Bringing-Them-Home-Report-Web

The SA Aboriginal Child Care Agency also recommended to the Inquiry that,Link up services should be accessible to Aboriginal people and offered in non-threateningenvironments. Link-up services must be offered from non-government Aboriginal organisationssuch as Aboriginal Child Care Agencies (submission 347 page 9).Even the close working relationship between Yorganop in WA and the Departmentof Family and Children’s Services has raised suspicions among some Indigenous peoplein that State.It is potentially fatal to Yorganop’s survival and effectiveness that it be perceived as dependenton government. This problem is reinforced by the fact that Yorganop relies solely on Family andChildren’s Services funding, which is inadequate. The legacy of assimilation policies andpractices, as administered by the Department of Native Welfare … makes it crucial for Yorganopto be seen to be independent from Family and Children’s Services (Aboriginal Legal Service ofWA submission 127 page 289).Family reunion services advised the Inquiry that their funding does not permit themto meet the demand for their services in a timely way (Link-Up (NSW) submission 186page 165, Link-Up (Qld) submission 397 page 22). Very significant backlogs werereported by some services. The Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre received 250 enquiries in1995 but made only 19 reunions, although not all enquiries necessarily requiredresolution by reunion. Karu in Darwin closed only 52 files during 1995 while 215remained active at the year’s close. Link-Up (Qld) has assessed its current additionalstaffing needs as four caseworkers, two grief and loss counsellors, a staff supervisor andarchivists, together with additional funding for travel to conduct reunions (submission 397page 22).The plight of people in rural and remote communities is of particular concern. Withoffices only in capital cities, with the exception of the Central Australian Aboriginal andIslander Child Care Agency in Alice Springs, the family reunion services find it difficultto provide a full service throughout their respective States. In NSW there are suggestionsfor regional meetings to develop support groups to assist and refer rural people betweenvisits by link-up workers (Learning from the Past 1994 page 66). In WA remote Pilbaraand Kimberley communities are simply without a family tracing and reunion service atall (Kimberley Land Council submission 345 page 25; the KLC is currently sponsoring a bid forfunding for a regional link-up service).With most services focused on providing immediate client services there is littletime, resources or energy for attention to the broader picture. All services should be in aposition to engage fully and effectively in:• regular national networking and issues-based conferences,• involvement in revision (or design) of common record access guidelines,• advocacy generally for their clients as a group with record agencies,