DoCS made no contact with family of pregnant 12-year-old

DoCS has admitted it failed to make any contact with the family of a 12-year-old girl who fell pregnant to her 15-year-old live-in boyfriend.

This is despite serious concerns being raised by the girl’s father.

The girl had shared a bed with the father of her unborn child from the age of 11 after her mother allowed the boy to move into their home.

"We did follow up on the concerns but we were unable to confirm the allegations," DoCS Deputy Director General Annette Gallard said.

"We were doing all we could but unfortunately we were not able to make contact with the girl or her family."

On June 3, independent Dubbo MP Dawn Fardell told parliament the girl's father had discovered her pregnancy after he had been called in to take care of her because her mother was in a mental health unit.

Community services minister Linda Burney's admitted major mistakes were made by her department.

"It is true in my view that DoCS should have intervened more strenuously than what they did," Ms Burney said on Tuesday.

Opposition community services spokeswoman Pru Goward blamed DoCS' refusal to call on the help of community organisations for the girl's plight.

"If you are a local community group you know your local organisations that can help, you can ring the local school, you can ring the local doctor, you know who will be able to assist and reach that girl," she said.

"It is very difficult to do that when you are a government department sitting on the outside."

credited to livenews.com.au