Documents outlining basic details of CPS and Child FIRST cases involving emotional abuse and/or neglect

Adi Berry made this Freedom of Information request to Victorian Department of Health

This request has been closed to new correspondence from the public body. Contact us if you think it ought be re-opened.

The request was refused by Victorian Department of Health.

Dear Department of Health and Human Services - Victoria,

I seek access to documents that outline details of child protection and child
FIRST cases/reports that involved emotional abuse and/or neglect from 2005
onwards. Details requested include the number of reports made
per year, the nature of these reports and breif outlines of these reports (where possible), the demographics of these children and families, suburbs with
the highest number of reports/cases, and the outcomes of these
reports of emotional abuse and/or neglect cases.
I also request documents that outline the process of response by the CPS or Chilld FIRST involved in these cases of emotional abuse and/or neglect. All details requested are pertaining ONLY to cases of emotional abuse and/or neglect (not physical and/or sexual abuse).

Yours faithfully,
Adi Berry

Victorian Department of Health

Thank you for contacting the Freedom of Information unit at the Department
of Health and Human Services.

Your email has been received and you will receive a response regarding your
Freedom of Information or subpoena enquiry as soon as possible.

If you are seeking further information regarding Freedom of Information,
please refer to our website at
<http://www.dhs.vic.gov.au/for-individual...>

In response to:




Freedom of Information request - Documents outlining basic details of
CPS and Child FIRST cases involving emotional abuse and/or neglect

Adi Berry
to:
FOI requests at Department of Health and Human
Services - Victoria
10/0
6/20
16
14:0
2
Show
Deta
ils

Dear Department of Health and Human Services - Victoria,

I seek access to documents that outline details of child protection and
child
FIRST cases/reports that involved emotional abuse and/or neglect from 2005
onwards. Details requested include the number of reports made
per year, the nature of these reports and breif outlines of these reports
(where possible), the demographics of these children and families, suburbs
with
the highest number of reports/cases, and the outcomes of these
reports of emotional abuse and/or neglect cases.
I also request documents that outline the process of response by the CPS or
Chilld FIRST involved in these cases of emotional abuse and/or neglect. All
details requested are pertaining ONLY to cases of emotional abuse and/or
neglect (not physical and/or sexual abuse).

Yours faithfully,
Adi Berry

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #1996 email]

Is [Victorian Department of Health and Human Services request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information
requests to Department of Health and Human Services - Victoria? If so,
please contact us using this form:
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/change_re...

This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This
message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. More
information on how Right to Know works can be found at:
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

show quoted sections

Victorian Department of Health

1 Attachment

Dear Ms Berry,

I refer to your recent Freedom of Request.
Please see attached correspondence.

Please do not hesitate to contact me with any queries regarding this
correspondence.

Kind regards,

Elena Keane
Freedom of Information unit | People, Capability & Oversight  
Department of Health & Human Services
50 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne Victoria 3000
t. 9096 2004  | f. 9096 8848  | e. [1][Victorian Department of Health and Human Services request email]
w. [2]www.dhhs.vic.gov.au

show quoted sections

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/

Dear Department of Health and Human Services - Victoria,

Please advise whether I am able to pay the fee via online funds transfer (direct debit) and provide pertaining account details.

Yours faithfully,

Adi Berry

Victorian Department of Health

2 Attachments

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Dear Department of Health and Human Services - Victoria,

Please advise whether I am able to pay the fee via online funds
transfer (direct debit) and provide the pertaining account details.

Yours faithfully,

Adi Berry

Victorian Department of Health

Thank you for contacting the Freedom of Information unit at the Department
of Health and Human Services.

Your email has been received and you will receive a response regarding your
Freedom of Information or subpoena enquiry as soon as possible.

If you are seeking further information regarding Freedom of Information,
please refer to our website at
<http://www.dhs.vic.gov.au/for-individual...>

In response to:




Re: Freedom of Information request - Documents outlining basic details
of CPS and Child FIRST cases involving emotional abuse and/or neglect

Adi Berry
to:
FOI requests at Department of Health and Human
Services - Victoria
24/0
6/20
16
11:2
0
Show
Deta
ils

Dear Department of Health and Human Services - Victoria,

Please advise whether I am able to pay the fee via online funds
transfer (direct debit) and provide the pertaining account details.

Yours faithfully,

Adi Berry

show quoted sections

Victorian Department of Health

Dear Adi,

You can pay the application fee online at the following link:

[1]https://online.foi.vic.gov.au/foi/reques...

