Why is everything DOCS' fault? What about the parents?

There was a case that came to light yesterday that's making my blood boil.

The bare facts are this:

A 13 year old girl whose parents have split, returned from visiting her father in Queensland to her mother's home in NSW. Mother wasn't there. For days. Finally the girl calls police and they notify DOCS.
The mother is found - she'd gone to stay with friends in Woollongong without bothering to tell her daughter- and the girl is put on a train by one DOCS worker, to be met at the other end by another DOCS worker, to be reunited with her mother.
Somewhere along the way, the girl does a runner - possibly not keen on being reuinited with the mother who had left her to fend for herself?? - and the girl's parents blame DOCS. Threaten to sue. Even though she was quickly found and is safe.

Why is this DOCS' fault? Plenty of 13 year olds catch public transport. This kid wasn't troubled and had no history with DOCS. SHE was the one who had contacted police to report her mother missing!!

Was putting her on a train really negligent?

And what kind of parents have no contact with their own child for several days when she's travelling between states? They didn't notice she was 'missing' during that time and it was the GIRL who contacted police because she was distressed. What about THEIR responsibility in this situation?

DOCS is not a perfect organisation but what about the responsibility of the parents in this case? Why aren't THEY being charged with neglect?

Instead, the father has said:

"I'm a crane driver and we've got a duty of care to people at work. If I put someone in that much danger I could lose my job.

"I want her safe and then I'm going to take these people apart. I'm going to write representations against DOCS, I'll need some legal help here.

"They're not getting away with this crap. She could be dead. I know Sydney.''

The mother made similar statements, slamming DOCS.
Gee, I wonder how long before he gets a paid interview on ACA or Today Tonight....?

The result of the whole public outcry - a classic bit of DOCS bashing - is that now a DOCS worker will accompany every child everywhere. Meaning there will be far less workers on the front line able to investigate real cases of dire abuse, like the shocking ones we've seen this week.

Comments

[Amy]

Oh my Lord! Steaming is hissing out of my ears just reading the father's statement, Mia. What a load of bullcrap! These stupid people make me laugh, and not in a good way. I'm so sick of their jumping up at the first chance to sue anyone for their own wrongdoings, and cashing up on it along the way. (Partly why i've stopped watching ACA & Today Tonight.) What else but a case of blame shifting? And why do they think they can get away with these frivolous lawsuits? Puh-lease! Get real, people.

[Judy]

I feel the same way. DOCS is only an organisation, not some magical being that can know all, cure all, fix all. Some of the feral parents out there should not be allowed to HAVE children, the ghastly way they carry on. Have you seen the outdoor shots of their homes on the tv news over the last few nights? They look like the council tip! (No - actually our council tip is far neater) You don't need a science degree to keep things a bit neat and tidy. You don't have to be rich to take a little pride in your surroundings. You see women and children in third-world countries diligently sweeping bare dirt with stick brooms, in order to keep their little houses neat and tidy.
You can't blame DOCS for all the crazies out there. Is it getting worse, or are we just hearing more about it??

[Nina]

DOCS does the best it can with very limited resources. It really depresses me that people blame DOCS before they blame the parents! :(

[Mel]

I'm so glad you put this up there. The media are mindless pack animals sometimes with their 'DOCS in crisis' stories.

The majority of work DOCS does is absolutely amazing - but no body ever hears of the cases that work.

[Dataceptionist]

And exactly how did the girl "return(ed) from visiting her father in Queensland to her mother's home in NSW" to begin with?
Did her father drive her? Seemingly not from the info presented. If the train/plane, unaccompanied, is good enough for HIM to put her on, why is it different for DOCS? If he HAD driven her down to Sydney, surely he would have stayed to ensure she was ok before driving off again, which is not the case.
What a load of bollocks. Everyone's fault but their own seems to be their mindset.

[Rosie]

Maybe they should sue each other? He should sue her for not notifying him (or their daughter) that she was going away) and she could sue him for putting their daughter unaccompanied on a plane/train/bus. The daughter could apply for legal emancipation (or whatever you call divording of kids from parents) and they could all sell their stories, and live happily ever after, but seperately.

Idiots like these take the DOCS workers away from the cases that really need them - they are part of the reason that we have things like the case in Adelaide, the DOCS staff are too busy dealing with these fools to get to the cases that actually NEED something done.

[Cerry]

Oh, so THAT'S what happened. The article I read in the paper today was a little vague.
I don't see what DOCS did wrong. They put a 13 year old on a train by herself, after she seems to have gotten from Queensland to New South Wales by herself, and has then had the maturity to call the police and tell them that her mum's disappeared and she's worried.
Girl more than likely either decides she doesn't want to see mum, or wants to get back at mum by disappearing for a while (that's what I'd be doing if my mum did that). How is that DOCS' fault?
More importantly, how are those parents allowed to have a kid?

[Nicole]

This comment isn't related to the above case - which is ludicrous to even attempt to blame DOCS, but it's regarding the tragedy that occurred yesterday on the south coast...
How did this happen?!?
A man released on bail for domestic violence was allowed to return to his home to care for three children after his wife left bruised and battered?!?
My first thought was HOW did the mother leave her children in this home knowing what he was capable of. As I've never been a victim of domestic violence, I can't imagine what frame of mind you would be in, but isn’t your first instinct to protect?...
My second thought was although police notified DOCS of their concern for these children, why didn't the police or DOCS or SOMEONE step in and take those poor children to a safe place. Questions have to be asked. Tragically it's too late now for those precious little lives, but how can we stop this sort of thing from happening again?

[Dreamqueen]

I'm so with you on this one Mia, I've been saying this for years. No one takes responsibility, they say that the Government is responsible for everything, they are responsible for anti-social behaviour, no matter what goes on, it's always the Government's responsibility. When are people going to take responsibility for having kids and being accountable for their actions? A parent's role in life is to guide their children through right and wrongs and help them learn and integrate into society. They are responsible for this child and her well being, not DOCS. They are negligent parents and it's bloody typical that they want to sue because they were negligent not DOCS. DOCS are so overworked and underpaid they do the best that they can, they dont always do a good job but majority of them are doing they best that they can for a society that doesn't want to be responsible. As I've said a million times before, you need a license system to have children !!!

[Richard]

It saddens me to think that these two parents will continue to breed (with someone else obviously).

The gene pool is shallow enough already and heavily polluted.

[Dataceptionist]

Nicole apparently what I read about the case in Eden was that he bashed his wife, she went to the police and had an AVO taken against him, but the police are powerless to remove children in that situation with an AVO, it becomes a DOCS matter.
Its such a tragedy.