GUILTY Australia - Chloe Valentine, 4, tortured to death, Ingle Farm, SA, 20 Jan 2012

[Blessed]

Sean Fewster ‏@SeanFewster 2m

Q: What do you remember about #ChloeValentine? Cheverton: I remember she was the prettiest little baby I had seen.

This makes my heart break in 2... Poor poor baby girl. (4 is still a baby IMO)




Moo

 

[catswhiskers]

I think the appropriate services need the authority to demand access to any part of the child's home if think it's necessary. These folks would be able to tell the difference between a messy house and a home that is unfit for children, if that's what bothers people. The mere fact that Chloe's mother refused them access or made excuses for them not to inspect the bedroom etc, should have been an issue straight away.

 

[SouthAussie]

Eventually Ms Benyk gave up reporting Chloe's neglect, despite believing she was being abused by Polkinghorne's partner in the months leading up to her death.

Polkinghorne invited visitors to do 'whatever they wanted' at her house because there was no parental supervision.
'Ashlee didn't care about herself,' Ms Benyk said.
'She didn't care about putting herself in danger and she wouldn't care about putting Chloe in danger.'

Polkinghorne was reported as having told her crying daughter: 'shut up you *****', and having her child in her arms when a partner punched Polkinghorne twice.
When questioned about this, Polkinghorne said Chloe had not cried 'as she had got used to violent incidents'.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...motorbike-gave-reporting-neglect-parents.html

 

[Amee]

Sean Fewster @SeanFewster · 2h

The #ChloeValentine inquest is about to resume with evidence from Families SA staff Leanne Sowerby & Amy Kidner. @theTiser

Leanne Sowerby was with Families SA I 2007, now works at Housing SA. #ChloeValentine

Sowerby: I had worked as a police officer in the past. At Families SA, I supported case workers on investigation visits. #ChloeValentine

Sowerby was with yesterday's witness, Cheverton, on the 1st visit to #ChloeValentine's home after a neglect notification.

Inquest told #ChloeValentine cried immediately after birth, mother Ashlee Polkinghorne replied: "Shush, you *****." @theTiser

Sowerby: I have little recollection of #ChloeValentine or her mother without referring to my case notes. House was messy, not unhygienic.

 

[Amee]

Sean Fewster @SeanFewster · 2h

Sowerby: #ChloeValentine's mum gave conflicting answers, I was wary whether it was correct. But didn't appear to be imminent risk to Chloe.

Sowerby: I saw a light globe but didn't know it could be used to smoke speed. Inquest heard #ChloeValentine's mum had been on 4-day binge.

Families SA concluded 1st #ChloeValentine reports "directly opposed" to their view of her situation; Coroner Mark Johns challenges Sowerby.

Coroner: Didn't what you saw start to cause alarm bells? It's not like there was a complete lack of evidence, is there? #ChloeValentine

Sowerby: The investigation didn't provide enough for us to remove #ChloeValentine, but certainly to investigate further.

Sowerby told service workers that level of concern about #ChloeValentine had reduced. Now agrees she shouldn't have.

 

[Amee]

Sean Fewster @SeanFewster · 1h

Coroner: What was #ChloeValentine's mum's demeanor when you left? Confident? Unruffled? Sowerby: I don't remember.

Coroner: Is it possible #ChloeValentine's mum felt she'd gotten away with it? Sowerby: Yes.

Sowerby: we told #ChloeValentine's mother we knew she was lying then assured her we were there to help. We hoped she would engage & not lie.


Sean Fewster @SeanFewster · 50m

#ChloeValentine's mum answered her birth cries with "Shush, you *****": http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/...alentine-inquest/story-fni6uo1m-1227070051546 … via @theTiser

The #ChloeValentine inquest has adjourned until 2.15pm. @theTiser

 

[Amee]

Sean Fewster ‏@SeanFewster 53m

The #ChloeValentine inquest has resumed with evidence from Families SA social worker Amy Kidner. @theTiser

She was a student social worker under Nick Ratsch; he inherited #ChloeValentine case from Cheverton & Sowerby after the recorded phone call.

