Girl, 7, left in park

By Rebecca Fraser
AN ANGRY father has slammed the Hampton Park Community Centre for leaving his seven-year-old daughter behind on a day trip to Frankston.
Casey Smith, of Narre Warren, was left alone when school holiday program carers left Ballam Park without her last Tuesday shortly after 3pm.
The centre did not realise she was missing until her father, Paul Smith, arrived to collect her at 6pm.
Luckily, a male visitor to the park noticed Casey by herself and alerted Frankston police who collected her from the park about 3.30pm.
Mr Smith said the Stuart Avenue centre had failed in their duty of care and he would never let his two daughters attend the school holiday program again.
His other daughter Emma, 9, also went on the excursion but did not realise her sister was missing as they had played with different friends on the day and had not sat together on the bus.
Mr Smith said he had experienced feelings of both shock and disbelief when he was unable to locate Casey within the centre.
He said he was also angered by comments from centre staff that Emma should have noticed that her younger sibling was missing.
“It was the most harrowing 15 minutes of my life.
“After leaving work, I arrived at 6pm to collect and sign out my daughters.
“I entered the centre and was greeted by two of the carers and directed to where the children were playing. Having located Emma, I continued searching for Casey.
“I approached the house manager, who said Casey must be here, and assisted me in the search and stated that they carried out a count before leaving the park and all children were accounted for,” he said.
Mr Smith said the house manager had eventually telephoned 000 and learned that Casey was being held at Frankston Police Station.
He said it later emerged that Casey’s name had been marked off the attendance list but another community house worker advised her to go back to the park to collect her cap.
“The fact that a carer knowingly instructed Casey to return to the playground, then boarded the bus herself without any concern for Casey’s whereabouts, is totally deplorable and could have very easily resulted in a more serious course of events,” he said.
Mr Smith said he was very proud of the way Casey had handled the situation and police were most impressed with her ability to recall her telephone number, the suburb she lived in and the school she attended.
He said he had since been told that the matter did not come under the Department of Human Services’ jurisdiction, as the Commonwealth Government funded and accredited that particular program.
He said he had tried other agencies and would continue to pursue the matter and make sure someone was held accountable.
The manager of Hampton Park Community Centre, Jackie Bourke, said they had been minding children for more than 25 years and this was the first incident they had encountered.
“We sincerely regret that this has occurred and we have been in contact with the family. We are very thankful that the child was safely returned,” she said.