Queensland kids worse off than kids in other states: report

Queensland’s children are among the most disadvantaged in the country, a report has found, with almost a quarter not meeting developmental milestones as they suffer from insecure housing and tight family budgets.

The number of families without safe or stable places to live is increasing, the University of Queensland-authored Raising Queensland report found, with census data showing almost two in five homeless people in Queensland are aged between 12 and 24.

At the release of her report on Monday, lead author Professor Karen Healy said 92 per cent of Queensland children are in the normal developmental range at birth, but this figure drops to 76 per cent by the age of five.

She said the remaining children start school behind on reading, writing and language skills.

“Children [are also] attending school without the basic sustenance that they need, such as not having a nutritious breakfast, and are also living in [housing stress],” Healy said.

“These all create difficulties and stresses for students that make it very difficult for young children to concentrate in their learning journey.”

The report was released as 26 frontline social services came together to launch their campaign, also called Raising Queensland.

Brisbane mother Karissa told media she had been living in crisis accommodation with her 13-year-old daughter since October.

As they waited for social housing, her daughter had not been going to school.

“She’s struggling in mainstream, so we’re trying to get into an alternative school at the moment, because she hasn’t been engaged in school … she goes and gets suspended,” Karissa said.

Brisbane mother-of-two Linda Rose spent two years living in a motel with her young children before social housing became available.

She said the lack of routine and access to normal household amenities affected her elder child’s education.

“[Life in a hotel was] draining from the moment you wake up to the moment you go to bed … there’s just no routine.”

Healy said children who did not meet developmental milestones early in life were at higher risk of dropping out of school, and those who became disengaged from education were overrepresented in the youth justice system.

Edmund Rice chief executive Dr Matt Hawkins said disengagement levels were rising, pointing to research that trauma and instability in early years could affect adolescent brain development.

“If you’re a 14-year-old boy who is sleeping in a car and doesn’t have access to three meals a day, or isn’t accessing health support, it’s very difficult to arrive at school and engage in education,” he said.

Queensland Council of Social Service CEO Aimee McVeigh called for policies to help the most vulnerable families: low-income earners, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families, young parents and children leaving care.

“Our sector is saying it is getting harder and harder to raise children in Queensland,” McVeigh said.

“We need the government to step up, to organise themselves, to make sure that the strategy goes across housing, health and education, and that it has a tangible difference for the most vulnerable people in our community.

“The way government’s structured is not a good enough excuse not to coordinate our efforts to help families right now.”

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