Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and community-controlled services are best placed to drive change for our children
For National Child Protection Week, SNAICC calls on governments and organisations to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled services and communities as key to reduce the number of our children in out-of-home care.
In 2020, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children made up 41% of children in out-of-home care in Australia despite being only 5.9% of Australia’s child population.
The statistics are alarming – our children are 11 times more likely to be living away from their parents than non-Indigenous children,” Catherine Liddle said, CEO for the national peak body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.
“If this continues at the current trajectory, the number of our children in out-of-home care will double by 2030.
“It is time for change. It’s time to be bold in our thinking, and our planning, so together we can transform the system.
“Let’s ensure funding is channelled to our Aboriginal community-controlled services as the experts in keeping our children and families connected to culture and delivering culturally-safe child- and family-centred support programs,” Ms Liddle continued.
“As a new 10-year framework for protecting Australia’s children is being developed, now is the time to prioritise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children to ensure we close the gap in the over-representation of our children in out-of-home care.”
SNAICC is calling on governments to work with us to ensure the new National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children aligns with the historic National Agreement on Closing the Gap and upholds commitment to the priority reforms.
Target 12 in the agreement commits to reducing the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care by 45% by 2031. As detailed in the Annual Data Compilation Report this July, this target is not on track to be met.
We are committed to bringing about systemic change so that every Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander boy or girl can grow up connected to their people, understanding their identity and belonging to their communities.”
– Catherine Liddle, SNAICC CEO
Media release 7 September 2021: It’s time to transform the system – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and community-controlled services are best placed to drive change for our children