When submitting your payment, you do not need to provide the details of
the request again, but please make reference to the fact that you are
paying the application fee for an existing request - reference number
F16/0509.

Regards,

Authorised Officer
Freedom of Information unit | People, Capability & Oversight
Department of Health and Human Services
50 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne Victoria 3000
t. 9096 8449  | f. 9096 8848  | e. [Victorian Department of Health and Human Services request email]
w. [2]www.dhhs.vic.gov.au

From: Adi Berry <[FOI #1996 email]>
To: FOI requests at Department of Health and Human Services -
Victoria <[Victorian Department of Health and Human Services request email]>
Date: 24/06/2016 11:20 AM
Subject: Re: Freedom of Information request - Documents outlining basic
details of CPS and Child FIRST cases involving emotional abuse
and/or neglect

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Department of Health and Human Services - Victoria,

Please advise whether I am able to pay the fee via online funds
transfer (direct debit) and provide the pertaining account details.

Yours faithfully,

Adi Berry

show quoted sections

Dear Department of Health and Human Services - Victoria,

I have completed the payment, the FOI request reference no. is 22862.

Yours faithfully,

Adi Berry

Victorian Department of Health

Thank you for contacting the Freedom of Information unit at the Department
of Health and Human Services.

Your email has been received and you will receive a response regarding your
Freedom of Information or subpoena enquiry as soon as possible.

If you are seeking further information regarding Freedom of Information,
please refer to our website at
<http://www.dhs.vic.gov.au/for-individual...>

In response to:




Re: Freedom of Information request - Documents outlining basic details
of CPS and Child FIRST cases involving emotional abuse and/or neglect

Adi Berry
to:
FOI
24/0
6/20
16
12:0
6
Show
Deta
ils

Dear Department of Health and Human Services - Victoria,

I have completed the payment, the FOI request reference no. is 22862.

Yours faithfully,

Adi Berry

show quoted sections

Victorian Department of Health

Dear Adi

Thank you for your email.

I write to acknowledge receipt of your application fee. In responding to
your application, it is our policy to make preliminary enquiries to
determine:

* if the department is in possession of the documents you are requesting
* how many documents are involved
* the effort required in retrieving and assessing the documents.

These enquiries may have several different outcomes.

* Your application can proceed towards resolution in its original form.
* Your application may require some form of clarification to proceed,
for example, it may become apparent that an application does not
comply with section 17(2) of the Act, which requires that the request
should provide sufficient information for an officer to identify the
subject documents. Please note that should your application be unclear
in terms of section 17(2) of the Act, the statutory time period of 45
days does not commence until we have received an effective
clarification from you.
* You may be required to vary your application in order to avoid refusal
under section 25A of the Act.  In particular, section 25A(1) of the
Act states that the request may be refused if the work involved in
processing the request would substantially and unreasonably divert
the resources of the agency from its other operations.

Should either of these situations seem likely, I will contact you to
discuss how refusal may be avoided.

When the documents you have requested have been identified you may be
required to pay charges for access to the documents. The Act provides that
if we are of the opinion that these access charges are likely to exceed
$50.00, you are to be notified of the calculated charge and required to
pay a deposit if you choose to proceed with the request. Please note that
if a deposit is required and you decide to proceed with your request, the
statutory time period of 45 days does not commence until we have received
your deposit. I will contact you if access charges are applicable to this
request.

We endeavour to undertake these initial enquiries as quickly as possible,
however in some situations they may take longer than anticipated.

You can contact the FOI unit  via email at [Victorian Department of Health and Human Services request email]  or on (03)
9096 2004. Please quote our reference number (F16/0509) in any
correspondence.

Yours sincerely,

Authorised Officer
Freedom of Information unit | People, Capability & Oversight
Department of Health and Human Services
50 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne Victoria 3000
t. 9096 8449  | f. 9096 8848  | e. [Victorian Department of Health and Human Services request email]
w. [1]www.dhhs.vic.gov.au

From: Adi Berry <[FOI #1996 email]>
To: [email address]
Date: 24/06/2016 12:06 PM
Subject: Re: Freedom of Information request - Documents outlining basic
details of CPS and Child FIRST cases involving emotional abuse
and/or neglect

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Department of Health and Human Services - Victoria,

I have completed the payment, the FOI request reference no. is 22862.

