Page 4071 - Week 11 - Tuesday, 23 October 2018
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Our Booris, Our Way report in September 2019 in order to continue the work currently being undertaken to ensure that children stay connected to culture and community as well as maintaining a focus on keeping children and young people safe.
I would also like to take the opportunity today to provide an update on the family group conferencing program and other initiatives being progressed by child and youth protection services in order to support A step up for our kids investment in intensive parenting and family preservation supports for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families.
The ACT government committed $1.44 million in funding over four years for the ongoing delivery of family group conferencing so that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families can be supported to make decisions to keep their children safe, strong and connected to family and culture. Child and youth protection services developed a family group conferencing model for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families at risk of ongoing involvement with the statutory system, in partnership with the majority Aboriginal-owned and managed organisation, Curijo.
The aim of family group conferencing is to provide families with the opportunity to develop effective family plans that will keep their children safe. The priority is working with the family to keep children at home or planning for the successful restoration of children to their families following some time in out of home care.
Where children are not able to stay safely at home, the team works with and supports families to identify the most appropriate kinship options to ensure that the children remain connected to family and community. Family group conferencing ensures that all members of a child’s extended family are contacted and encouraged to be involved in the decision-making process about their child’s situation. This process is to be considered in line with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural values of family and community responsibility, and has been supported by the Our Booris, Our Way steering committee in its interim report.
It is expected that family group conferences will occur with a minimum of 24 families each year. From the commencement of the pilot in November up to 9 October 2018, 18 families have been involved in a family group conference, involving 41 children. That is 18 families making decisions about how to keep their children safe and 31 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children have not subsequently entered care following a family group conference.
In early 2019 work will commence through the new functional family therapy program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families at risk of ongoing involvement with the child protection system. This partnership between Gugan Gulwan and OzChild for the delivery of the functional family therapy program is aimed at reducing the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people entering, or remaining in, out of home care through family-based interventions that aim to keep children safely at home.
Child and family centres are also an important part of our efforts to support families across Canberra. The growing healthy families program is a community development
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