This is my story.

An Urgent Statement on My Experience in DCP Care

My name is Tiah, and I am now 18 years old.

I entered DCP care at the age of 11 after being told that I would be given a safer and happier life. Instead, my experience in care was one of the most traumatic periods of my life, and I feel it is important that my story is heard.

When I was placed into care, I was not allowed to do things that many children my age were able to do. I was not allowed to visit friends, stay at friends' houses, or participate in many normal social activities. Not only was I removed from my mother and father, but I was also separated from my family, relatives, and siblings. I was repeatedly denied the opportunity to maintain the important relationships that had been a significant part of my life.

The isolation and trauma I experienced had a devastating impact on me. By the age of 12, I had begun running away from placements and using substances such as cannabis and nicotine—things that no 12-year-old should be involved with. Rather than feeling safer, my life began to deteriorate. By the time I was 15, I had been running away for so long that I was signed back over to my parents, yet I was somehow still considered to be in care.

During court proceedings, I was provided with a lawyer to discuss my home life and circumstances. My siblings and I repeatedly expressed that we wanted to return home and have a normal life with our family. Despite consistently voicing our wishes, it felt as though nobody listened. Our opinions seemed to have little impact on the decisions being made about our lives.

One of the most difficult aspects of the system is that children are removed from their families and placed with complete strangers. I continue to question how this is always considered safer. While living in one of these placements, I experienced abuse. I was hit, my comfort items—including my teddy bear—were taken away, and my hand was repeatedly slammed in doors. I was yelled at for not finishing my food and even for spending time with my sister in her room. I also witnessed situations that made me feel deeply uncomfortable and concerned, including men bathing my younger sisters.

DCP claimed that these placements were for our safety, yet I felt more unsafe than I had ever felt in my life. Instead of protecting me, the system exposed me to years of trauma that continue to affect me today.

Another issue that I believe deserves attention is the level of support provided to carers compared with parents. Carers receive significantly higher payments and resources to look after children in care, making it far easier for them to meet a child's needs than it is for many parents, who often receive significantly less support. If more of those resources were directed toward helping families stay together safely, many children might not need to enter care in the first place.

At 17 years old, I was placed in a SILS house through Salvation Army Housing until I turned 18. Throughout this time, I was told that if I attended all required appointments and complied with expectations, support would be provided to help me secure housing. I was also told that it would be easier if I moved in with a family member.

However, just three weeks before I was due to leave the house, I was informed that no housing had been arranged and that there was nothing they could do. After years in care, I was effectively left without stable accommodation and forced to fend for myself.

This experience raises serious questions about a system that removes children from their families, places them with strangers, separates them from their siblings and support networks, and then, upon turning 18, often directs them back toward the same family members they were originally taken from. If returning to family is considered the best option once a young person leaves care, why is every effort not made to support and strengthen those family relationships from the beginning?

In my experience, the system failed to listen to the children it was meant to protect. Rather than focusing solely on removing children, there should be greater efforts to support parents, improve home environments where possible, and work towards family reunification. Many families need help, resources, and guidance—not permanent separation.

My experience in care left me with trauma, instability, and lasting emotional harm. I believe there are serious flaws within the system that need urgent attention. No child should have to experience abuse, isolation, separation from their siblings, broken promises, or homelessness after spending years in state care.

I am sharing my story because I believe children deserve to be heard, families deserve genuine support, and the system must be held accountable when it fails those it was created to protect.