❓ Dr. Pettitt asks about the number of newborns removed from mothers in WA hospitals, focusing on homelessness and risky housing. The response provides data on children entering care within 7 days of birth, clarifies the role of homelessness and domestic violence in child protection, and references pre-birth planning programs.
AnsweredQoN 2014Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
(1) How
many babies were removed from their mother in hospital after birth, aggregated by
hospital, in: (a) 2018-19; (b) 2019-20; (c) 2020-21; (d) 2021-22; (e) 2022-23; and (f) 2023-24 to date? (2) How
many mothers in (1), respectively, were experiencing homelessness? (3) How many mothers in (1), respectively, were in
risky housing circumstances, such as a household where family and domestic
violence is present?
many babies were removed from their mother in hospital after birth, aggregated by
hospital, in: (a) 2018-19; (b) 2019-20; (c) 2020-21; (d) 2021-22; (e) 2022-23; and (f) 2023-24 to date? (2) How
many mothers in (1), respectively, were experiencing homelessness? (3) How many mothers in (1), respectively, were in
risky housing circumstances, such as a household where family and domestic
violence is present?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
28 May 2024
Responded by
Minister for Agriculture and Food representing the Minister for Child Protection
Response time
10 days
The Department of Communities (Communities) advises: (1)
The below data represents children who entered provisional protection and care within seven days of their birth and includes circumstances where the mother may have already been discharged from the hospital at the time their infant was brought into care.
Communities and the Department of Health work collaboratively with families, their networks and support services to increase safety for infants pre and post birth. King Edward Hospital supported the piloting and statewide roll out of the Pre-Birth Planning Program initiated in 2019 which has seen a significant reduction in infants entering provisional protection and care at birth. See Tabled Paper X.
(2-3)
Communities fulfills its statutory requirements in the Children and Community Services Act (2004) (the Act) by making recommendations to the Children’s Court of Western Australia when an investigation has determined that a child is in need of care and protection due to suffering harm, or being likely to suffer harm, as a result of physical, emotional, and/or sexual abuse and/or neglect.
A variety of living arrangements may be reflected in a Child Safety Investigation as ‘homelessness’. An individual can still have access to a variety of safe accommodation options, and still be recorded as ‘homeless’ despite having access to accommodation through family and friends, transitional accommodation services, and short-term accommodation options. Where it is identified that a family or individual may be at risk of homelessness, Communities provides multiple points of support, such as priority referrals for the public housing waitlist, transitional accommodation and supports to access private rental housing.
Homelessness is not an abuse or neglect type, for which the Department could make a recommendation for provisional protection and care; therefore, an infant cannot be taken into the protection and care of the CEO under the sole basis of homelessness. Within the Act exposure to family and domestic violence is included under definition of Emotional Abuse. It is unclear what the member is referring to in regard to “risky housing circumstances”. Where there are concerns relating to Family Domestic Violence during a Child Safety Investigation, safety planning and appropriate referrals occur, including referrals to refuge where an individual is consenting. See Tabled Paper X.
The below data represents children who entered provisional protection and care within seven days of their birth and includes circumstances where the mother may have already been discharged from the hospital at the time their infant was brought into care.
Communities and the Department of Health work collaboratively with families, their networks and support services to increase safety for infants pre and post birth. King Edward Hospital supported the piloting and statewide roll out of the Pre-Birth Planning Program initiated in 2019 which has seen a significant reduction in infants entering provisional protection and care at birth. See Tabled Paper X.
(2-3)
Communities fulfills its statutory requirements in the Children and Community Services Act (2004) (the Act) by making recommendations to the Children’s Court of Western Australia when an investigation has determined that a child is in need of care and protection due to suffering harm, or being likely to suffer harm, as a result of physical, emotional, and/or sexual abuse and/or neglect.
A variety of living arrangements may be reflected in a Child Safety Investigation as ‘homelessness’. An individual can still have access to a variety of safe accommodation options, and still be recorded as ‘homeless’ despite having access to accommodation through family and friends, transitional accommodation services, and short-term accommodation options. Where it is identified that a family or individual may be at risk of homelessness, Communities provides multiple points of support, such as priority referrals for the public housing waitlist, transitional accommodation and supports to access private rental housing.
Homelessness is not an abuse or neglect type, for which the Department could make a recommendation for provisional protection and care; therefore, an infant cannot be taken into the protection and care of the CEO under the sole basis of homelessness. Within the Act exposure to family and domestic violence is included under definition of Emotional Abuse. It is unclear what the member is referring to in regard to “risky housing circumstances”. Where there are concerns relating to Family Domestic Violence during a Child Safety Investigation, safety planning and appropriate referrals occur, including referrals to refuge where an individual is consenting. See Tabled Paper X.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.