Siblings reunited after being separated
What was the case?
Johanna was a kinship carer for her two granddaughters. Despite this, Child Protection decided to place their brother Byron into foster care.
Johanna did not know why Byron wouldn’t be placed with her but believed she had been:
- falsely accused of disregarding court orders
- seen by Child Protection as responsible for an incident that left Byron hypothermic.
Our enquiries
We considered the right to Protection of Families and Children ( section 17 of the Victorian Charter of Rights Act). We asked Child Protection to meet with Johanna to discuss Byron’s placement.
We also reviewed relevant records to understand why Child Protection had decided Johanna was not a suitable carer for Byron.
Outcome
We found Child Protection held inaccurate and conflicting information about Johanna in its case notes. This meant their decision to place Byron in foster care was unfounded.
To address this, Child Protection:
- corrected its records
- implemented training for workers on effective note taking
- counselled the worker who had made the errors
- apologised to Johanna.
Byron was placed with his siblings, in the care of his grandmother.