Child suicide rate shocks

Children involved with the Department of Child, Youth and Family (CYF) are killing themselves at a rate 15 times higher than their peers, new research shows.

Results of the department study astonished even the researchers conducting it, the Dominion reported yesterday.

They show that one in 1000 children aged between 12 and 17 killed themselves within a year of coming into contact with the department.

That compared with one in 15,000 children of the same age who committed suicide in the rest of the population.

Previous reports had put the suicide risk among welfare children at about five times those who had no involvement with the department.

The latest research, due to be published in August, is the world's first comprehensive study of suicide among children in welfare.

Children known to the department made up one-third of the 129 children in the 12-16 age group who ended their lives between 1994 and 1998.

Child, Youth and Family research manager Craig Smith said it had been known for some time that abused and neglected children faced a much higher risk of suicide.

"They are young people who have experienced abuse and neglect, who have mental health issues that they are trying to work through, who often have lower levels of support from their families.

"You would expect more suicides. But it was a surprise to see the rate at a national level. People understood that we were facing real difficulties with a group of young people who are seriously disadvantaged."

However, Mr Smith anticipated that a $700,000 monitoring project, announced by Youth Affairs Minister Laila Harre last week, could make a dramatic dent in the suicide rate by targeting children most likely to try killing themselves.

The project, run by the Wellington School of Medicine, would back up CYF's youth services strategy that screens about 9000 of the 12-to-17-year-olds who come to the department's notice each year for suicide risk.

"I'm really excited about it. It is one of the most wonderful things that is happening in the area of youth suicide," Mr Smith said.

For about a year, the screening programme has seen social workers ask simple questions of almost all children aged over 13 and refer about 200 of the highest risk to a second assessment and to specialist help.

Many of those children would have already tried to kill themselves, he said.

The monitoring project would provide expert back-up support to social workers dealing with high-risk children and ensure they got the expert mental health support they needed, Mr Smith said.

It is expected to be running by August.

New Zealand leads the developed world in youth suicide rates (15- to 24-year-olds) with three killing themselves each week.

Suicide among younger children is still relatively rare. However, figures issued last year show that rate is increasing.

In 1998, 13 children aged between 10 and 14 killed themselves compared with eight children of the same age in 1997.

- NZPA