<
https://theconversation.com/what-is-kinship-care-why-is-it-favoured-for-aboriginal-children-over-foster-care-219115>
"The 1997
Bringing Them Home report into the removal of Aboriginal children
from their families was a turning point in Australia’s history. The inquiry
rejected past government policies of assimilation and endorsed the importance
of keeping Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children with their families.
Reducing the over-representation of Aboriginal children in out-of-home care is
now a target of the federal government’s Closing the Gap policy.
Yet the rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home
care is increasing. Between 2021–2022 around 4,100 Indigenous children were
placed in out-of-home care nationally. The highest rates were among children
under one year old.
Across all age groups, Indigenous children are placed in out-of-home care at
almost 12 times the rate of non-Indigenous children. In Western Australia,
Indigenous children are placed in out-of-home care at 20 times the rate of
non-Indigenous children.
Alongside the
Closing the Gap target, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander Child Placement Principle recognises the rights of Indigenous children
in maintaining connections with their culture, family and community.
Yet until recently, fewer than half of Indigenous children removed from their
families were placed with kin or in their community. National efforts to better
meet best-practice standards has led to a small increase in Indigenous children
placed in kinship arrangements from 50% in 2017 to 54% in 2022. Clearly this
situation must improve."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
