❓ Hon. Sue Ellery asks about reports and investigations of child abuse in WA between March and May 2010. The Minister provides data on reports of suspected sexual abuse, safety and wellbeing assessments, and initial inquiries for neglect, physical, and emotional harm, but refers questions on charges to the Minister for Police.
AnsweredQoN 2925Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
(1) For the period 1 March 2010 to 31 May 2010, what were the number of reports of suspected child sexual abuse received, by district and by category of mandated reporter?
(2) For the period, 1 March 2010 to 31 May 2010 what were the number of suspected child sexual abuse investigations recorded during that month?
(3) For the period 1 March 2010 to 31 May 2010, what were the number of individuals charged as a result of a report of suspected child sexual abuse?
(4) With reference to (3), what were the nature of these charges?
(5) For the period 1 March 2010 to 31 May 2010, what were the number of reports of suspected child abuse by district in the categories of, -
(a) neglect;
(b) physical abuse; and
(c) emotional abuse?
(2) For the period, 1 March 2010 to 31 May 2010 what were the number of suspected child sexual abuse investigations recorded during that month?
(3) For the period 1 March 2010 to 31 May 2010, what were the number of individuals charged as a result of a report of suspected child sexual abuse?
(4) With reference to (3), what were the nature of these charges?
(5) For the period 1 March 2010 to 31 May 2010, what were the number of reports of suspected child abuse by district in the categories of, -
(a) neglect;
(b) physical abuse; and
(c) emotional abuse?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
11 November 2010
Responded by
Minister for Child Protection
Response time
22 days
The Department for Child Protection has recently implemented a new client system and there is ongoing data quality work to ensure the accuracy and completeness of data migration from the previous client system.
Due to the differences between the two systems, reported results may contain errors and may not be comparable with data previously reported.
In March 2010, the Department for Child Protection implemented a new assessment and investigation framework.
In the context of this question, the term "reports" equate to an
Initial Inquiry
.
Initial inquiries
are made for the purposes of determining whether action should be taken to safeguard or promote a child's wellbeing. If there are concerns for a child, a
Safety and Wellbeing Assessment
is initiated.
The previously named
Assessment for Concern for a Child
equates to a new
Safety and Wellbeing Assessment
. The purpose of a safety and wellbeing assessment is to assess the current circumstances of the child and family, as these relate to risks, harm, future danger, safety, wellbeing and protective concerns, in order to determine whether further actions should be taken to safeguard or promote the child's wellbeing.
The previously named
Investigation
equates to a
Safety and Wellbeing Assessment with a harm assessment.
A harm assessment is completed, as part of the safety and wellbeing assessment, for concerns relating to abuse and neglect where significant harm or risk of significant harm is suspected.
(1) During the period 1 March 2010 to 31 May 2010, there were 535 reports of suspected child sexual abuse arising from mandatory reports.
By District:
- Armadale District 52
- Cannington District 28
- East Kimberley District 11
- Fremantle District 31
- Goldfields District 25
- Great Southern District 17
- Joondalup District 50
- Midland District 58
- Mirrabooka District 22
- Murchison District 19
- Mandurah District 25
- Perth District 25
- Pilbara District 29
- Rockingham District 41
- Southwest District 18
- West Kimberley District 31
- Wheatbelt District 41
- District not recorded 12
By referrer:
- Doctor 81
- Midwife 6
- Nurse 45
- Police Officer 268
- Teacher or Principal 135
(2) During the period 1 March 2010 and 31 May 2010, there were 335 safety and wellbeing assessments with a harm assessment where the concern category related to suspected child sexual harm.
By district:
- Armadale District 16
- Cannington District 25
- Crisis Care District 25
- East Kimberley District 1
- Fremantle District 17
- Goldfields District 15
- Great Southern District 11
- Joondalup District 30
- Midland District 26
- Mirrabooka District 61
- Metropolitan Support Services (CHILDfirst Interview Unit) 1
- Murchison District 16
- Mandurah District 18
- Perth District 13
- Pilbara District 17
- Rockingham District 11
- Southwest District 19
- West Kimberley District 1
- Wheatbelt District 12
(3 - 4) These data are not collected in the Department for Child Protection's client information system. Questions regarding charges should be referred to the Minister for Police.
(5) Between 1 March 2010 and 31 May 2010, the number of initial inquiries for child concerns received for the following primary natures of concern were:
- neglect (605 initial inquiries),
- physical harm (428 initial inquiries),
- emotional harm (237 initial inquiries),
(a) The 605 initial inquiries relating to neglect were received by the following districts:
- Armadale District 37
- Cannington District 56
- Crisis Care District 26
- Head Office 2
- East Kimberley District 18
- Fremantle District 18
- Goldfields District 53
- Great Southern District 33
- Joondalup District 57
- Midland District 42
- Mirrabooka District 66
- Murchison District 47
- Mandurah District 27
- Perth District 23
- Pilbara District 20
- Rockingham District 27
- Southwest District 19
- West Kimberley District 9
- Wheatbelt District 25
(b) The 428 initial inquiries relating to physical harm were received by the following districts:
- Armadale District 44
- Cannington District 39
- Crisis Care District 18
- East Kimberley District 4
- Fremantle District 22
- Goldfields District 16
- Great Southern District 24
- Joondalup District 28
- Midland District 36
- Mirrabooka District 33
- Murchison District 31
- Mandurah District 24
- Perth District 18
- Pilbara District 25
- Rockingham District 26
- Southwest District 26
- West Kimberley District 6
- Wheatbelt District 8
(c) The 237 initial inquiries relating to emotional harm were received by the following districts:
- Armadale District 9
- Cannington District 18
- Crisis Care District 14
- East Kimberley District 2
- Fremantle District 22
- Goldfields District 8
- Great Southern District 9
- Joondalup District 22
- Midland District 18
- Mirrabooka District 24
- Murchison District 21
- Mandurah District 3
- Perth District 35
- Pilbara District 10
- Rockingham District 6
- Southwest District 9
- West Kimberley District 1
- Wheatbelt District 6
Notice: This document is created or edited using unregistered or evaluation copy of rtLib valid for testing or development purposes only. To use it for productive or any other purposes please register it. You may purchase the license on
http://www.rtlib.com
Due to the differences between the two systems, reported results may contain errors and may not be comparable with data previously reported.
