Press Release – Call for enquiry on disabled children at risk

A principal and a Manukau City councillor are calling on the Ministers of Police and Social Development to launch an inquiry into the numbers of disabled children referred to the CYFS agency.

The principal who does not want his school or the young student identified, said that it has been very distressing for the staff at his school to feel so helpless in the face of what appears to be continual abuse of the young disabled student. Despite continual referrals action only took place after a casual conversation with a Manukau City councillor Colleen Brown in November 2008.

‘I just mentioned that I was at my wit’s end over the failure to get any response from government agencies and explained the case in some detail to Colleen,’ the principal stated.

The young student appeared to suffer from neglect – lack of food, bruising, cigarette burns and swelling around his genitals and blood-stained urine.

Councillor Brown who had been working with police to get an inter agency base for abuse victims established was able to use her contacts to get an immediate response.

‘The police contacted me first thing the next day and things started to happen,’ commented the principal.

The parent of the young person is appearing in court this week on a charge of assault.

Both Brown, who is the parent of a disabled son, and the principal are angry that it was a casual comment that has led to the partial resolution to this matter.

‘I have the emails I sent out that night to both the police and MSD after my meeting when the principal shared his concerns. In it I commented “Of course XXXXXXs fear is that a tragedy will occur and then there will be more hand wringing etc and another statistic.” The reality is that when agencies concerned with abuse situations and there is a disabled child involved the alarm bells should be screaming. Surely after repeated requests from the school someone should have acted. It should not depend on a casual meeting and someone with contacts high up in government departments to make sure that a child is safe,’ said Colleen Brown

‘It niggles at you that a disabled child might be seen as less important purely because of the fact that they have a disability, when in reality they are even more vulnerable,’ said Colleen Brown

Both agree that there is a wider issue involved. Parents of disabled children may find some aspects of their children’s care especially challenging. If parents do not have family support or a network of help then they may struggle with coping strategies. Neither the principal or Colleen Brown excuse the actions of the parent and they say that there needs to be ongoing support for parents and caregivers beyond the school hours and during holiday breaks.

‘The difficulty we both have,’ says Colleen Brown ‘is that anecdotally we know other teachers and principals have disabled students they are worried about. We are urging the Ministers concerned with these two government agencies to hold a full investigation into the welfare of disabled children.

ENDS

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