Lilly has a history of trauma and was placed in the care of her grandmother at the age of 2 by the Department for Child Protection, for almost two years her grandmother has faced barriers in seeking specialist appointments to address Lilly’s developmental delays and behavioural issues.

 

Lilly’s grandmother expressed significant concerns about her granddaughter’s development and wellbeing with her case worker and family GP shortly after Lilly was placed in her care. 

 

The family GP was able to provide a referral to a pediatrician for further assessment however when her grandmother attempted to make an appointment, the pediatrician’s office advised that they did not see children in care of the Department and suggested she contact the Department for further advice. 

 

Lilly’s grandmother along with the Director at the Early Learning Centre Lilly was attending made multiple unsuccessful enquires with the case worker. The issue was escalated to the Centre’s Social Inclusion Coordinator for further enquiries and advocacy with the Department. 

 

Despite repeated attempts to obtain clear information about next steps and referral pathways there was no clarity provided. One case worker (in a relief role) suggested that the Department would cover the cost of a pediatrician if a referral was made by a GP but despite multiple further enquiries, the Department could not provide a list of pediatricians that worked with children in their care.

 

Several more attempts of communication followed and another case worker advised that this was not the case and that Lilly should be referred to the Child Development Service.

 

This direction was confusing to Lilly’s grandmother and the Centre as they had attempted to communicate with the Department for over six months to obtain referral pathways to services which never eventuated.

 

Lilly commenced Kindy in 2021 but is experiencing significant behavioural issues. She is still unable to receive support to access specialist appointments and has been regularly excluded from school which is significantly impacting her learning, wellbeing and development.