Bringing-Them-Home-Report-Web

Confidential submission 9, Queensland: father Aboriginal, mother non-Aboriginal; Andrew wasadopted by an Aboriginal family.The Queensland Department advised the Inquiry that,… in the case of a child whose parents were not married to each other at the conception of thechild, and in relation to whom there is no other guardian by virtue of s. 6 of the Act, the consentrequired for the adoption of the child is that of the birth mother.However, this is not to say that the birth father is not considered and consulted by the Departmentin relation to the custody and guardianship of the child.Wherever possible, the Department attempts to ascertain the identity of the birth father of thechild, and what his wishes are in relation to the child’s future. The identity of the birth father is,however, often totally dependant on whether the birth mother wishes to, or will, identify him.Birth mothers are encouraged to discuss this with the birth father of their child …The information forms [received by the Department prior to approval of Andrew’s adoption]contained the birth father’s name and the information that the birth mother had not informed thebirth father about the birth. The forms also contained the information that the birth mother hadtold family and friends that the baby had died. The forms do not specifically mention whether thebirth mother had originally told the birth father about the pregnancy or whether she intended totell the birth father himself that the baby had died.The birth father was not contacted about the child or the adoption (document on file, confidentialsubmission 9).The full involvement of Indigenous child and family service agencies in placementdecision-making is the best safeguard of equity for Indigenous children and theirfamilies. The entrenchment in legislation of the Aboriginal Child Placement Principle,with its declaration that the best interests of Indigenous children are typically best servedby their remaining in the Indigenous community, preferably in their own families andcommunities, would further protect them from the potentially discriminatory effects ofplacement in non-Indigenous families.The assessment of prospective Indigenous adoptive families is another area in whichdiscrimination is likely to occur. The qualifications and procedures applying toprospective adoptive parents can deter and even disqualify a high proportion ofAboriginal adopters.It is essential that the roles of recruiting, assessing, training and supportingIndigenous adoptive parents and, in rare cases where it is in the child’s best interests,