Child safety ‘misunderstood’ cult before girl’s death
Rex Martinich |
A child safety officer who returned a girl to a cult that later killed her has admitted being “out of their depth” on the family’s extreme beliefs, a coroner has heard.
Protection officers also had no formal training or procedures for tracking cases when eight-year-old Elizabeth Rose Struhs died, education department workers testified in Brisbane on Wednesday.
Elizabeth died on January 7, 2022, at her family’s home near Toowoomba, west of Brisbane, after her parents, brother and 11 other members of “the Saints” church group gathered to pray around her.
Her father Jason Struhs had days earlier agreed to stop providing insulin for her type-1 diabetes in line with the Saints’ ban on modern medicine, leading to ketoacidosis poisoning Elizabeth’s blood and attacking her organs.
It came two-and-a-half years after a near-death incident when her mother Kerrie Struhs did not seek treatment for Elizabeth.
The girl was diagnosed with diabetes and, after weeks of intensive care and against medical experts’ wishes, she was returned to her family.
Elizabeth’s adult sister Jayde should have been asked about the power of the family’s beliefs, a Queensland Department of Child Safety officer testified at a coronial inquest on Wednesday.
“At that time, I was not understanding well the influence of the church and that’s something I’ve thought about a lot since then,” the officer said.
The officer, like almost all of the witnesses due to appear at the inquest, cannot be named for legal reasons.
The officer approved then six-year-old Elizabeth to go home as they were confident Jason would “give it a go” in treating her diabetes.
Coroner Ainslie Kirkegaard asked the officer if they were “out of your depth”.
“The church and its religious beliefs, I didn’t have a lot of knowledge around,” the officer said.
“I was able to understand diabetes, probably not to the in-depth that would be more helpful in a situation like this.”
Child Safety was willing to accept “some risk” in sending Elizabeth back to the family home, an education department senior guidance officer testified.
Child Safety specialist officers had an “incredible workload” with no formal training for incoming staff and no specific process to track their cases and aid handover, the officer said.
Kerrie had told a teacher “I believe we have a God that heals” when asked about Elizabeth’s insulin.
The officer had reported it ahead of inter-agency Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect (SCAN) team meetings in July and August 2019.
Her father would join the Saints in August 2021 after pressure from his wife while living with her in the same home as Elizabeth.
He was baptised in a makeshift backyard trough as Saints members spoke in tongues.
The inquest is due to continue until October 23.
AAP