The Forgotten Tragedy of Zhane Chilcott: Boy kills himself after being bounced around 18 foster homes
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA: A 13-year-old South Australian boy, who moved about in 18 foster and residential homes before taking his own life, was failed on multiple occasions by his caretakers, an inquest has determined. Zhane Chilcott died in July 2016 when he was living in a residential care unit at Morphett Vale in Adelaide's south. In a note that he left behind, he expressed his desire to live with his mother rather than being placed in foster care.
An inquest into Chilcott's death was launched on Thursday, April 6, when it was revealed that his time within the Department for Child Protection was filled with instability as he lived in 18 different placements including foster care, emergency commercial care, and residential care. State Coroner David Whittle refrained from declaring that the 13-year-old's death might have been avoided. Whittle claimed that failures in Chilcott's case included missed chances for early intervention before he entered foster care and, in the time leading up to his passing, numerous missed chances to address his psychiatric issues, according to Daily Mail.
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'Number of missed opportunities in Zhane's case'
"An analysis of those missed opportunities does not lead with certainty to the conclusion that Zhane's death by suicide was preventable," the coroner said in his findings. He added, "I do find, however, that there were a number of missed opportunities in Zhane's case to moderate the chances of death by suicide. The cumulative effect of all those failings was to increase his risk of suicide. Had those failings not occurred, it can only be said that the risk of Zhane taking his own life must have been reduced."
Chilcott had been in some kind of state care or a foster home since he was around 12 months old, said Counsel Assisting Sally Giles at the beginning of the inquest. She said that during his brief life, the teen had severe placement instability, which left him with little chance to form close bonds with the people who looked after him. It was also revealed that Chilcott had a variety of behavioral problems both in care and at school, which were brought on by severe traumas and a lack of support throughout pivotal periods in his life.
Why was Zhane Chilcott taken out of an experienced foster home?
At one point, Chilcott was placed in the mid-north of SA with an experienced foster caregiver, where he was stated to have thrived, started going to school on a regular basis, and been nominated for a leadership position. However, he was taken out of that foster home after officials declined to give more money to his caretaker, who said he could not continue to look after the boy without an increase in funds.
During the hearing, Whittle suggested creating a risk registry for children in state custody, which would document any threats or instances of self-harm. In an effort to boost the number of individuals ready to take in children, the coroner also called for a reassessment of the compensation given to family-based foster carers. He also suggested that at least once every 12 months, the interaction between children in care and their biological family should be meaningfully taken into account.