ALWAYS WAS ALWAYS WILL BE KOORI CHILDREN

4. Inquiry
findings
Finding 1:
High numbers of Aboriginal children
experiencing family violence in combination
with parental alcohol and/or substance
abuse are coming to the attention of child
protection, leading to their removal from
family and placement in out-of-home care.
Figure 5: Known risk factors for children reviewed during
Taskforce 1000
Number of children
1,000
800
868 852
555
600
482
4.1 Drivers for child protection
involvement and entry to
out-of-home care
400
200
346
230
190
151
132
149. Taskforce 1000 survey data indicates that most children
and their mothers had been exposed to multiple risk
factors, which led to child protection involvement
and subsequent placement in out-of-home care,
as shown in Figure 5. The often causal relationship
and interconnectedness between these risk factors
is complex.
150. The major drivers leading to statutory child protection
involvement for the children reviewed during Taskforce
1000 were exposure to family violence and parental
alcohol and/or substance abuse. Of the 980 children
reviewed, 868 were known to have been exposed to
violence within the family home, most often perpetrated
by a male family member, and 852 children were exposed
to a parent with alcohol or substance abuse issues.
0
Family violence
Parental alcohol
/substance use
Parental mental illness
n = 980 children
Source: Appendix 1, Table A8.
Neglect
Physical abuse
Aggressive/antisocial
behaviour (child)
Risk-taking behaviour
(child)
Poor school attendance
Sexual abuse
151. It appeared to the Commission, however, that these
figures significantly under-represented the extent of
family violence experienced by the children reviewed
during Taskforce 1000. This is most likely due to the
survey data limitations described earlier in this report.
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ALWAYS WAS, ALWAYS WILL BE KOORI CHILDREN