A CORONER investigating the death of a four-year-old autistic boy has questioned why the Department of Human Services (DHS) Warrnambool office closed its case file on the family after they were discovered living in a putrid old bus at the back of a Camperdown house.
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The boy, identified as Rory, died in a Mildura district home two-and-a-half years later after he consumed a tablet of oxycodone, a painkiller similar to morphine, that was most likely found loose around the house.
On several occasions, DHS staff closed their case on the boy’s family before he died and never submitted a protection application to the Children’s Court.
In her finding on Monday, coroner Jennifer Tregent said the department was first notified in 2003 of concerns that Rory’s parents, who also had two other older children, were frequently drug-affected and could not care for the children.
The department found the family a month later after they had shifted from Mildura to Camperdown, but the DHS file was closed after a department worker was satisfied the family had found alternative accommodation.
“The department’s concern was focused primarily on appropriate housing and they simply ignored the allegations of drug use,” Ms Tregent said.
DHS became involved with the family again three months later.
This was after Camperdown police attended a house to execute a search warrant and found them living in the old bus.
Senior Constable Peter Clayton and Constable Rebecca Creed discovered the bus was littered with mouldy mattresses, wet clothing and dirty dishes and they located a number of spoons with the residue of white powder and several hypodermic needles.
Constable Creed described the three children, who were aged about nine, six and two, as dirty and thin.
DHS staff inspected the bus two days later and confirmed the putrid conditions, noting it presented “a high risk environment” where the occupants would have little hope of escaping a fire without being seriously burnt.
Their report detailed concerns that the parents regularly appeared to be drug-affected, were not providing a safe and clean environment or adequate food and led a transient lifestyle.
“As a result of a voluntary agreement, the children were placed with a family member in Ballarat.
“It is unclear why it was, at this point in time, a protection application was not made given the extreme and significant risk factors that had been exposed, which were identical to those relating to the first notification,” the coroner said.
The alternative living arrangement quickly broke down but the case remained unallocated, with DHS unable to determine which region should assume responsibility for the family.
The children were allowed to return to the care of their parents and the case was once again closed after the family shifted back to the Mildura area and the Department of Human Services lost contact with them.
An angry Senior Constable Clayton subsequently contacted DHS saying he had serious concerns for the safety of the children.
The department then transferred the file to its Mildura office where staff referred the family to a not-for-profit welfare agency and the case was once again closed despite the mother attempting suicide and both parents being seen affected by drugs and alcohol.
Fifteen months later Rory was found dead in his bed after consuming an OxyContin pill that the coroner found was most likely left lying on the floor of the home.
Ms Tregent recommended that DHS should periodically review the cases of families who leave their regions while their whereabouts remains unknown and for information about such families to be accessible to police and principals.
She also called for DHS staff workers to receive education on identifying and dealing with people suffering the effects of drug and alcohol dependency.