Yours faithfully,

Adi Berry

show quoted sections

Victorian Department of Health

1 Attachment

Dear Ms Berry,

Please find attached.

Kind regards,

Authorised Officer
Freedom of Information unit | People, Capability & Oversight
Department of Health and Human Services
50 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne Victoria 3000
t. 9096 8449  | f. 9096 8848  | e. [Victorian Department of Health and Human Services request email]
w. [1]www.dhhs.vic.gov.au

show quoted sections

References

Visible links
1. file:///tmp/www.dhhs.vic.gov.au

Victorian Department of Health

1 Attachment

Dear Ms Berry

Please see attached correspondence in relation to your FOI request.

Authorised Officer
Freedom of Information unit | People, Capability & Oversight
Department of Health and Human Services
50 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne Victoria 3000
t. 9096 8449  | f. 9096 8848  | e. [Victorian Department of Health and Human Services request email]
w. [1]www.dhhs.vic.gov.au

show quoted sections

References

Visible links
1. file:///tmp/www.dhhs.vic.gov.au

Dear Department of Health and Human Services - Victoria,

Thank you for your correspondence.
Please refer to my clarified request below:

I am requesting access to documents pertaining to both child protection and child FIRST services. My request is for documents that outline details of cases/reports that involved emotional abuse and/or neglect from 2010 onwards. The details that I request are as follows:
1. The number of reports made per year from 2010 onwards. Of the reports made, the number of them that were investigated, and the number of them that were substantiated.
2. Reason/s why the report/case was made (concerns of the reporter/s) and whether the reporter was a mandatory reporter or not.
3. Characteristics of the children who are the subject of these reports/cases: age, gender, nationality/ies, and location (suburb).
4. List of suburbs and their corresponding number of reports/cases.
5. Outcomes of these reports, e.g., no action taken, supervision order, out of home care, custody order, guardianship order.

I also request documents that outline the steps that CPS and Child FIRST take to respond to reports once they have been received, e.g., check history of reported family, investigate and assess (risk of) harm, make application to court.

Please note that the information requested is only for reports that involve(d) emotional abuse and/or neglect.

Yours faithfully,

Adi Berry

Victorian Department of Health

Thank you for contacting the Freedom of Information unit at the Department
of Health and Human Services.

Your email has been received and you will receive a response regarding your
Freedom of Information or subpoena enquiry as soon as possible.

If you are seeking further information regarding Freedom of Information,
please refer to our website at
<http://www.dhs.vic.gov.au/for-individual...>

In response to:




Re: FOI Request F16/0509

Adi Berry
to:
FOI requests at Department of Health and Human
Services - Victoria
16/0
8/20
16
20:2
2
Show
Deta
ils

Dear Department of Health and Human Services - Victoria,

Thank you for your correspondence.
Please refer to my clarified request below:

I am requesting access to documents pertaining to both child protection and
child FIRST services. My request is for documents that outline details of
cases/reports that involved emotional abuse and/or neglect from 2010
onwards. The details that I request are as follows:
1. The number of reports made per year from 2010 onwards. Of the reports
made, the number of them that were investigated, and the number of them
that were substantiated.
2. Reason/s why the report/case was made (concerns of the reporter/s) and
whether the reporter was a mandatory reporter or not.
3. Characteristics of the children who are the subject of these
reports/cases: age, gender, nationality/ies, and location (suburb).
4. List of suburbs and their corresponding number of reports/cases.
5. Outcomes of these reports, e.g., no action taken, supervision order, out
of home care, custody order, guardianship order.

I also request documents that outline the steps that CPS and Child FIRST
take to respond to reports once they have been received, e.g., check
history of reported family, investigate and assess (risk of) harm, make
application to court.

Please note that the information requested is only for reports that involve
(d) emotional abuse and/or neglect.

Yours faithfully,

Adi Berry

show quoted sections

Victorian Department of Health

1 Attachment

Dear Adi,

Please find attached correspondence in relation to your FOI request
(F16/0509).

Kind regards,

Authorised Officer
Freedom of Information unit | People, Capability & Oversight
Department of Health and Human Services
50 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne Victoria 3000
t. 9096 8449  | f. 9096 8848  | e. [Victorian Department of Health and Human Services request email]
w. [1]www.dhhs.vic.gov.au

show quoted sections

References

Visible links
1. file:///tmp/www.dhhs.vic.gov.au

Dear Victorian Department of Health and Human Services,

Please redirect this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Victorian Department of Health and Human Services's handling of my FOI request 'Documents outlining basic details of CPS and Child FIRST cases involving emotional abuse and/or neglect'.

