Justice James Wood's enquiry into the Department of Community Services ( DOCS ) handling of child harm cases agrees that it is impossible for the huge number of referrals to be investigated with any degree of certainty.
In future, DOCS will only act where " significant harm " is likely, with lesser cases being relegated to the private sector for followup.
This will satisfy nobody - and it sets the scene for lurid media headlines and a spate of finger pointing further down the track when inevitably a child death occurs and there is the accusation that earlier DOCS intervention could have saved that life.
We have a " mandatory reporting " regime that requires the medical profession, school teachers and others to report instances where they suspect child abuse is taking place.
We have a huge number of " good Samaritans " who look out for children who appear to be at risk - and we also have those who maliciously report child abuse as a " pay back " to extract revenge on a failed relationship or as part of a neighbourhood dispute.
The sheer volume means that it is impossible for DOCS case workers to spend the time necessary to fully investigate each of these reports - and as a consequence - from time to time one slips through the cracks and a tragedy occurs.
In a perfect world money would be no option and the government would provide the number of case workers DOCS would need to do a full in depth investigation of every matter referred to it.
The present decision to only investigate cases where " significant harm " is involved seems to be a case of " making do " with the resources available.
It is not perfect - and there will be future horror stories - but child care will simply have to join the queue alongside the health system, justice system and general welfare in doing what is possible with the limited funds available.
The present financial meltdown means that pool of money will shrink rather than expand in the immediate future !
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