The Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare welcomes the Andrews Government’s commitment to address the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in care.
CEO Deb Tsorbaris said that connection to family, community and culture was crucial to the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal children and young people.
“The Andrews Government’s commitment to working with and empowering Aboriginal community controlled organisations (ACCOs) to lead the delivery of services and supports for Aboriginal children and young people in care will go a long way to improve their life outcomes.
“The evidence clearly shows that well-resourced, well-established ACCOs are able to deliver better outcomes for Aboriginal kids in care, including ensuring they are able to maintain a strong connection to family, community and culture.
“It’s heartening to see Victoria leading the way on this urgent and growing national issue.
“We call on the next Australian Government to follow the Victorian Government’s example and commit to working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations and communities to reduce the number of Aboriginal kids in care nationally and ensure families have the support and services they need to stay together and strong.”
Of the 43,000 children and young people in foster, kinship and residential care in Australia, around 15,000 – more than one in three – identifies as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.
Link to Minister Mikakos’ press release here.
Inquiries: Deb Tsorbaris 0417 599 869 / Mary Fall 0407 683 664
