Police battle CYF over ill girl living rough on streets

By GREGG WYCHERLEY

Hamilton police are fighting a legal battle to force a Government department to take a mentally ill teenager into care to prevent her destroying her life with drugs and street prostitution.

Police will apply today for a Family Court order for Child, Youth and Family (CYF) to take the 16-year-old girl into custody.

But the girl's mother was shocked when told by a police youth aid officer that CYF intended to oppose the order.

She said her daughter suffered from a mental illness which, when combined with her drug use, impaired her judgment.

The girl had been living an itinerant life, moving around the country working as a prostitute, sleeping in derelict buildings and eating restaurant leftovers.

In an email sent to the girl's parents, a Hamilton police youth aid officer said CYF Legal Services intended to "strongly oppose" the custody order.

"They told me they are not interested in X because of her age.

"They told me that they would not place any resources into X and that their time and resources would be better spent on the 12-year-olds."

The email concluded: "In a nutshell, X is in the too-hard basket and they were not interested."

But the girl is only 16 years and 4 months old, legally a minor, and eligible to be taken into care for compulsory treatment if required.

The girl's mother said CYF's stance was absurd and in direct contradiction to advice from other Government agencies.

"My daughter is in need of care and protection and I have the support from the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service.

"This is a Government agency that assessed my daughter as needing these services. How can CYF go against the advice of health professionals such as psychiatrists?"

A report from Health Waikato's Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service supported her claim that her daughter needed urgent care.

The author of the report said the girl needed treatment for substance use disorder at a facility that could provide for her mental health problems.

"Based on X's report I do not think that she is safe. On the contrary, I feel that the decisions she has already made in terms of the activities that she engages in are not safe."

He said he had discussed treatment with the girl, but she had refused, and he questioned her ability to make decisions to refuse such treatment.

CYF spokesman Steven Ward said he was not aware of the legal aspects of the case, but denied any suggestion that the service had given up on the girl.

He did not know why the service would oppose the custody order, but said other options were available, including family group conferences and referrals to support programmes and services.

"We are strongly committed to working with the girl's family and police to find what will be the best option to support her in the future.

"We believe we have provided the best care and assistance in the case and we're going to continue to work hard to find the best outcomes for the girl."

Inspector Steve Christian said police could not comment on individual cases.

But he said that under the Children and Young Persons Act police could seek a declaration from the court on issues of care.

He said police went to court on such matters about 20 times a year.