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

[SouthAussie]

The bracing feature of the inquest so far is how Polkinghorne had outsourced every adult responsibility to the well-meaning social workers who surrounded her.

She knew if she blew all her dough on drugs and booze that the Salvos would get her dinner.

She knew if she left her house a squalid mess, child protection officers would not take her child away, but come and clean the house.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/op...072578754?nk=1b67385a6e13d3a4ea00d785d093258b

 

[possumheart]

Makes Casey Anthony look middle class.

 

[catswhiskers]

The bracing feature of the inquest so far is how Polkinghorne had outsourced every adult responsibility to the well-meaning social workers who surrounded her.

She knew if she blew all her dough on drugs and booze that the Salvos would get her dinner.

She knew if she left her house a squalid mess, child protection officers would not take her child away, but come and clean the house.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/op...072578754?nk=1b67385a6e13d3a4ea00d785d093258b

You get a good sense of how angry that particular journalist is in this article - good on him.

 

[SouthAussie]

I would like to know how the child protection officers spend their day. What is their daily routine like?
They are/were apparently working on 20-30 cases per week each. That is 4-6 cases each day.

How many of those cases involved site visits, and how often? (Not often in Chloe’s case.) How much time was wasted in counter-productive staff meetings? How much time was spent around the water-cooler or coffee machine? How efficient, effective and productive is/was their day? Is everyone pulling their weight?

Most people in social services/front line positions see a lot more than 4-6 people a day, and many have much more productive outcomes.

Doctors, nurses, Centrelink workers, psychologists, paramedics, police officers. … even the nurses who spend their days on the road going from client to client (RDNS in SA) … usually deal effectively with more than 4-6 cases per day. And they have paper/computer work, meetings, and red tape involved in their work.

Mind you, they are not cleaning houses and taking rubbish to the tip ….

 

[marlywings]

Going a bit political here, in my opinion, Chloe's death has indirectly been caused by previous labor government.

Baby bonus was legislated in 2007. Chloe was born 2008. To dangle a $5,500 carrot in front of young kids who are seriously entrenched in illegal drugs is a recipe for disaster.

Another part of the cause also lies with government. We're constantly told the usual,....family services are understaffed, limited funding yet the solution is very simple....employ more personnel, pour whatever amount of money is needed into the dept. Quit giving these pathetic parents 50 or 60 chances to become a better parent.

While they're at it, change the stupid laws that prevent family &/or friends from removing these babies from danger and, in this case, death.

How many more Chloe's are out there because of the above

And lock the so called "mother" of Chloe up for life.

 

[marlywings]

From back at the trial earlier this year. This is absolutely despicable!!! An animal treats its young far better than this!!

25 Mar 2014

After Chloe's life support was turned off, her grandmother held her, whispering how much she was loved, while the girl's mother and her new partner left the hospital before she was pronounced dead.

Over a three-day period, Chloe was made to repeatedly ride a 50kg motorbike in the backyard.

She suffered massive injuries after separate incidents in which the bike crashed into a shed and pot plants, fell on top of her and smashed into a tree.

The crown prosecutor said that after the first day, video footage showed Chloe with a black eye which was so severe that it was almost closed.

An ambulance was not summonsed until some time after the tree crash.

Ms Valentine said she wanted Chloe to wear a newly-purchased princess outfit at her funeral, but Polkinghorne questioned why, saying "they are only going to burn her".

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/03/25/young-girl-looked-broken-doll-court

 

[SouthAussie]

“Remove the child — that’s all we wanted ... plenty of family wanted to take that child and put her in a safe place,” she said. “That didn’t happen.”

**
"Steven Harvey said Polkinghorne would talk about how dumb the social workers were and how easy it was to con them."

**
"He was responding to claims yesterday by family member Tricia Foord that close to 200 reports had been made to Families SA going back to when Polkinghorne was six months pregnant at the age of 15." (And yet Famiies SA only have records of, what, 20 reports?)

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/...-chloe-valentine/story-fni6uo1m-1226872170510

 

[SouthAussie]

Just wanted to correct myself (post #104 above). I notice that the child protection officers did not see 20-30 cases per week, it is that the Family Services manager would see 20-30 requests to close child abuse reports without investigation each week.

Don't know how many cases the officers dealt with each week. Maybe more will be revealed further into the inquest.


Sean Fewster ‏@SeanFewster 18h
Families SA manager would "see 20 to 30" requests to close child abuse reports without investigation "each week". #ChloeValentine @theTiser

 

[Ausgirl]

Ms Valentine said she wanted Chloe to wear a newly-purchased princess outfit at her funeral, but Polkinghorne questioned why, saying "they are only going to burn her".

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/03/25/young-girl-looked-broken-doll-court

:hug: Marly... this case makes me a bit *too* angry to safely post very often, without causing you the bother having to edit my posts... :x

So thank you for both your posts above, and especially the one re politics.... I too was NOT at ALL a fan of the baby bonus.. saw a LOT of teenaged mothers around that era, in the area I was living in it seemed every second teenager had a baby belly.. a truly horrible decision, with truly horrible consequences.

^ The quote above just made me cry. I'm having one of those mornings. Poor babies.... all of these darling kids... My animals live a thousand times better lives than these children. Gonna go love on them and my beautiful daughter, to cheer myself. Hugs, all.

 

[SouthAussie]

"THE grandmother of criminal neglect victim Chloe Valentine has called for an elite unit of mental health specialists and experienced social workers to investigate high-risk cases as part of an overhaul of Families SA.

Belinda Valentine, speaking out for the first time since Chloe’s death, also says the trouble-plagued Families SA should split from the Education Department.

