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Five-year-old boy who died while in foster care discovered to have a “large” cocktail of drugs in his tiny body.

A toxicology report into the boy’s death revealed “diazepam, morphine, opiates and possibly heroin” inside his system, as well as an “unaccounted for” bruise “possibly from a syringe” on his arm, insect bites, and a bad burn on his back, according to a child protection whistle blower speaking to News Corp.

The Daily Telegraph reports the staff at the boy’s kindergarten rang for an ambulance after spotting the boy’s severe burn, and expressed fears the boy was being abused to Family and Community Services.

The boy was not taken away from his foster parents and died a week later on his foster parent’s couch in 2015.

The five-year-old, who suffered from epilepsy and hepatitis C, was placed in foster care shortly after birth because his natural mother was reportedly a drug addict.

The boy’s older brother was also placed in the care of the five-year-old’s foster parents, but was removed soon after his sibling died in 2015.

Deputy State Coroner Derek Lee said the NSW Ombudsman is “conducting a review of the circumstances of [the boy’s] death.”

A Family of Community Services spokesperson told News Corp the department was “deeply saddened by the tragic death of this child.”

“FACS treats every allegation of mistreatment of children with the utmost importance, and every effort is made to support police and other government agencies when these serious matters are investigated.”

Something urgently needs to be done to change the foster care system. Too many of these cases are being reported.


Related story: Foster family face murder and incest charges over Tiahleigh Palmer


 

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Image via Daily Telegraph

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  • What a tragic story. This poor little boy. It’s insane that there are people who would torture children. They have no desire to help, they only see these kids as a larger pay check.

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  • It is terribly sad and seems to be happening more. I think they need different screening for foster parents as it is obviously not working. This should never have happened.

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  • There was a case in SA a few years ago of a baby who was crying with teething. The Mum put one drug in the baby’s bottle so he would have some sleep. It was a teenage son who discovered he wasn’t breathing and called an Ambulance. Ambulance staff gave CPR all the way to the hospital and kept doiing it when they arrived at the hospital. It was hospital staff who opened the doors of the Ambulance not the paramedics. Despite the efforts of paramedics and hospital specialists he never regained consciousness at all. All the staff were very distressed because it was drug related not other illness. It was later discovered that the family was known to the Police. In age Teens upwards they were all drug addicts, including the one that rang for an ambulance.

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  • How can this happen? Aren’t foster parents screened? Poor little child… :-(

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  • Such a tragedy ????

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  • RIP little one. i hope they catch those that gave him the drugs

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  • It is so sad to read the stories of child abuse and death.

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