MARK COLVIN: The Victorian Government is denying that there’s a problem putting juvenile offenders in care homes with vulnerable wards of the state. A former Department of Human Services whistleblower has told the ABC that he’s intercepted numerous sexual assault attempts, and physical assaults, because the housing mix is volatile. But the Community Services and … Continued
Parents of children with profound disabilities are being compelled to do a ”DOCS dump” due to a lack of support, a new report says. The report by Anglicare Sydney recommends state funding for a shared care residential school model in which children would be in care during the week and with their families on the … Continued
My spouse and I are both 52 years old. He earns about $53,000 net a year, I earn about $40,000 net. We have a mortgage of $152,000 on a house worth $1.2 million. We are paying extra off the house, $800 a fortnight, to hopefully pay it off by age 56. I have $166,000 in … Continued
A man with significant learning difficulties has been ordered to undergo a vasectomy to prevent him from having further children in a landmark legal ruling by the High Court. Mrs Justice Eleanor King, sitting in the Court of Protection, said there was “no question” of the 36-year-old having the mental capacity to use contraception and … Continued
The recent removal of a child from a young mother with a disability, reported in (the) Saturday Age, is heart-wrenching and disturbing and leaves me and those involved in the case in emotional turmoil. Goodness knows, then, how the poor mother, ”Rebecca”, is coping, let alone her child. It appears, however, that the removal of … Continued
This report shines a light on what has been a hidden problem in our disability system for many years. It results from the Commission’s research looking at the nature, extent and causes of relinquishment, focusing on children under 18 with disability. The Commission heard from parents, organisations that support parents, disability and parent advocates, service … Continued
Last June Lyn Bicknell went to her local police station and told officers that if they did not help her she would kill her intellectually disabled son. As desperate as she was – having just been pinned to a chair by the knife-wielding 15-year-old – she admits she would never have gone through with it. … Continued