Riley has been under the care of the Department for Child Protection (CPFS) for several years, despite repeated requests from early learning centre staff to address his extreme trauma-related behaviours, no therapeutic services have been provided.

 

Riley has a history of abuse and neglect, his mother has significant drug and alcohol related issues and his father was incarcerated; at the age of 2 he was placed in the care of his paternal grandparents and as such, he was considered a closed case with the Department for Child Protection.

 

After commencing at an early learning centre, Riley had unpredictable bouts of extreme anger, violence and aggression towards adults and his peers and displayed concerning sexualised behaviours. Educators implemented trauma informed behaviour guidance strategies in an attempt to support Riley however he wasn’t responding and multiple serious incidents causing injury to adults, peers and property were reported (both via internal channels and to the CPFS).

 

The Centre strongly advocated with the CPFS for intervention including psychological services and anger management but these were not made available to Riley as his family were disengaged and did not have the financial capacity or desire to pay for private services. His grandparents insisted that “He’ll be fine – he’s just like his dad was at this age.”

 

In 2019 the Inclusion Support Program (ISP) expanded to include funding for ‘trauma related behaviours’ however for the Centre to be eligible for funding, they required documentary evidence from a health professional. Unfortunately, as Riley’s family was not interested in accessing services and as the Department for Child Protection did not provide (or mandate) any psychological services or referrals, the Centre was unable to access any additional support or funding to better support Riley and this severely impacted his experiences in the Centre and that of his peers who were often fearful of him.

 

When his father was released from prison, Riley’s behavior escalated and Educators urged the CPFS to reopen his case as they were concerned for his welfare and home environment. For several months, the Department failed to address the serious reports and concerns around Riley’s behaviour, it was only as a new case manager came on board that his case was reopened. 

 

Despite Riley’s case being reopened, he was provided with no additional support as there was still no formal documentation outlining his extreme behaviours.

 

Riley was removed from his grandparent’s care as they were allowing Riley’s father to have unsupervised access. After several failed foster placements due to serious incidents and the ongoing observation of extreme behaviours, the Department has still not intervened and have not provided psychological services or referrals for Riley. 

 

Riley commenced formal schooling in February 2021 however without therapeutic support he remains at a high risk of exclusion from school.