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| Number of Indigenous children in care to triple unless spending changes – report | Number of Indigenous children in care to triple unless spending changes – report |
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| The number of Indigenous children in out-of-home care will triple by 2036 unless Australia restructures its child protection spending to focus on early intervention and support services, according to a new report. | The number of Indigenous children in out-of-home care will triple by 2036 unless Australia restructures its child protection spending to focus on early intervention and support services, according to a new report. |
| The report by the Family Matters campaign, which will be presented in federal parliament on Wednesday, says the rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care has increased again in the past 12 months, indicating the gap is widening. | The report by the Family Matters campaign, which will be presented in federal parliament on Wednesday, says the rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care has increased again in the past 12 months, indicating the gap is widening. |
| It calls for a paradigm shift in the distribution and concentration of child protection funding to focus on community-controlled organisations that support children to remain with their families. | It calls for a paradigm shift in the distribution and concentration of child protection funding to focus on community-controlled organisations that support children to remain with their families. |
| Less than 20% of child protection funding in 2015-16, or about $800m, was spent on support services – the remaining $4bn was spent on child protection investigations and out-of-home care. | Less than 20% of child protection funding in 2015-16, or about $800m, was spent on support services – the remaining $4bn was spent on child protection investigations and out-of-home care. |
| The report also recommends that reducing the rate of child removal be included in the Closing the Gap targets, which expire in June and are undergoing a 10-year review. | The report also recommends that reducing the rate of child removal be included in the Closing the Gap targets, which expire in June and are undergoing a 10-year review. |
| They should include a target for increased spending on early intervention programs and proportional spending on Indigenous community-controlled organisations, Family Matters co-chair Natalie Lewis said. | They should include a target for increased spending on early intervention programs and proportional spending on Indigenous community-controlled organisations, Family Matters co-chair Natalie Lewis said. |
| “It’s essentially saying we need to invest in stopping people coming into the system rather than wasting money on responses that continue to produce poor outcomes,” she said. | “It’s essentially saying we need to invest in stopping people coming into the system rather than wasting money on responses that continue to produce poor outcomes,” she said. |
| Lewis, who heads the peak Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child protection organisation in Queensland, said involvement in the child protection system had flow-on effects for other indicators of disadvantage, particularly future involvement in the justice system. | Lewis, who heads the peak Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child protection organisation in Queensland, said involvement in the child protection system had flow-on effects for other indicators of disadvantage, particularly future involvement in the justice system. |
| She said the Queensland government had already committed to supporting national targets on reducing the number of Indigenous children in out-of-home care. | She said the Queensland government had already committed to supporting national targets on reducing the number of Indigenous children in out-of-home care. |
| “Involvement in state child protection systems is the clearest indicator of involvement in youth justice systems,” she told Guardian Australia. “All of the things in terms of disproportionate disadvantage that are drivers in child protection systems are those same drivers that exist in, and are exacerbated by, their involvement in the child protection system.” | “Involvement in state child protection systems is the clearest indicator of involvement in youth justice systems,” she told Guardian Australia. “All of the things in terms of disproportionate disadvantage that are drivers in child protection systems are those same drivers that exist in, and are exacerbated by, their involvement in the child protection system.” |
| Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are 9.8 times more likely to be removed from their families by child protection authorities than non-Indigenous children, according to figures compiled by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are 9.8 times more likely to be removed from their families by child protection authorities than non-Indigenous children, according to figures compiled by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. |
| The proportion of children in out-of-home care who identify as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander increased from 20% in 1997 to 36% in 2016. | The proportion of children in out-of-home care who identify as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander increased from 20% in 1997 to 36% in 2016. |
| In the past 10 years the proportion of Indigenous children in out-of-home care who were placed with Indigenous carers, either through kinship or other care mechanisms, fell from 65% to just over 50%. | In the past 10 years the proportion of Indigenous children in out-of-home care who were placed with Indigenous carers, either through kinship or other care mechanisms, fell from 65% to just over 50%. |
| While 67% of Indigenous children in care in 2016 were placed with either family, kin or an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander carer, only 50.5% were with an Indigenous carer. The remaining 16.5% were placed with non-Indigenous family members. | While 67% of Indigenous children in care in 2016 were placed with either family, kin or an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander carer, only 50.5% were with an Indigenous carer. The remaining 16.5% were placed with non-Indigenous family members. |
| Most states did not publish rates of family reunification. | Most states did not publish rates of family reunification. |
| In April the United Nations special special rapporteur on Indigenous rights, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, said the rate of Indigenous child removal in Australia was “unique” and contributed to inequality. | In April the United Nations special special rapporteur on Indigenous rights, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, said the rate of Indigenous child removal in Australia was “unique” and contributed to inequality. |
| Lewis said granting Indigenous community-controlled organisations greater power over the initial placement of Indigenous children would increase the likelihood that an appropriate kinship carer would be found, which she said would avoid the “catastrophic impacts of taking people away from family and culture”. | Lewis said granting Indigenous community-controlled organisations greater power over the initial placement of Indigenous children would increase the likelihood that an appropriate kinship carer would be found, which she said would avoid the “catastrophic impacts of taking people away from family and culture”. |
| Both Victoria and Queensland have moved to give authorised Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations greater control over the placement of Indigenous kids. | Both Victoria and Queensland have moved to give authorised Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations greater control over the placement of Indigenous kids. |
| Lewis said there was a lack of understanding of kinship care, which she said should not properly be classed as out-of-home care but instead be seen as being consistent with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander family structures. | Lewis said there was a lack of understanding of kinship care, which she said should not properly be classed as out-of-home care but instead be seen as being consistent with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander family structures. |
| “The kinship structure is a strength of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families,” Lewis said. “Being reunited with and raised by an aunty or a grandparent is not incompatible with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of caring for children.” | “The kinship structure is a strength of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families,” Lewis said. “Being reunited with and raised by an aunty or a grandparent is not incompatible with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of caring for children.” |
| The federal government was due to begin community consultation on proposed new Closing the Gap targets this month, with a view to finalising the targets by June, when the current targets expire. | The federal government was due to begin community consultation on proposed new Closing the Gap targets this month, with a view to finalising the targets by June, when the current targets expire. |
| But Labor state and territory ministers asked that the deadline be pushed back to December 2018 to allow for more extensive consultation. | But Labor state and territory ministers asked that the deadline be pushed back to December 2018 to allow for more extensive consultation. |
| The National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples, which is addressing the United Nations committee on the elimination of racial discrimination in Geneva this week about issues including the overrepresentation of Indigenous children in out-of-home care, told a Council of Australian Governments meeting that targets to reduce the rate of children in out-of-home care and the rate of over-representation in the justice system were its priorities. | The National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples, which is addressing the United Nations committee on the elimination of racial discrimination in Geneva this week about issues including the overrepresentation of Indigenous children in out-of-home care, told a Council of Australian Governments meeting that targets to reduce the rate of children in out-of-home care and the rate of over-representation in the justice system were its priorities. |