Family demand CYF accountability

Extended family of a dead Southland toddler are demanding changes at Child, Youth and Family after the agency admitted multiple errors contributing to the boy’s death.

The 17-month-old boy died in October 2015 after being discharged home from hospital, despite concerns that he was being abused.

The boy had a broken leg, broken tooth, crushed hand and other injuries CYF believed had been inflicted by his mother or her boyfriend.

In its file on the family, the agency said both the toddler and his 3-year-old sister were ‘‘unsafe’’, but allowed him to return home, where he died five days later.

An autopsy revealed bruises to the boy’s left eye and the right side of his forehead. He had suffered a blow to the head and spinal injuries.

The boyfriend of the boy’s mother was charged with murder but pleaded not guilty. He was found dead in prison after a suspected suicide the following month.

All the identities in the case have been permanently suppressed.

Between March and August last year, CYF carried out a review of its handling of the case, and a manager met with the boy’s family in September and acknowledged failings in its handling of the case.

The family secretly recorded the meet- ing, and provided the recording to Radio New Zealand. During the meeting, the CYF representative said no-one could have predicted the toddler’s death, despite the agency’s repeated involvement in the family.

She admitted multiple errors had been made, but maintained the agency had fulfilled its statutory obligations.

In the meeting, the CYF manager was unable to explain why the toddler was discharged from hospital back to the home where his injuries were believed to have occurred.

As well as an insufficiently strong safety plan, the manager admitted the agency had not explored other options for the boy’s discharge, like placing him in care, and said social workers did not give enough consideration to warnings about the boyfriend, or ask tough questions of the family, RNZ reported.

Social workers weren’t sure they needed to be concerned about the cause of his injuries, she said.

Yesterday, an extended family member of the toddler said they wanted changes made at CYF, so someone else’s child did not die in similar circumstances.

They want an inquest held for the boy so all details of the case are disclosed and problems at CYF addressed.

The extended family was ‘‘appalled and angry’’ at how CYF had handled the case.

CYF had failed the family on several levels and they wanted the opportunity to ask questions at the inquest.

CYF deputy chief executive Murray Edridge did not answer questions specific to the case. However, he said the Office of the Chief Social Worker had carried out a review into CYFs involvement with the family of the dead toddler.

The preliminary findings and recommendations of the review were still under consideration and CYF may release an executive summary of the review when it was completed.

A number of the toddler’s family members had been involved in the review and CYF had provided them with a high level verbal summary of the preliminary findings and recommendations.

‘‘We now know that at one meeting family recorded the discussion without the consent of all those present, and they have shared this recording with the media. ‘‘

CYF had asked Radio New Zealand not to broadcast the recording and CYF did not accept that the broadcast was in the public interest, Edridge said.

Such reviews were an effective tool by which CYF reviewed its handling of a case and informed family and staff, promoting frank sharing of information about a case.

‘‘If staff and family knew that confidential review conversations might be recorded and subsequently broadcast by news media, it would raise a significant risk of parties declining to be free and frank in their engagement with the review process.’’