One-third of the children reported to welfare authorities did not receive a face-to-face assessment from child protection specialists before their deaths, a NSW government report has found.
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The Child Deaths 2013 annual report, published on Thursday, analyses the Department of Family and Community Services involvement with the families of the 75 children known to the department who died in 2013.
While the report found that in most cases the children died in circumstances not directly related to their child protection reports, it raised concerns about the higher mortality rate of youngsters known to the department.
The report found that 66 per cent of the children who died in 2013 were the subject of a Risk of Significant Harm (ROSH) in the three years before their deaths. Some had a history of multiple reports.
Community Services staff conducted face-to-face assessments with families in 69 per cent of cases but 31 per cent were not seen, with higher-priority cases being the main reason.
Most children died from illness or disease, followed by Sudden and Unexpected Death in Infancy (SUDI) and extreme prematurity. Two children died from inflicted or suspicious injuries.
Six of the children and young people were in out-of-home care when they died, three of whom were living with relatives and three with authorised carers.
Most of the children who died were under 1, with boys outnumbering girls.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children comprised almost half those who died, with Family and Community Services minister Gabrielle Upton saying the report highlighted their vulnerability.
"The report also found 35 of the 75 deaths were Aboriginal children," she said. "That overrepresentation sadly is neither a new feature nor something unique to NSW. Aboriginal children remain one of the most vulnerable groups in the community so better support for Aboriginal families is a priority for the government." The number of deaths of children known to the department has steadily declined, from 139 in 2010 to 75 last year.
The report found the decline is probably because of a change in the reporting threshold, which meant that fewer reports met the criteria for serious harm.
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