More and more Queensland children are being taken into care due to neglect from ice-addicted parents, with the state's child safety minister warning that number will only grow as the drug epidemic worsens.
Across the state, 782 children were taken into care during the year to March as a result of ice abuse from one or both of their parents, up from 749 in the year to December.
Child Safety minister Shannon Fentiman said the majority of those parents had only started using the drug in the past year, indicating the problem would only get worse.
"The most shocking thing for me was seeing that a lot of these parents with young children are using ice for the first time," she said.
"This is going to be a growing trend for at least the next little while."
She said more than half of the children taken into care had been neglected by their parents, while almost a third had suffered emotional harm and 13 per cent had suffered physical harm.
"We are seeing children neglected by their parents, not being sent to school, not getting the nutrition or health care that they need and that is a huge concern to us," she said.
Ms Fentiman said the introduction of mandatory drug testing for parents suspected of drug use as child Safety officers intervene to protect children, while another 129 frontline staff were added to the department last year.
