BY KATHY MCLEISH APR 27, 2017
One-third of children who came into the care of the Queensland’s Department of Child Safety in 2016 had parents who use or have used methamphetamines, most commonly ice, a new report has found.
About 60 per cent of those 749 children suffered neglect, about a third were subjected to emotional harm, 11 per cent experienced physical harm and 1 per cent were sexually abused.
Of the children with a parent who had used ice:
- 59pc were neglected
- 29pc experienced emotional harm
- 11pc were physically harmed
- 1 per cent had experienced sexual abuse
The study also found parents known to the child protection system used ice more regularly than alcohol. Of those who used the drug, more than two-thirds had a criminal history and about the same number had been diagnosed with a mental illness. About 68 per cent had experienced family and domestic violence in the past year. Most of the children affected were aged from newborn to five-year-olds.