The department, in stating that they do not hold such basic information and statistics as I've requested through my FOI request, have not fulfilled their obligations towards the FOI act. My request seeks access to child protection statistics, which are readily available to the department. It is just a matter of collating and redacting these documents, to effectively meet the criteria of my request. I am hopeful that you will be able to conduct a proper review of this matter and satisfy the contents of my request.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/d...

Yours faithfully,

Adi Berry

Victorian Department of Health

Thank you for contacting the Freedom of Information unit at the Department
of Health and Human Services.

Your email has been received and you will receive a response regarding your
Freedom of Information or subpoena enquiry as soon as possible.

If you are seeking further information regarding Freedom of Information,
please refer to our website at
<http://www.dhs.vic.gov.au/for-individual...>

In response to:




Internal review of Freedom of Information request - Documents outlining
basic details of CPS and Child FIRST cases involving emotional abuse
and/or neglect

Adi Berry
to:
FOI requests at Victorian Department of Health and
Human Services
17/1
1/20
16
21:2
5
Show
Deta
ils

Dear Victorian Department of Health and Human Services,

Please redirect this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information
reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Victorian Department of
Health and Human Services's handling of my FOI request 'Documents outlining
basic details of CPS and Child FIRST cases involving emotional abuse and/or
neglect'.

The department, in stating that they do not hold such basic information and
statistics as I've requested through my FOI request, have not fulfilled
their obligations towards the FOI act. My request seeks access to child
protection statistics, which are readily available to the department. It is
just a matter of collating and redacting these documents, to effectively
meet the criteria of my request. I am hopeful that you will be able to
conduct a proper review of this matter and satisfy the contents of my
request.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the
Internet at this address:
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url...

Yours faithfully,

Adi Berry

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #1996 email]

This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This
message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. More
information on how Right to Know works can be found at:
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url...

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

show quoted sections

Victorian Department of Health

1 Attachment

Good morning Ms Berry,

Thank you for contacting the FOI unit regarding the recent decision
provided to you (our ref: F16/0509).

Please note that pursuant to amendments to the Freedom of Information Act
1982 (Vic) (the Act), the department no longer conducts internal reviews.
These amendments came into effect on 1 December 2012.

An application for review of a decision can be made to the Office of the
Freedom of Information Commissioner. However, an applicant cannot apply to
the Freedom of Information Commissioner for review of a decision that
documents do not exist or cannot be located (see section 49A of the Act).

If an applicant is dissatisfied with a decision that documents cannot be
produced, a complaint can be lodged with the Office of the Freedom of
Information Commissioner.

The fact sheet that accompanied the decision letter provided to you sets
out the process for making a complaint more fully. I have attached a copy
of this fact sheet for ease of reference.

Please note that complaints must be made within 60 days after the action
or conduct complained of occurred.

Should you have any further queries regarding this correspondence, please
do not hesitate to contact us.

Kind regards,

Authorised Officer
Freedom of Information unit | People, Capability & Oversight
Department of Health and Human Services
50 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne Victoria 3000
t. 9096 8449  | f. 9096 8848  | e. [Victorian Department of Health and Human Services request email]
w. [1]www.dhhs.vic.gov.au

From: Adi Berry <[FOI #1996 email]>
To: FOI requests at Victorian Department of Health and Human Services
<[Victorian Department of Health and Human Services request email]>
Date: 17/11/2016 09:25 PM
Subject: Internal review of Freedom of Information request - Documents
outlining basic details of CPS and Child FIRST cases involving
emotional abuse and/or neglect

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Victorian Department of Health and Human Services,

Please redirect this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information
reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Victorian Department of
Health and Human Services's handling of my FOI request 'Documents
outlining basic details of CPS and Child FIRST cases involving emotional
abuse and/or neglect'.

The department, in stating that they do not hold such basic information
and statistics as I've requested through my FOI request, have not
fulfilled their obligations towards the FOI act. My request seeks access
to child protection statistics, which are readily available to the
department. It is just a matter of collating and redacting these
documents, to effectively meet the criteria of my request. I am hopeful
that you will be able to conduct a proper review of this matter and
satisfy the contents of my request.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on
the Internet at this address:
[2]https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url...

Yours faithfully,

Adi Berry

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #1996 email]

This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This
message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet.
More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:
[3]https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url...

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

show quoted sections