Abuse baby's birth secret

Child Youth and Family did not know a Hamilton toddler born into a family with a "horrendous history" of child abuse existed until her death last year.

Hail-Saige McClutchie, 22 months, died in the early hours of September 27 last year after being taken to Waikato Hospital with serious head injuries she suffered at a Morrinsville house the night before.

At the time Child, Youth and Family (CYF) admitted Hail-Saige's "wider" family were known to them, but said they had had no prior involvement with Hail-Saige herself.

This morning CYF chief executive Ray Smith confirmed to the Waikato Times this was because the agency had not known her parents – who they'd already removed two children from – went on to have another baby, Hail-Saige.

They were alerted to her existence only after her death.

A former CYF social worker who contacted the Times said pressure to meet performance targets could have played a part in Hail-Saige's birth going unnoticed.

"Social workers are under pressure to meet performance outcomes with many cases being closed without any intervention," he said.

Referrals to other community organisations were becoming the preferred option for CYF, with no further monitoring by CYF. "This is budget-driven and more children will be abused."

The police investigation into Hail-Saige's death is still on going, but is being treated as a homicide. There have been no arrests. Police are still awaiting pathological test results.

It has taken CYF five months to reveal their blunder despite several attempts by the Waikato Times to obtain Social Development Ministry documentation relating to Hail-Saige and her family.

An Official Information Act request was filed days after the child's death after the former CYF worker contacted the Times about the case, claiming there had been a "horrendous history of child abuse".

They contributed to a significant amount of the Morrinsville office's workload, he claimed.

However, Social Development Ministry chief executive Peter Hughes refused the Times' information request saying public interest in the case did not "outweigh the necessity to protect these people's privacy".

He also said any release of information could prejudice the police investigation.

The former CYF worker said Morrinsville, in particular, had little support available for people with child abuse issues. "There is no intensive support available and outside agencies are irregular and unreliable."

Mr Smith's admission yesterday that CYF were unaware of Hail-Saige's existence followed calls by Social Development Minister Paula Bennett for system changes that would raise alerts for officials when mothers of abused children had more children.

The announcement stemmed from recommendations released yesterday by an independent experts' forum asked to identify steps to prevent child abuse and neglect.

"I am determined to close the gaps that, despite the best efforts of many agencies, at-risk children have been falling through," Ms Bennett said.

Mr Smith said there was almost always someone aware when there was a child at risk. "We ask families and communities to let us know so we can take appropriate safety checks."

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