The Family Matters report 2018 Measuring trends to turn the tide on the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care in Australia

Abstract

"Bringing Them Home, the landmark report into the Stolen Generations, was released 21 years ago,<br/ >in 1997. At that time, many Australians were shocked to learn that Aboriginal and Torres Strait<br/ >Islander children represented 20 per cent of children living in-out of-home care (Human Rights<br/ >and Equal Opportunity Commission, 1997).<br/ >Now, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children<br/ >make up just over 36 per cent of all children living in<br/ >out-of-home care; the rate of Aboriginal and Torres<br/ >Strait Islander children in out-of-home care is 10.1<br/ >times that of other children, and disproportionate<br/ >representation continues to grow (Australian Institute<br/ >of Health and Welfare [AIHW], 2018b). Since the last<br/ >Family Matters Report over-representation in out-ofhome<br/ >care has either increased or remained the same<br/ >in every state and territory. This has eventuated despite<br/ >– or because of – the laws, policies, and programs of<br/ >successive Australian governments.<br/ >Government and community agree there is a problem.<br/ >The Stolen Generations policies and practices, in<br/ >combination with persistent social inequity, have<br/ >created an ongoing legacy of disproportionate child<br/ >protection interventions with Aboriginal and Torres<br/ >Strait Islander children, families and communities<br/ >across Australia, and significant under-investment in<br/ >Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-led<br/ >and controlled solutions. Things are getting worse,<br/ >not better.<br/ >Family Matters reports set out what governments are<br/ >doing to turn the tide on the over-representation of<br/ >Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in outof-home<br/ >care, and the outcomes for children and their<br/ >families. The reports contribute to efforts to change<br/ >the story by explaining the extent of the problem and<br/ >reporting on progress towards implementing evidenceinformed<br/ >solutions that aim to eliminate, within a<br/ >generation, the over-representation of Aboriginal and<br/ >Torres Strait Islander children living away from their<br/ >parents and families in statutory out-of-home care."