are also being introduced which would similarly strip families of rights to reunification.

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