Kidner's 1st meeting with #ChloeValentine & mum was pre-arranged. House was "not overly unhygienic", Chloe presented as healthy.

Kidner: After #ChloeValentine's mum was evicted, I helped her find a new house and arranged storage for her furniture, b/c she needed help.

Q: You don't find that an odd job for someone in child protection? Kidner: No, it's something I could do to help Ashlee. #ChloeValentine

Kidner helped #ChloeValentine's mother clean up her rubbish. Q: Did you think that was odd? Kidner: No. Q: Do you now? Kidner: No.

Q: How did that teach #ChloeValentine's mum to be responsible? Kidner: It might have been roleplaying. She might not've known how to clean.

#ChloeValentine, meanwhile, had dirt on hands, feet & in the rolls of her neck, no toys to play with and was likely constipated.

 

[Amee]

Sean Fewster ‏@SeanFewster 22m

Kidner: I gave #ChloeValentine my keys to play with.

Kidner: If I couldn't drive #ChloeValentine's mum to an appointment, I would book a car to take her otherwise she would miss it.

Kidner: I couldn't take #ChloeValentine's mum to an open house so I sought emergency financial assistance for her to buy a bus ticket.

Inquest previously told #ChloeValentine's mum received $1300 a fortnight in welfare payments.

Kidner then asked two separate Families SA offices for money to get #ChloeValentine's mother a taxi instead as "an incentive" to go.

Q: Seems like you were going to a lot of effort to secure something for #ChloeValentine's mum she didn't really care about. Kidner: Yes.

Kidner: I didn't want to confront #ChloeValentine's mum about drug use because it would damage our trust and set her back.

Kidner: I was a student then. I think I thought she was doing better than she was. #ChloeValentine

 

[Amee]

Sean Fewster ‏@SeanFewster 1m

When Kidner arranged meeting about #ChloeValentine's development milestones, mum didn't bring her along.

Kidner: I had to trust her that she was telling me the truth about #ChloeValentine's development.

 

[Amee]

Sean Fewster ‏@SeanFewster 12m

Kidner asked for a qualified social worker to help her. Was concerned she "might be missing something" in #ChloeValentine case.

Families SA told Kidner, a student, it wasn't necessary. #ChloeValentine's mother knew she was a student, became "evasive".

Kidner escalated #ChloeValentine case to her superiors when mother missed visits, said Chloe was with friends, became aggressive.

By this time, Families SA had not sighted #ChloeValentine for several weeks.

Given an ultimatum, #ChloeValentine's mother finally brought her along - clean, in clean clothes, laughing at social worker's funny faces.

 

[fruity]

Thank you so much for these updates Amee. IMO it is very clear that DoCS/FACS needs an overhaul, starting with funding and retraining

How many mor children like precious Chloe and Kiesha have to suffer and die before something is done?

 

[SouthAussie]

Authorities should not have reduced their level of concern about Chloe Valentine's care, a case worker told an inquest into the four-year-old's death.

Ms Sowerby said she noticed pens with the inks removed and a light globe on the table and noted that they could be used for drug use.

"It did raise concerns about having some kind of ongoing intervention about the feeding of the child and our drug use concerns," she said.

"There didn't appear to be any imminent risk. It appeared Chloe was being cared for."

"It appears that the presentation of mother and baby were directly opposed to the allegations [made in the notifications]," the supervisor said.

Ms Sowerby admitted she then told the then-Department of Child Development that there was a reduced level of concern for Chloe.

She said in hindsight she should not have done so.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-09-...d-concern-level-about-chloe-valentine/5768758

 

[Ausgirl]

Thank you so much for these updates Amee. IMO it is very clear that DoCS/FACS needs an overhaul, starting with funding and retraining

How many mor children like precious Chloe and Kiesha have to suffer and die before something is done?

Add Tanilla, and poor Deborah...

All cases in which DOCS/FACS could see the squalor and suffering, and did next to nothing - leading directly to a child's death.

I think the change must come at policy-making level (where, for example, race is apparently a factor in making sure abused kids are left with their abusers, and the issue of rights of the Govt vs that of private individuals get murky). Then down to the actual workers, some of whom have NO business working with families, some of whom are well meaning but just uneducated/untrained, and many of whom are working excessive caseloads and are hands-tied with red tape.

