Care home refuses to accept baby of 14-year-old resident, prompting magistrate to criticise Queensland authorities

A children’s court magistrate has criticised authorities’ handling of a case involving a Queensland care home’s refusal to accept the baby of a 14-year-old resident with an intellectual disability. Photograph: eranicle/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Mia Buckley* is a 14-year-old Indigenous girl with an intellectual disability, she is in the custody of the state of Queensland and lives in a government-funded residential care home.

In October, Mia gave birth to a baby boy. When she returned home from hospital, the residential care facility, after receiving advice from the state child safety department, refused to take the infant.