1. Ice addict parents who had eight children taken away from them have a full-time care worker in their home to help them keep their ninth child.
A couple addicted to ice and living a life marred by violence and neglect have had a full time care worker appointed to them to assist them in their home to help them keep their ninth child, a baby boy.
The NSW scheme has been called a “radical new child protection scheme”, reports The Daily Telegraph.
The baby boy was identified as being one of the more than 2,000 unborn babies across NSW each year “at risk of significant harm” before birth.
Western Sydney Local Health District Kylie Hughes told The Daily Telegraph the couple lost eight children because of drugs, alcohol and domestic violence issues.
But through the scheme, with the help of the full time worker in their home they have retained custody of their newborn baby boy, who is now seven months old.
“We had someone in their house with them assisting them with their interactions with the baby (and) observing them and ensuring that there was no more violence,” she said.
Family and Community Services Minister Brad Hazzard said some parents “know more about dope than they do about the food necessary to keep their babies alive”.
2. Community struggles to come to terms with the death of two children, allegedly at the hands of their father.
The community of Yanchep is struggling to deal with the murders of two children aged 5 and 3, allegedly by their father Jason Craig Headland.
Locals gathered to lay teddies, cards and flowers at the home where the bodies of Zaraiyah-Lily, 5, and Andreas, 3, were found on Thursday night. It has not been revealed how the siblings died.
Their 35-year-old father is under police guard at Royal Perth Hospital with a self-inflicted injury.