Children with behavioral issues are hard to talk to and when these children have no homes, no families and no friend, they are placed under the state care. The state is fully responsible to take care of such children until they reach their adulthood.
It turns out, however, that state parenting is not an ideal thing for some children. According to ABC News, Judge Greg Smith of Northern Territory condemned the Department of Territory Families for not knowing the whereabouts of a 14-year-old girl who was accused of property related offenses and was given under state parenting.
Judge Smith commented that the system of taking children into care and later leaving them on their own is a joke. He also added that the young problematic children are not given proper care and later they ruin their lives by making wrong choices. Later, the State puts the blame on the criminal justice system to deal with such cases.
The judge explained that he doesn't intend to target child protection but events such as the aforementioned in general. Territory Families minister Dale Wakefield said that children protection face a lot of difficulties dealing with children with placement problems. Agora Dialogue also published the news and considered the lack of responsibility of the department horrendous.
It also added that such events show the flaws in the system and that such children are always exposed to dangers. Children as young as 14 are left alone to decide what they want to do and where they want to go.
Meanwhile, it is imperative that the departments who look after children from broken families create a more organized way of keeping record of their whereabouts. Even though the girl was placed in a stable residence, there are hundreds more of such children who need proper care.
