Queensland Government
Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services
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Child death case reviews

Table of contents:

Graph

Deaths of children and young people about whom the department received information under the Child Protection Act 1999 in the three years prior to their deaths, by cause of death, Queensland, 1 July 2010 to 30 June 2011 Deaths of children and young people about whom the department received information under the Child Protection Act 1999 in the three years prior to their deaths, by cause of death, Queensland, 1 July 2010 to 30 June 2011

YearAccidentalNon - Accidental DeathNatural CausesSudden Infant Death (SIDS)SuicideUnknown/Not yet determined
1 July 2009 - 30 June 2010 8 3 23 4 11 18

Tables

DescriptionAnnual
CD.1: Deaths of children or young people about whom the department received information under the Child Protection Act 1999 in the three years prior to their deaths, by age group, Queensland Excel (XLS, 25 KB)
CD.2: Deaths of children or young people about whom the department received information under the Child Protection Act 1999 in the three years prior to their deaths, by cause of death, Queensland Excel (XLS, 26 KB)
CD.3: Deaths of children or young people about whom the department received information under the Child Protection Act 1999 in the three years prior to their deaths, by Indigenous status, Queensland Excel (XLS, 26 KB)
CD.4: Deaths of children or young people about whom the department received information under the Child Protection Act 1999 in the three years prior to their deaths, by sex, Queensland Excel (XLS, 25 KB)

What are child death case reviews?

The death of any child about whom the department receives information under the Child Protection Act 1999 (the Act) in the three years prior to their death will be subject to a review as stipulated by the Act.

A review is conducted in circumstances where:

  • the department was aware of alleged harm or risk of harm to the child
  • the department took action in relation to the child under the Act
  • the chief executive (Director-General) reasonably suspected the child would need protection once they were born, although they were not born at the time the suspicion arose.

Reviews are conducted by the department under Chapter 7A of the Act. The department may commission an independent reviewer, or conduct the review internally, to complete review reports.

The reviews do not investigate cause of death, but consider service delivery to the subject child under the Act in relation to protecting the child from harm and supporting the child's individual needs and identity, and also around the success of the department's engagement with other agencies in providing quality service delivery to the subject child.

Why this topic is important

Reviews are the primary mechanism for in-depth analysis of the department's practice framework, systems and service delivery. They provide the opportunity for a 'spot audit' of departmental practice surrounding the case of a child about whom the department has received information under the Child Protection Act 1999 .

The department takes seriously its commitment to openness, transparency and accountability. There is also a commitment to fostering a learning and development culture within the department in order to promote continuous improvement in practice quality. This is the real benefit that child death case reviews have provided and will continue to provide.

Trends

In 2010-11, the number of children who died and were known to the Department of Communities in the three years prior to their deaths was 67. This is an increase over the 2009–10 reporting period in which 64 children and young people known to the department in the three years prior to their deaths passed away, however, it is a decrease from the 2008–09 reporting period when 79 children and young people died who were known to the department in the three years prior to their deaths.

It is important to note that the deaths of these children and young people stem from a wide range of causes, including:

  • diseases and morbid conditions
  • Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
  • accidental deaths, including road fatalities, drownings and house fires
  • suicide
  • fatal assaults.

Given the nature of the causes of death, the number of deaths in any future period is not predictable and any rise or decrease in child deaths over a given period cannot be linked to any single cause.

 

There has also been an increase in the general population of children aged zero to 17 years and, due to this, there are increasing numbers of children becoming known to the child protection system.

"Knowledge" of a child covers the full range of concerns; from things such as children being yelled at or smacked in public, left home alone or attending school without lunch; to the most severe forms of child abuse and neglect.

Between 1 July 2010 and 30 June 2011, the most common cause of death for children known to the department was natural causes, such as disease and morbid conditions which accounted for 34 per cent of the deaths.”