Ms Valentine, 48, said inexperienced Families SA social workers and a faulty system failed to identify that her only daughter and Chloe’s mother, Ashlee Polkinghorne, was a highly intelligent woman and master actor who “lacked empathy for everybody’’.

She does not blame the well-meaning Families SA workers for her granddaughter’s death — those responsible are in jail, she said — but says a lack of proper investigation cost Chloe her life.

“When you realise you actually exhausted all that you could have done, it brings you to a point where you say to authorities, ‘don’t give us another bandaid’."

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/...013470300?nk=9f818ab77642fa9259e3f391319c5c61

 

[SouthAussie]

No tweets today yet?? Hope that the Coroner hasn't put the kabosh on them. Inquest should have been underway for about 45 mins now.

 

[SouthAussie]

Ah .. they must have started later today. First tweet has come through.

Sean Fewster ‏@SeanFewster 1m
The #ChloeValentine inquest is about to resume with evidence from SA Police senior constable James Bentley. @theTiser

 

[SouthAussie]

Sean Fewster ‏@SeanFewster 9m
Bentley carried out a welfare check after #ChloeValentine's mum got drunk at Glenelg and left her in a teenage friend's care.

Sean Fewster ‏@SeanFewster 8m
#ChloeValentine's mum, Ashlee Polkinghorne, had "wandered off" & couldn't be contacted.

Sean Fewster ‏@SeanFewster 8m
The friend with care of #ChloeValentine was younger than her mum, who was "grossly intoxicated" when she "wandered off".

Sean Fewster ‏@SeanFewster 5m
Bentley found #ChloeValentine "in a safe situation" and left her in the care of the mum's friend as she "was not in danger at that point".

Sean Fewster ‏@SeanFewster 4m
Bentley: Had I thought she was in danger, I could have taken custody of #ChloeValentine myself & delivered her to Families SA.

Sean Fewster ‏@SeanFewster 45s
Bentley: #ChloeValentine's dad refused to take her, he was very anti-police, we had hit a dead end. Left her in care of 15yo friend of mum.

Sean Fewster ‏@SeanFewster 1m
Bentley: Friend said #ChloeValentine's mum was paralytic drunk, she had been left with Chloe and no contact details for family members.

Sean Fewster ‏@SeanFewster 58s
Bentley: Teen took #ChloeValentine back to her home and sought police advice. I made call she was suitable to care for Chloe at that time.

 

[SouthAussie]

Even the police made a child abuse report to Families SA! Wonder if they closed that one without investigation too. :gaah:


Sean Fewster ‏@SeanFewster 5m
Bentley: I returned to the police station and made a child abuse report to Families SA. #ChloeValentine

Sean Fewster ‏@SeanFewster 37s
Bentley: I left a police patrol with #ChloeValentine. A 16mo baby with a 15yo juvenile is not good practice, they need an adult.

 

[SouthAussie]

.

:banghead:

Sean Fewster ‏@SeanFewster 2m
Bentley: Next day I learned #ChloeValentine was returned to her mum by Families SA in a chauffeured car. No idea if an adult went with her.

 

[PrimeSuspect]

Why did AP keep getting second chances a million times?!!!

:cry: Poor Chloe was let down by everyone, most of all her mother.

 

[SouthAussie]

Sean Fewster ‏@SeanFewster 26m
Next witness is former Women's & Children's Hospital social worker Claire Haskell, who saw #ChloeValentine in November 2008.

Sean Fewster ‏@SeanFewster 20m
This was incident in which #ChloeValentine's godmother, Krystal Benyk, took her to hospital when she was ill with gastro

Sean Fewster ‏@SeanFewster 18m
#ChloeValentine, you may remember from earlier in the inquest, had been given a bottle of curdled milk to drink by her mum

Sean Fewster ‏@SeanFewster 11m
Haskell: I wanted to speak to #ChloeValentine's mum when she came to the hospital; it never happened. She either didn't come or avoided me.

Sean Fewster ‏@SeanFewster 5m
Haskell: Families SA worker told me drinking problems of #ChloeValentine's mum were "being addressed".

Sean Fewster ‏@SeanFewster 3m
Haskell: I was told #ChloeValentine's mum was in Port Pirie and would be coming to the hospital to see her daughter

Sean Fewster ‏@SeanFewster 5m
Haskell: W&C Hospital arranged for nurse to visit #ChloeValentine at home, given concerns about mum's drinking, child's diet & dirty state.

Sean Fewster ‏@SeanFewster 3m
Haskell: If I had spoken to #ChloeValentine's mum, I would have offered her food vouchers and nappies.

 

[SouthAussie]

Sean Fewster ‏@SeanFewster 6m
Four days later, nurse reports #ChloeValentine hasn't been washed & is still wearing hospital tags.

:gaah:


Sean Fewster ‏@SeanFewster 5m
The #ChloeValentine inquest has adjourned until 2.15pm. Morning update coming soon on @theTiser

 

[SouthAussie]

Sean Fewster ‏@SeanFewster 1m
McDonald: #ChloeValentine had no toys. That was just unusual, there was nothing around for her to play with.

Sean Fewster ‏@SeanFewster 2m
McDonald: #ChloeValentine was grubby, dirty skin, still had hospital tag on. She obviously hadn't been bathed; she just looked uncared for.

Sean Fewster ‏@SeanFewster 4m
McDonald: #ChloeValentine's mum & friends were lazing about watching The Simpsons, not at all interested in the child - even mum.

Sean Fewster ‏@SeanFewster 3m
Families SA told McDonald they would meet with #ChloeValentine's mum and "continue to see the family regularly".

Sean Fewster ‏@SeanFewster 2m
McDonald: Fact they were watching The Simpsons indicates it was all about the mum. There was nothing for #ChloeValentine.

 

[marlywings]

The link contains photos and some video of Chloe on the motorbike...

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