Family violence to blame for number of Aboriginal children in care, inquiry told
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Version 0 of 1. Family violence is the biggest reason why 63 out of every 1,000 Aboriginal children in Victoria are in out-of-home care, a royal commission has heard. Andrew Jackomos, the state’s commissioner for Aboriginal children and young people, told the inquiry into domestic violence in Melbourne on Tuesday. This compared with five out of every 1,000 children in the broader community. The most common reason for children being removed from their homes was family violence, he said. The findings came from the government’s Taskforce 1,000 initiative, aimed at improving the education, health and connection to culture of Aboriginal children in out-of-home care. Related: Family violence can affect children even before birth, royal commission told Aboriginal children were often torn from their culture when removed from their homes, Jackomos said, and he urged for greater efforts to preserve the connections between children and their heritage. “I’d love to see the [government] take a more proactive role in providing cultural experiences to our children, there is work around ensuring kids having good cultural care plans,” Jackomos told the commission. “I would love to see support for programs that promote positive, healthy, respectful relationships, so they grow up they know that a relationship, a good relationship, isn’t one where dad bashes mum. “Family violence may not have been a part of our traditional culture, but it is certainly a part of our current culture.” Related: Protestors stage more rallies over plans to close remote Aboriginal communities Aboriginal children in out-of-home care were ill-prepared for life beyond care and into adulthood, Jackomos said. Too often, they moved between out-of-home care, juvenile detention and jail. “For virtually every child we see, one of the parents has been in child protection or incarcerated,” Jackomos said. “We see children with signifiant behavioural issues, and disengagement from school. We are seeing, in child protection, high numbers of Koori children with poorer education outcomes.” Some out-of-home care service providers, including foster parents, refused to acknowledge a child’s Aboriginality, Jackomos told the commission. “The majority of these children don’t have access to positive Koori role models,” he said. “They don’t have access to culture and community.” There were many vulnerable Aboriginal children who were unaccounted for because they were homeless, wandering the streets, Jackomos said. He told the commission that he was particularly worried for these children that had fallen through the gaps. Related: Aboriginal children in WA face harsher treatment in justice system – Amnesty Family violence was a gender issue, Jackomos said, and funding must be directed accordingly. He praised the Bumps to Babes and Beyond project, a two-year parenting program designed to meet the specific needs of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community in Mildura. The program provided health workers to vulnerable women and their families during pregnancy and through the first 18 months of their baby’s life. All children remained in the care of their mother at the end of the research period. That program must be expanded, he said. But funding often favoured men’s initiatives, such as boys’ football clubs and other sporting programs, Jackomos said. “What we don’t see is a lot of programs that support the rights of Koori women as victims [of family violence].” Earlier on Tuesday, the commission heard about the impact of family violence on children from Professor Louise Newman, director of the centre for women’s mental health at Melbourne’s Royal women’s hospital, and Dr Robyn Miller, a social worker and family therapist. Newman told the commission family violence often escalated during pregnancy because it was a time when women were more vulnerable, and women’s attention was drawn away from their partner and towards their child. The hearings continue. The National Sexual Assault, Family & Domestic Violence Counselling help line can be reached at 1800 737 732 The Men’s Referral Service provides anonymous and confidential telephone counselling, information and referrals to men to help them take action to stop using violent and controlling behaviour: 1300 766 491 |