'Girl X' care agency involved in new investigation into death of boy, 5
Police are investigating the death of a five-year-old boy who died under the care of the same agency involved in the Girl X case in NSW, which saw revelations of sexual abuse and the eventual drug-overdose death of a teenaged girl in state care.
The Daily Telegraph has reported the Colyton boy died in March last year.
He was under the stewardship of Uniting Care, the same agency which cared for the 14-year-old known as Girl X before she succumbed to a drug overdose in 2014.
An inquest later heard she had been raped repeatedly during her time in care at Gordon House in Pennant Hills before she died after injecting a mixture of heroin and ice.
According to the paper, the boy’s body is buried not far from Girl X’s.
Now the NSW deputy state coroner and the state’s ombudsman are investigating the death of the boy as well, while the state’s Department of Families and Communities Services has already completed its review.
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A spokesperson for FACS said Minister Brad Hazzard learned of the boy’s death in April last year but would not comment as it was currently a police matter.
The Daily Telegraph also reported the Wesley Mission run Uniting Care, which is responsible for 383 children, has been declared a ‘deferred’ agency by the government because it continues to fail accreditation tests.
A leaked email cited by the paper and dated November 7 revealed the reasons behind at least one accreditation failure.
“Unfortunately, we have not been able to demonstrate to the Office of the Children’s Guardian that we are ready to be accredited on this occasion,” the email read.
“What they would like to see is an increase in consistency across our Out of Home Care program.”
Long periods of "deferral" can cost agencies their right to care for children, however, Uniting Care has stressed that it is currently accredited.
Uniting director of Resilient Families Bob Mulcahy said the organisation could not comment on the boy’s death but said the re-accredition process was routine and did not mean it was uncertified to care for children.
