Family of girl who died of overdose in state care demands answers
The girl's parents told the ABC police informed them their daughter died of a suspected overdose, but they are yet to receive a written explanation from the Department of Child Safety.
The parents of a 17-year-old girl, who died in a residential care home in Ipswich, Queensland, are demanding answers regarding her death. Police initially informed her parents that she had died of a suspected overdose, but they have not received a written explanation from the Department of Child Safety. The girl's death marks a rise in deaths of children in state care, with deaths in Queensland up nearly 60% in the past year.
Her parents claim that she had reported drug use and suicidal behavior to child safety, but the agency did not move her out of the care home promptly. The girl's parents had sought help from child safety due to her self-harm and suicidal behavior after their divorce a few years ago. The girl's mother, who sent her to the care home because she had to work, was not informed of her daughter's death until four hours after it occurred. Her father expressed his grief, stating that the death was entirely preventable.
Written by urgent.news from ABC News AU's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
