Page 3701 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 18 September 2018
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view on how the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community is faring in regards to child protection and what we need to do to turn around their unacceptably high rate of involvement in the system.
In June 2018 the steering committee wrote to the Community Services Directorate outlining some early recommendations. These recommendations were formally presented to government in August as part of the steering committee’s interim report, which I am tabling today. The formal recommendations go to the cultural proficiency of child and youth protection service staff, training on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child placement principles, implementation of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child placement principles in policy and practice, and access to family group conferencing for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families in the statutory system.
The Community Services Directorate has already started work to implement these recommendations, including immediate actions such as the development of a designated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander practice leader position within child and youth protection services. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander practice leader will have a key role in supporting the embedding of the SNAICC Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child placement principles.
There is continued support for staff to undertake the child and youth protection services cultural development program, which is designed to provide staff with an understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and has a strong focus on collaboration and the establishment of positive working relationships.
In addition, SNAICC has been engaged to undertake training for staff on the implementation of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child placement principles in practice. A practice guide is being developed for staff on the implementation of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child placement principles and practice and, finally, a process is being established to ensure that all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families allocated for appraisal are actively considered for either family group conferencing or functional family therapy child welfare or both where it is appropriate.
As part of the directorate’s commitment to cultural proficiency, CSD commissioned three screenings of the 2017 film After the Apology, directed by Professor Larissa Behrendt. These were attended by over 500 staff, including many from child and youth protection services. I was pleased to join them at the third screening last week.
The film follows the journey of four Aboriginal grandmothers challenging government policy to bring their grandchildren home. While confronting, it provides an opportunity for staff to reflect on past and current practices to ensure that we are moving towards culturally safe practices that better support our community.
As described by the steering committee in the interim report, the early recommendations are intended to:
… accelerate improvements to the child protection system so that the community may see change during the Review.
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