Reports into girls' deaths find fault with CYF

12.00pm

Social workers' familiarity with the family of Masterton half-sisters Olympia Jetson and Saliel Aplin may have resulted in them discounting the risks the girls faced from domestic violence and abuse, according to two critical reports released today.

Olympia, 11, and Saliel, 12, were murdered by their stepfather, Bruce Howse, at their Masterton home in December, 2001.

Howse is serving a 25-year minimum prison sentence.

The reports of Child Youth and Family (CYF) chief social worker Shannon Pakura and the Office of the Commissioner for Children into the care of the girls, released today, are critical of the way the case was handled.

They both said that from August 2001 to the girls' deaths, policies and procedures were not followed.

Problems included that a social worker had not adequately investigated a sexual abuse allegation Olympia made against Howse in August 2001 and police were not informed as required by a joint police/CYF protocol.

Department procedures were also not followed when Olympia recanted her claim and a letter was sent to the girls' mother, Charlene Aplin, asking to discuss abuse allegations.

During Howse's trial it was revealed he had intercepted and read the letter a week before he killed the girls.

Other findings in the commissioner's report included that procedures such as doing a risk assessment were not followed and that the social worker was not objective in dealing with the family. Children needed to be listened to more, the report said.

"The safety of the children was not able to be assured because social workers consistently minimised information gathered from the children and failed to recognise that their own relationships with the adults involved with this case were preventing an objective analysis not just of the nature/truth of the allegations, but also why they were being made," the report said.

The report noted social workers failed to recognise the risk the girls faced from domestic violence at their home, where they lived with Howse, their mother and other siblings.

It said that despite extensive involvement with the family, there were only five records of social workers actually talking directly to the children.

Police were called to the home 18 times between 1994 and the time of the girls' deaths, and completed 12 family violence reports.

These were forwarded to a women's refuge but not to CYF as police decided there were no immediate safety concerns.

The commissioner's investigation found a "fragmented approach" towards caring for the children.

"Many opportunities for appropriate interventions were lost because no single agency had the whole picture or a complete understanding of the risks present in their lives," the report said.

It said the police, CYF, other professionals and the community each had a partial understanding of the risks the children faced.

"However, agencies did not meet to discuss their concerns and only dealt with the issues confronting their own agency at the time."

The report said the girls had been monitored by CYF for nearly all their lives, had been allegedly abused on at least five occasions, and were repeatedly exposed to violence. The girls had lived in 10 homes, attended six different schools, lived in eight towns or cities and lived with their grandparents for two years after being removed from their mother's care.

The commissioner's investigation also found that a decision by senior CYF management in 2001 to restructure its Masterton office may have added to the stress of social workers working on the case.

Ms Pakura's report found that in the past the department had acted appropriately working with the family. But during the period from August 2001 she found:

* notifications for the two children were combined into one, which created a danger of losing one child's records;

* that a new notification should have been made that September which would have required action but was not;

* the serious abuse team (SAT) joint police/CYF protocol (to tell police of sexual or serious physical abuse allegations) was not followed on two occasions in September 2001 -- described as "serious" policy breaches;

* the social worker and her supervisor did not use the department's risk estimate tool, which may have seen further action when Olympia retracted her allegation against Howse;

* a letter was sent to Charlene Aplin because a social worker had not been able to speak to her in person -- it was opened by Howse and should not have been sent;

* "a lack of rigour applied to the decisions in this case may have arisen from the long, familiar relationships between the family" and CYF staff.

* Normal checks and balances did not operate in this case.

The commissioner said CYF needed to listen to its staff more and build better relationships with the community. It said the department also needed to develop more effective workload management.

The report said roopu teams -- which work with Maori families -- should be reviewed to see if they were effective.

It also said that when doing case reviews the department should talk to affected parties, not just its own staff.

CYF today admitted it had failed in its procedure in the case.

Verna Smith, CYF's general manager, social work and community services, said she accepted the findings of the reports.

"Normal checks and balances of the care and protection system did not operate effectively in this case," Ms Smith said in a statement.

"We encourage long-term relationships with families but need to balance the benefits of familiarity with the need to use proper policies and processes at all times."

The supervisor involved in the case resigned from the department last year and disciplinary action had been taken against the social worker, who had now left the department, Ms Smith said.

Since receiving the report the department had revised its training around the country and reminded staff they must follow processes and policies; they must use the department's risk estimation tool or record its exemption; and they must observe the SAT protocol.

Since 2002 several changes had been made in Masterton, including improving management and hiring another social worker to concentrate on work with schools.

Ms Smith said the commissioner's report findings indicated organisations such as police, Women's Refuge and CYF needed to work more closely together.

The commissioner's report also noted that Lansdowne School, which Olympia attended, made some appropriate decisions about how to handle her sexual abuse allegation but did not notify CYF or police about a physical abuse allegation.

- NZPA