WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised the following article contains the name of an Indigenous person who has died.
An Indigenous child was subject to sixteen notifications to the child protection department before her death in April this year, an independent report into the Department of Children and Families (DCF) has found, whilst also noting extensive failings in its interaction with the child's family.
The five-year-old child, known as Kumanjayi Little Baby for cultural reasons, disappeared from the Old Timers Town Camp outside Mparntwe/Alice Springs on April 25. Her body was found five days later, after she was allegedly abducted and murdered by Jefferson Lewis, 47. Mr Lewis has not entered a plea and is being held in custody.
In the wake of her death, Northern Territory Child Protection Minister Robyn Cahill announced an independent review into the events leading up to her death, to be led by former New South Wales Police Commissioner Karen Webb and long-time senior NT public servant Greg Shanahan.
The final report, tabled in the NT Parliament on Tuesday, made 45 recommendations — all accepted by the NT Government — and revealed extensive failings, calling for a reset of the department's function.
Kumanjayi Little Baby's family had been known to the DCF since her mother was pregnant, the report said. Most of the 16 notifications involved Kumanjayi Little Baby's father and included reports of verbal and physical violence and breaches of domestic violence orders.
At one point, she was placed in a house in Yuendumu with a man who had an extensive criminal history, including making five threats to kill.
No domestic and family violence (DFV)-informed risk assessment was carried out, the report found.
The DCF advised that they don't "routinely undertake formal checks, such as police history or intelligence checks, on people nominated by families to form part of the natural network," the report said.
Following an incident in August 2022, when her mother was assaulted and the then 16-month-old Kumanjayi Little Baby was struck on the head, the department rated the child's safety at two out of 10.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by National Indigenous Times (@natindigtimes)
The scaling level — known as the "Signs of Safety" model — was found to be inconsistent and did "not appropriately identify risks and treatments to improve child safety," the report reads.
"In fact, the instrument in its current form is likely to lead to understatement of risk and overstatement of safety if not applied thoroughly and consistently."
On Tuesday, Ms Cahill said that for "229 days the case remained open with no tangible improved outcome for Kumanjayi Little Baby, in spite of a further assessment done in January 2023, which noted her vulnerability and an increasing level of concern".
"Kumanjayi Little Baby was repeatedly exposed to DFV throughout her life, and that her mother was, in the Review's words, effectively responsible for protecting her children while experiencing violence herself," she said.
Further notifications were received this year, including in April. An investigation opened on March 7 remained open at the time of Kumanjayi Little Baby's death.
"Taken together, the notification history demonstrates that DCF had repeated opportunities over a number of years to consider the child's circumstances in the context of an ongoing pattern of DFV," the report says.
"The records also demonstrate that DCF's assessments increasingly identified the significance of that pattern, including the child's young age and vulnerability, the frequency and escalation of DFV incidents, coercive and controlling behaviour and the absence of identified safety."
There was no evidence of a "sufficiently clear, consistent and effective child protection framework operating across DCF," the report said. It argued that the situation "cannot be considered solely as an individual case management failure" but rather is emblematic of department-wide issues.
Ms Cahill said: "The Review found DCF needs a clear, consistent and overarching child protection framework that sets out its statutory role and how its policies, practice frameworks and risk tools support it."
"While DCF has policies, procedures and practice frameworks in place, the Review found they need to be consolidated and brought into line with current legislation."
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
Lifeline (24-hour crisis line): 131 114
Full Stop Australia: 1800 385 578
Beyond Blue: 1300 224 636
Ruby Gaea (NT): 08 8945 0155
