Vulnerable girl, 12, repeatedly locked up in Bimberi

The girl appeared once again in the ACT Children’s Court on Friday after spending 45 nights in Bimberi since December 17.

While the court has said Bimberi is no place for the vulnerable 12-year-old, there are concerns her placement in the community is not meeting her needs.

And the government has so far failed to provide the kind of secure therapeutic protection place already allowed for under the law.

When not in custody the girl lives isolated from other children in a multi-bedroom facility run by Premier Youthworks.

There are few carers at the organisation still willing to supervise her, and no women. But if she leaves they have no power to restrain her, and police are called, and the cycle starts again, a magistrate said.

The girl, who cannot be named, has freely admitted she preferred Bimberi, where there is other children, structure and activities such as sport, and that that is the reason she offends.

After spending Christmas in detention she was released on January 25, but was arrested the next day after assaulting her carers.

She faced court on Friday on charges of common assault and property damage relating to assaults on her carers and biting a police officer.

The case had been adjourned to Friday for the director general to prepare a report, which said in part that they held concerns for her safety and that of others if she was released.

Magistrate Robert Cook said he had no doubt community services was doing everything it could to support her.

She had a therapeutic care team with case workers and other specialists.

But Mr Cook expressed serious concern the placement was not meeting her needs and raised the lack of options in Canberra.

Looking further afield, he said authorities had contacted secure therapeutic placements across Australia including Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and the Northern Territory.

But they are not willing to accept the girl, because she lives in Canberra. The girl's case exposes the absence of such a facility in the territory.

Mr Cook on Friday said it was surprising that the government of a community such as Canberra cannot provide such a place for the five or six children who it would benefit.

And it is not the first time a children's court magistrate has expressed frustration at the lack of options for young people exposed to significant trauma.

While Canberra’s children and young people laws allow for the minister to declare a therapeutic protection place, the government has not provided one.

In a statement on Friday, ACT Minister for Children Rachel Stephen-Smith said the current therapeutic protection provisions did not align with best practice.

She asked the ACT Human Rights Commission in December 2017 to review the law and develop options that align with contemporary knowledge.

"This work is underway, but is particularly complex due to the evolving evidence base and the unique nature of each child or young person’s trauma response and patterns of behaviour," Ms Stephen-Smith said.

"There is no one-size-fits-all solution in supporting children who have experienced significant trauma in their young lives as a result of abuse and neglect."

She understood the director general and senior officials had recently met with Mr Cook and she welcomed that engagement.

However, Ms Stephen-Smith said the work was complex and difficult, and that a child's progress through trauma would often be a case of two steps forward, one step back.

"I can assure the Canberra community that the directorate is working with its partners and drawing on experts in the field to respond to these very serious matters as they arise," she said.

On Friday, Mr Cook dismissed the charges against the girl and freed her from custody.