In March 2010, the Department for Child Protection implemented a new assessment and investigation framework.
In the context of this question, the term "reports" equate to an
Initial Inquiry
.
Initial inquiries
are made for the purposes of determining whether action should be taken to safeguard or promote a child's wellbeing. If there are concerns for a child, a
Safety and Wellbeing Assessment
is initiated.
The previously named
Assessment for Concern for a Child
equates to a new
Safety and Wellbeing Assessment
. The purpose of a safety and wellbeing assessment is to assess the current circumstances of the child and family, as these relate to risks, harm, future danger, safety, wellbeing and protective concerns, in order to determine whether further actions should be taken to safeguard or promote the child's wellbeing.
The previously named
Investigation
equates to a
Safety and Wellbeing Assessment with a harm assessment.
A harm assessment is completed, as part of the safety and wellbeing assessment, for concerns relating to abuse and neglect where significant harm or risk of significant harm is suspected.
(1) During the period 1 March 2010 to 31 May 2010, there were 535 reports of suspected child sexual abuse arising from mandatory reports.
By District:
- Armadale District 52
- Cannington District 28
- East Kimberley District 11
- Fremantle District 31
- Goldfields District 25
- Great Southern District 17
- Joondalup District 50
- Midland District 58
- Mirrabooka District 22
- Murchison District 19
- Mandurah District 25
- Perth District 25
- Pilbara District 29
- Rockingham District 41
- Southwest District 18
- West Kimberley District 31
- Wheatbelt District 41
- District not recorded 12
By referrer:
- Doctor 81
- Midwife 6
- Nurse 45
- Police Officer 268
- Teacher or Principal 135
(2) During the period 1 March 2010 and 31 May 2010, there were 335 safety and wellbeing assessments with a harm assessment where the concern category related to suspected child sexual harm.
By district:
- Armadale District 16
- Cannington District 25
- Crisis Care District 25
- East Kimberley District 1
- Fremantle District 17
- Goldfields District 15
- Great Southern District 11
- Joondalup District 30
- Midland District 26
- Mirrabooka District 61
- Metropolitan Support Services (CHILDfirst Interview Unit) 1
- Murchison District 16
- Mandurah District 18
- Perth District 13
- Pilbara District 17
- Rockingham District 11
- Southwest District 19
- West Kimberley District 1
- Wheatbelt District 12
(3 - 4) These data are not collected in the Department for Child Protection's client information system. Questions regarding charges should be referred to the Minister for Police.
(5) Between 1 March 2010 and 31 May 2010, the number of initial inquiries for child concerns received for the following primary natures of concern were:
- neglect (605 initial inquiries),
- physical harm (428 initial inquiries),
- emotional harm (237 initial inquiries),
(a) The 605 initial inquiries relating to neglect were received by the following districts:
- Armadale District 37
- Cannington District 56
- Crisis Care District 26
- Head Office 2
- East Kimberley District 18
- Fremantle District 18
- Goldfields District 53
- Great Southern District 33
- Joondalup District 57
- Midland District 42
- Mirrabooka District 66
- Murchison District 47
- Mandurah District 27
- Perth District 23
- Pilbara District 20
- Rockingham District 27
- Southwest District 19
- West Kimberley District 9
- Wheatbelt District 25
(b) The 428 initial inquiries relating to physical harm were received by the following districts:
- Armadale District 44
- Cannington District 39
- Crisis Care District 18
- East Kimberley District 4
- Fremantle District 22
- Goldfields District 16
- Great Southern District 24
- Joondalup District 28
- Midland District 36
- Mirrabooka District 33
- Murchison District 31
- Mandurah District 24
- Perth District 18
- Pilbara District 25
- Rockingham District 26
- Southwest District 26
- West Kimberley District 6
- Wheatbelt District 8
(c) The 237 initial inquiries relating to emotional harm were received by the following districts:
- Armadale District 9
- Cannington District 18
- Crisis Care District 14
- East Kimberley District 2
- Fremantle District 22
- Goldfields District 8
- Great Southern District 9
- Joondalup District 22
- Midland District 18
- Mirrabooka District 24
- Murchison District 21
- Mandurah District 3
- Perth District 35
- Pilbara District 10
- Rockingham District 6
- Southwest District 9
- West Kimberley District 1
- Wheatbelt District 6
Notice: This document is created or edited using unregistered or evaluation copy of rtLib valid for testing or development purposes only. To use it for productive or any other purposes please register it. You may purchase the license on
http://www.rtlib.com
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