 

[SouthAussie]

Families SA visited Chloe in August 2007 after being told her teenage mother had gone on a four-day drug binge and fed the six-week-old tap water because she could not be bothered making formula.

Counsel assisting the coroner, Naomi Kereru, questioned why Ms Sowerby had taken a 'softly, softly' approach in her dealings with Polkinghorne despite knowing she was lying.

'Why would you need to tread so lightly when you're dealing with someone who's living in squalor and their infant child is living there too?' Ms Kereru asked.

Ms Sowerby responded that Families SA was still attempting to establish facts at the time.


http://www.skynews.com.au/news/nati...y-s--soft--approach.html#sthash.vHufrqD6.dpuf

 

[SouthAussie]

THE Chloe Valentine inquest will today hear from two Families SA workers — one who downgraded her abuse case, and another who failed to return phone calls reporting neglect.

Families SA principal social worker Nicholas Alexander Ratsch and the agency’s former north-eastern supervisor, Kelly Francou, will take the Coroners Court witness stand today.

State Coroner Mark Johns is investigating Families SA’s handling of 21 abuse notifications it received about Chloe, beginning from her birth and stretching to her death in January 2012, aged four.

Mr Johns has heard many of those notifications were classified as “tier 2”, meaning “an investigation is required” and Chloe could have been removed by Families SA workers.

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/...071138454?nk=8270a2419cd55f2f6787a1a66a754bfd

 

[SouthAussie]

Not the most helpful witness so far. Chloe's principal social worker .... Nicholas Ratsch.


Sean Fewster ‏@SeanFewster 1m
Q: Did you know improper feeding was one of the abuse notifications about #ChloeValentine? Ratsch: I guess so. @theTiser

Sean Fewster ‏@SeanFewster 1m
Q: When you saw infant #ChloeValentine holding her own bottle, did you think that might mean her mum wasn't feeding? Ratsch: Possibly.

Sean Fewster ‏@SeanFewster 53s
Q: What else did #ChloeValentine's mum lie to you about? Ratsch: I don't recall.

Sean Fewster ‏@SeanFewster 2m
Q: Did you know #ChloeValentine's mum was a convincing liar? Ratsch: Yes, we saw examples. She lied about attending appointments.

Sean Fewster ‏@SeanFewster 6m
Q: What was your first impression of her? Ratsch: Can you be more specific? #ChloeValentine

 

[SouthAussie]

Sean Fewster ‏@SeanFewster 1m
That safety plan was a step down from the previous conditions on #ChloeValentine's mum, which banned all drug use.

Kim Robertson ‏@KimRobertson_9 1m
Families SA principal social worker: "Many parents use drugs. It's very difficult for us to enforce a zero tolerance policy" #ChloeValentine

Sean Fewster ‏@SeanFewster 2m
Families SA's safety plan for #ChloeValentine permitted her mum to take drugs provided someone sober was there to take the child. @theTiser

 

[Amee]

Sean Fewster was on the radio talking about the Inquest. He said the Inquest will go longer than first planned as they are only up to 2009.
Heartbreaking :cry:

 

[Amee]

Sean Fewster ‏@SeanFewster 25m

Ratsch: ... for Families SA to enforce zero tolerance. #ChloeValentine

That safety plan was a step down from the previous conditions on #ChloeValentine's mum, which banned all drug use.

Q: But Polkinghorne wasn't even an adult. Are you saying you weren't worried? Ratsch: No, we were worried. #ChloeValentine

Ratsch: I could have raised a notification, but would have been investigating it myself. #ChloeValentine

Coroner: You were effectively condoning drug use, giving a licence to use. Ratsch: I don't see that was the case. #ChloeValentine

 

[SouthAussie]

Yes, I saw that Sean Fewster thanked 5AA for having him this morning, but I missed hearing the interview.

Sean is doing a fantastic job with the tweets from Coroners Court.

The current witness, Nicholas Ratsch, wasn't such a good or effective social worker for Chloe I'm afraid. Benefited the abusive and neglectful mother more than poor little Chloe.