The over-representation of Indigenous children in child protection systems remains a pressing human rights issue facing Australia. With its roots in past policies of protectionism and assimilation, numerous reviews have urged structural and practice reforms to address this challenge. However, this over-representation continues to rise, with the number of Indigenous children in out-of-home care expected to double in the next decade. Child protection systems have been criticised as lacking transparency and accountability, and failing to uphold the rights and interests of Indigenous children and families, with outcomes for Indigenous children in OOHC described as “particularly poor”.
With almost one in two Aboriginal children in NSW “screened-in” at Risk Of Significant Harm by the age of 5, new policy settings, systems and practice frameworks, supported by localised evidence, are needed to address these inequalities. The recent National Agreement on Closing the Gap has included a child protection target for the first time, and identified the need for further development of data and evidence including a focus on safety and wellbeing for children and young people.
Significant research projects in this area have been criticised for failing to adequately reflect Aboriginal community priorities or perspectives. While Aboriginal community organisations are engaged in innovative approaches, and supported by broad policy and program guidance from the Aboriginal peak body, AbSec, there remains a pressing need to support Aboriginal communities to direct and undertake research that is aligned to their values, perspectives, priorities and aspirations.
This project seeks to build on the strong foundations of the NSW Aboriginal community-controlled child and family sector, adapting existing Aboriginal Participatory Action Research methodologies to the child protection sector, building local capabilities and setting community-led priorities to direct ongoing research and reform. Specifically, this project will engage with Aboriginal child protection stakeholders through a series of focus groups and forums to:
- Benchmark current research participation
- Identify the desired structures, supports and resources to enable community-led research regarding child protection systems and practice
- Develop research priorities and strategies to attract investment
- Develop a high-level outcomes framework for Aboriginal children, families and communities to support and guide evidence building across the sector