An inquest into the tragic death of Elizabeth Struhs, an eight-year-old girl from Queensland, revealed that her child protection case was not adequately prioritized due to the overwhelming workload of the assigned case worker. The coroner's court heard that the case worker was "very busy" and may have been "overly influenced" by the perception of the Struhs family's socioeconomic status.
Background
Elizabeth Struhs died on January 7, 2022, from diabetic ketoacidosis after her father, Jason Struhs, ceased providing her with insulin for her type 1 diabetes. The family was part of a religious sect that denied medical treatment, which Jason had joined in 2021 after converting to his wife's beliefs.
The inquest, led by Coroner Ainslie Kirkegaard, is examining the circumstances surrounding Elizabeth's death, including previous interactions with child safety services. Elizabeth had previously been hospitalized in a coma in 2019, which prompted child safety involvement.
Child Safety Involvement
The child safety department ended its involvement with the Struhs family after just 17 weeks, despite the case being classified as requiring intensive intervention. The single case worker assigned to Elizabeth's case admitted in court that her approach was not intensive and that she failed to conduct weekly check-ins as required by departmental guidelines.
