2014 Gathering Leicester – Thursday 1345 – Goldfields

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Getting Back to the Kurturtu Child Protection and Family Services, Western Australia Prowse • Garfield Samuels • Mel • Pene Linsley

Presented by:

Title 2818 Subtitle Arial Arial Narrow

Getting Back to the Kurturtu (Getting back to the Heart)

Garfield Prowse District Director

Melanie Samuels Assistant District Director

Pene Linsley Senior Practice Development Officer

Goldfields…the most progressive District in the state

D e v i s s e r g o r P a t i s l o a r t M s u A The in Goldfields

t c i istr

The  police  were  very  worried  about  Bobby,  Katie,  Lisa,   Melissa  and  Eric  because  the  adults  were  so  drunk  that  no   one  could  look  after  the  kids,  and    the  kids  are  too  little  to   look  after  themselves.   Wake up

Tjuntjuntjara

Martin

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Connie

Albert

Jess

Daphne

Sarah

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Lyndon

?

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Trish

Kelvin Nadia

Mary

Anisha

Danny

Shana Martin

? Lola

Randall

Garfield with Aine

Garfield with Mum

Words  and  Pictures  for  Nadia  and  Mary  so  they  know  why  they  are  in  care  again   and  not  living  with  their  mum.    

Mum  wants  you  to  know  that  she  loves  you  very  much.    Nadia  remembers  happy  times  when  she   lived  with  mum  like  times  when  they  cooked  together  and  made  stir  fry’s.    Mary  also  remembers   happy  times  with  mum  like  when  they  went  to  the  park  together  and  Nadia  would  ride  her  bike.    

On  the  6th  November  2013,  Mum  Sarah  came  to  DCPFS  (the  Department  )  ofPice  in  Kalgoorlie  with  her  two   daughters,  Nadia  and  Mary  because  she  says  Nadia  didn’t  want  to  stay  with  her  anymore.    Nadia  told  Aine  (Case   Worker)  that  her  mum  hit  her  with  a  stick  and  a  chord.    As  Aine  was  in  Esperance,  it  was  hard  to  work  out  what   was  going  on.    Mum  seemed  to  get  even  angrier,  yelling  and  swearing  at  the  departmental  workers,  which  made   Nadia,  and  Mary  really  scared.    Mum  was  also  threatening  workers  to  do  bad  things  to  them  and  this  made  the   workers  think  Sarah  (mum)  might  have  been  taking  drugs  or  drinking  for  her  to  say  such  horrible  things  around   Nadia  and  Mary.    Mum  says  she  hadn’t  been  drinking  or  using  drugs  and  that  she  didn’t  hit  Nadia  with  a  stick  or   chord.  

The  Department  is  worried  that  the  relationships  between  Sarah  and  her  children  and  the  rest  of   the  family  get  really  mixed  up  and  have  done  for  a  long  time.    This  makes  it  hard  for  the  children   to  know  who  is  in  charge  and  who  is  the  one  looking  out  for  them  to  keep  them  safe.    Workers   are  also  worried  that  when  they  talk  with  Sarah  and  Nadia  and  then  talk  with  Cheryl  or  other   people  in  the  family  different  things  get  said.    This  makes  it  hard  for  workers  to  keep  working   with  Sarah  and  her  family  to  come  up  with  a  plan  that  will  keep  Nadia  and  Mary  safe.  

The  Department  are  also  worried  because  Nadia  says  Mum  has  been  taking  drugs  and  she  has  seen  needles   falling  out  of  her  pocket.    Workers  have  seen  Mum  get  angry  really  quickly  when  she  uses  drugs  like   marijuana  and  speed.    When  Mum  is  using  drugs,  she  is  also  around  other  people  who  use  drugs  and  this  is   not  safe  for  the  girls.    Sometimes  when  Mum  is  using  drugs  with  other  people,  there  are  scary  Pights  that   happen  between  Mum  and  her  family.    Nadia  and  Mary  hear  mum  swearing,  shouting  and  saying  grown  up   things  that  children  shouldn’t  hear.    If  they  keep  hearing  this,  they  might  think  that  it  is  the  way  to  solve   problems  and  they  can  act  like  this  too  which  is  not  OK.    Mum  says  she  is  worried  about  this  too  and  that   she  knows  Nadia  and  Mary  sometimes  copy  the  things  she  does,  like  when  she  has  taken  things  from  the   shops  without  paying.  

The  Department  is  most  worried  that  Nadia  and  especially  Mary  as  she  is  only  3  years  old,   might  accidentally  get  hurt  when  mum  is  Pighting  with  other  grown  ups.    Mary  already   looks  like  she  is  so  use  to  this  that  she  sings  when  Mum  is  angry  which  tells  the  workers   that  something  is  wrong  for  a  little  girl  to  look  OK  when  Mum  is  not  acting  like  a  safe  mum.     Mum  says  she  hasn’t  noticed  Mary  do  this  but  that  when  she  is  yelling  and  angry  Mary  tells   her  to  stop  talking  and  sometimes  holds  her  mouth  so  she  will  stop.  

The  workers  can’t  talk  to  Mum   when  she  is  acting  all  scary  and   mean  and  they  decided  that  it  was   not  good  for  Nadia  and  Mary  to  be   around  their  mum  when  she  was   so  angry.      Aine  went  to  Court  and   told  the  Magistrate  about  her   worries.    The  Magistrate  agreed   that  Nadia  and  Mary  shouldn’t   stay  with  mum  for  now  and  that   the  Department  need  to  take  care   of  them  until  things  with  mum   can  get  sorted  out.  

Mum  has  worked  really  hard  before  to  have  Nadia  and  Mary  in  her  care.    She  says  she  is  not  always   using  drugs  or  drink  when  she  gets  really  angry  but  that  she  is  a  mother  hurting  for  her  children.     Departmental  workers  have  seen  this  pattern  in  Sarah  for  a  really  long  time  where  she  gets  into  a  rage   and  it  looks  like  it’s  really  hard  thing  for  Mum  to  change  but  Mum  needs  to  show  departmental  workers   that  she  can  Pind  other  ways  to  deal  with  her  hurts  so  that  she  doesn’t  drink  or  take  drugs  and  end  up   in  big  scary  Pights  around  Nadia  and  Mary.    Mum  says  she  wants  to  Pind  other  ways  too  because  she   doesn’t  like  how  it  feels  when  she  is  really  angry  like  this.  

Mum  will  work  with  Jenny,  Aine,  Russell,  Aunty  Violet,  her  mum,  Cheryl,  Nanna  Raylene,  Lorena,  Aunty   Trilby  and  other  people  at  the  Department  to  build  up  her  safety  network  again  so  that  Nadia  and  Mary  can   be  safe  when  they  are  with  her.    Mum  will  work  with  everyone  to  write  a  safety  plan  so  that  Nadia  and  Mary   are  not  left  with  people  who  drink,  take  drugs  or  might  hurt  them.    Mum  will  show  Mary  and  Nadia  that  she   can  care  for  them  in  a  calm  way  and  they  do  not  need  to  be  frightened  when  they  see  her  and  spend  time   with  her.    Mum’s  best  hope  is  for  Mary  and  Nadia  to  have  a  good  life,  go  to  school  everyday  and  one  day  get   their  own  house.  

Presenting the Words and Pictures to the Children

Getting Back to the Kurturtu Child Protection and Family Services, Western Australia Prowse • Garfield Samuels • Mel • Pene Linsley