Bringing-Them-Home-Report-Web

• … To acknowledge the importance of maintaining and promoting the relationshipbetween the child, the parents, guardians or persons having the custody of the child (and whereappropriate, the extended family of the child).• To maintain the continuity of living arrangements in the child’s usual ethnic and socialenvironment.• To consult with the child’s parents and other persons with responsibility for the welfareof the child in accordance with Aboriginal customary law; and such Aboriginal organisations asare appropriate in the care of the particular child.• To encourage Aboriginal control in matters relating to the welfare and care of Aboriginalchildren and practice sensitivity and have respect for Aboriginal cultural issues in providing childwelfare services to Aboriginals.The policy directs the department that ‘[o]ther than in serious crisis situations, childremoval should be a planned and co-ordinated action based upon a case conference whichincludes consultation with relevant Aboriginal organisations/community persons’.The policy offers no guidance on the order of priority for placement decisions or onthe weight to be placed on cultural factors. While the department claims that the ACPP isput into practice through its close working relationship with Aboriginal child careorganisations, the Inquiry received evidence of strained relations or non-existent relationsin some areas (ALSWA submission 127 page 324, Broome and Derby Working Groups submission518 page 3, Kimberley Land Council submission 345 page 28).Indigenous children constitute approximately 4.3% of children in WA. In June 1994they constituted 34% of all children in care. They are therefore approximately eight timesover-represented in care orders.Thorpe analysed 325 cases arising in WA between March and June 1987. He foundthat Indigenous children represented 23% of all neglect/abuse notifications and 32% ofsubstantiated allegations. Further, substitute care was the outcome in substantiated casesfor 52.5% of Aboriginal children compared with 22.5% of other children. ‘The morecoercive and intrusive the child protection operation becomes, so the over-representationof Aboriginal children increases’ (Thorpe 1994 page 161).WA recently reported that about 85% of Indigenous children in out-of-home care inthe State were placed with Indigenous carers at the end of June 1996 (Government ServiceProvision 1997 page 555).QueenslandThe ACPP was adopted as the policy of the Queensland welfare department in 1987,having been adopted in draft form in 1984. If placement in accordance with the ACPP isnot possible then arrangements which allow for a continuing relationship with parentsand community should be developed. O’Connor reviewed the implementation of theQueensland policy for the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. Hefound ignorance of the policy and/or of its significance among departmental staff and