... the tide is turning
My initial involvement with the Department of Child Safety (then known under another name) started in 1993 in the year of my first child’s birth. I left the father due to Domestic Violence before her birth but still suffered with his threats and violence. The shocking thing is I was the one being notified against b/c of all the trouble of the Domestic Violence breaches I put on the ex-partner for breaching the orders and my name - not his - was on the notification unbeknown to me until 2007.
I agreed to a PSO – Protective Supervision Order later after my first child was born due to the domestic violence I was suffering which I successfully accomplished. During this time I had another child but not included on the order to my denial...my first bit of ground I stood on.
This PSO remained throughout with many requests for this to expire due to no issues on my end and very rare communication from the Dept. I sought the Dept and kept them informed of change of address and would query the expiration of the order. I was legally illiterate to know what I could do myself and the Dept saw and used it to their advantage, not that of my childrens.
My next involvement with Dept. Of Families happened in 1997 after a rape incident the previous year that started to effect my feelings and my relationship with my new partner whom I started seeing when the rape happened. My new partner and I also just had a child.
Another PSO was put on the 2 of my remaining children b/c I was advised by legal teams then to agree to what Dept. Of Families wanted even though there was no proof of harm to the children let alone support from the Dept to cope with my situation at the time. I and my partner retained custody of my children. I never saw from the Dept. again after this PSO was issued with both these PSO’s remaining until 1999 when the Child Protection Act 1999 was issued and they immediately expired due to no grounds for them to take me back to court.
We again came to the Dept’s attention in 2002 due to an emotional breakdown I suffered. I was accused of severely abusing my children, which I had 4 of by this time. No proof was forth coming or any medical grounds. This case was dismissed from court. While all 4 children were in the brief care of the Dept. the children and away from the carer’s due to emotional, physical and mental abuse happening to them on a nearly daily basis.
The children were telling us about these incidents while we were having supervised contact visit’s with a departmental officer ignoring all complaints from the children and bruises and burns we witnessed and asked to have sighted at the time by a doctor which never took place.
The Children had enough when they ran away and demanded to be returned to our care immediately, a month before it was due to go to court and where it was dismissed. A social assessment had taken place just before this with the social assessor using all the complaints against the carer’s from the children against us. How fair - NOT!
Even though the above case was dismissed I asked to have a 12 month PSO in place to have constant observation from the Dept so that our children weren’t removed again which was agreed to take place weekly. These weekly visit’s did not happen, let alone any visit happening to our home at all. We had the order revoked 9 months after it was issued due to this and also due to the fact we didn't know how to have it revoked earlier.
Again after another few years of absence from the Dept. I have again come to their attention due to an incident from myself and my eldest child who was drinking alcohol and had left home. I went to the dept. for help but received none. I mishandled the situation with my teenager due to tiredness and despair of the situation and therefore instead of helping or supporting, the Dept turned around and applied for another CPO. Again no grounds only that my teenage child didn't want to come home as my child wanted free reign to drink alcohol and stay out all night without the Dept coming back onto me for this. The dept also encouraged this choice and behaviour but obviously didn't inform the magistrate of this, even though I did.
My child’s reasoning for not coming home was that if this child did something rebellious or criminal I wouldn’t get in trouble with DoCs for it. The reason for the removal of my remaining children was due to the fact I admittedly had a nice quiet word with a departmental officer stating a hypothetical situation to her and calling her some factual names that this officer got offended over and 4 days later they took the remaining children into care and applied for a CPO for all of them even though my estranged husband, whom I amicably separated from never had a say and the children were living with him with only the youngest being in my care.
We have had the social assessment and court conference issues finalised as well as gone to hearing on the matter. I self represented due to my legal aid being rejected after the social assessor falsely attributed me with a 'maybe' mental illness which determinded the denial of my legal aid. I was never proven to have had the mental illness then or since.
The hearing was very favourable to us as the parents. I had responded to the affidavit's and filed them in, copying the Dept's moves, asking Questions, and reading Court Rules, Acts and other legislative material. I worked with the department using professionals that I sought throughout for the so-called concerns the Dept deemed me to have and still have even though professional service providers state otherwise.
Due to the Magistrate's uncomfortableness in giving the Dept ANY custody orders, an interim order was put in place ordering the Dept to reunify. This is working well with estranged husband but not with me due to the Dept sticking to original concerns and ignoring professional feedback but never mind it will all be determined by the Magistrate. I hope.
This is the furtherest I’ve gotten into the court system with DoCS and again no grounds of abuse given to us, or stated in the affidavit apart from my quiet word to a Departmental officer which didn’t involve two swear words. . .and twisted past history which I am now in full knowledge of as to the many notification’s apparently against me – over 20. Out of all of them I have only been visited by DoC’s 5 times due to 4 known notifications since 1993 and out of those 4 I’m contesting 3 substantiated due to this being the incident of Domestic Violence I received from ex partner in 1993 so have asked for an internal review which I know I will have to go with the tiered complaint procedure system to get to the external review. But that's ok.
It’s just now time and patience to wait it out. The saddest thing is now we are all involved in counselling due to being involved with DoCS and only b/c of this. Never needed counselling before our involvement with DoCS to this extent.
Since my children have been in care this time, they have had the charter of rights denied them, their rights and wishes ignored with absolute no consultation coming from the Childrens Separate Representative and two of the children are teenagers. They have not been informed in writing of their placements or given information about how to complain if they have any complaints about the Department of Child Safety let alone appeal processes when contact was denied and/or reduced.
They have been physically and emotionally abused by an officer of the Dept. and 2 police officers on one occasion, a child has a possibility of Hepatitus and other contractual disease scare with this still needing to be checked for possible contraction of Hepatitus which DoCS is trying to cover, all 4 children suffering anxiety due to separation and ontop of all that we have had contact reduced or denied from daily phonecalls with their father when they were first removed to 2 hours a month and where all children currently living separately from each other and only seeing each other for 1 hour a month with reasons falsely given by the Dept.
I have not at any time abused my children physically, mentally, spiritually, or emotionally and definitely not sexually and I haven’t allowed these things to happen to my children by anyone around me so WHY IS IT I HAVE BEEN SO INVOLVED WITH THE DEPARTMENT so often?
Because I’m a caring consistent but an individual and determined parent. . . And that’s all I have ever been and that’s all I’ll ever be because that is in the BEST INTERESTS AND WELFARE OF MY CHILDREN which is the paramount consideration of the Child Protection Act 1999 that DoCS is supposed to think of FIRST !
My crime is that I’m just not a robot for DoCS to manipulate and maneuver and tell what to do without solid reasons and evidence to support their claims. I was when first involved b/c I didn’t know any better, never being involved with the Department before having children. I'm fully educated as to the tactics of the Dept of Child Safety and I'm here to help support and educate other parents on this same unfortunately untarred, non-managed and crime ridden road!
Thank You for reading.
- Paula - Queensland
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