A 17-year-old boy died at WA's Banksia Hill Youth Detention Centre on Thursday, marking the second death of a child in custody in the state within a year. The incident has renewed criticism over the state's youth detention system following repeated warnings about the “inhumane treatment” of young people in the system. The teenager was last year removed from an out-of-home care program where he "thrived", with the carer saying the boy would likely still be alive today if he had stayed.
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00:00Anita Paris recalls the last phone call she received from the boy.
00:08He wanted to hear the voice of someone who truly cared for him.
00:11We feel like we've lost a family member.
00:14About a week later, the 17-year-old fatally self-harmed in his cell at the Banksia Hill
00:18Youth Detention Centre.
00:20Miss Paris says when he went back into detention last year, the department decided to remove
00:25him from their care.
00:26He required specialised care.
00:29He wasn't receiving it at that time.
00:32He spiralled.
00:34The organisation was among the out-of-home care providers that missed out on funding
00:39as part of reforms by the Department of Communities, announced a day after 16-year-old Cleveland
00:45Dodd also fatally self-harmed in detention last year.
00:49In an email to the Minister for Child Protection, Miss Paris warned her organisation had strong
00:55relationships with several children serving time, and not having a home for them on their
01:00release would be catastrophic.
01:02She says she never received a meaningful response to her concerns.
01:07The department's latest annual report said its changes were focused on best interests
01:11of the child by moving them out of individualised care arrangements.
01:16Now that model of care is expensive, but it certainly does work for the children that
01:22need it.
01:23We cannot be expecting foster carers to be able to support some of these children who
01:29have significantly challenging behaviours.
01:33The department did not answer the ABC's questions on how the changes would affect the individualised
01:39care arrangements, but in a statement, a spokesperson said the reforms would produce better outcomes
01:44for WA's most vulnerable children.
01:47Miss Paris says she was told it was a cost-cutting measure.
01:51The children will need to move elsewhere into group models or whatever it is that can
01:55be done to save some bucks.
01:58She fears for the fate of detainees still in her organisation's care, with funding from
02:03the state set to run out in weeks.