The Tribune

By KEILE CAMPBELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

THE Child Protection Unit is struggling with a shortage of social workers as reports of child neglect nearly doubled during the first eight months of 2026, prompting the Department of Social Services to recruit additional staff to investigate cases.

Minister of Social Services Senator Barbara Cartwright acknowledged the staffing shortage yesterday when questioned by reporters about Department of Social Services figures showing child neglect reports rose from 94 to 184 between January and August this year, compared with the same period in 2025.

"Many social workers had strayed away from social services, but a lot of them are returning now, and so we are in the process of recruiting and hiring new social workers at this time," she said.

Mrs Cartwright did not explain why social workers had left the department or how many additional officers were needed.

She also revealed that she had met with the Child Protection Unit to discuss improvements and additional support.

"We are looking at ways to improving the whole department, increasing support," she said, without providing further details.

The staffing shortage comes amid an increase in reported child protection cases, with Department of Social Services figures showing 441 cases recorded between January and August this year, compared with 429 during the same period in 2025.

Reports of physical abuse rose from 83 to 106, while sexual abuse reports increased from 134 to 145.

When asked whether poverty could be contributing to the increase in child neglect reports, Mrs Cartwright pointed to the effects of financial instability on children, particularly their education.

"Children bear the burdens of their parents, and so you have children going to school feeling the pressures of financial instability in the home and they would not be able to learn well," she explained. "I think once we lose our children, we lose a nation, and so emphasis must be put on children's poverty."

Asked what assistance was available to prevent children from falling into neglect because of financial hardship, Mrs Cartwright stressed the importance of improving parents' financial circumstances.

"If we can help the parents, they can help the children," she said. "They have to upskill themselves, they have to get better jobs, thy have to look at options that they have available to them and try to see how they can better assist their families."

A ministry official explained that child protection officers investigate reports involving children suspected to be in danger, with the courts also involved in determining whether care orders are necessary.