Barnardos Australia’s Post

Yesterday our team attended the official launch of the Family Matters 2024 report. This crucial annual publication tracks progress towards ensuring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people grow up safe, cared for and connected to their families, communities and culture, with the goal to eliminate the over–representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care by 2040. Tragically, the 2024 data reveals that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children continue to be grossly over-represented at every stage of the child protection system, with a record 22,908 First Nations children in the child protection system—an increase of over 500 from last year. OzChild stands with SNAICC and commits to working with the sector to ensure increased support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled services, who are best placed to facilitate First Nations children to grow up strong in family and connected to culture and kin. https://lnkd.in/grBPB676

What an incredibly alarming report. $1.8 billion is spent on out-of-home care services, while only $405 million is allocated to early intervention and intensive family preservation services. Imagine the vastly improved outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children if the government invested $1.8 billion in fulfilling the first principle of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Placement Principles - "Prevention." Currently, we face a situation where Intensive Family Preservation Services for Aboriginal Children and Families are under review, with proposals to reduce the timeframe from 2 years to 1 year, alongside limited funding and hours, regardless of the need. I appreciate this is a complex and nuanced issue, but it is simply not good enough for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people, their families and communities. We need to do better. https://lnkd.in/gKscj_rT

Please take the time to read more about this critical issue.

The Australian Human Rights Commission's new report on #ChildJustice is a significant call to action for transformational change that puts #ChildWellbeing at the forefront. As an organisation dedicated to protecting the rights and futures of children, we strongly support recommendations for reform that address the root causes of offending by children.   We appreciate the efforts of National Children's Commissioner Anne Hollonds and her team in incorporating the voices of 150 children, young people, and their families into this report. The proposed changes—a National Taskforce for child justice reform, a federal Minister for Children, a national Ministerial Council for Child Wellbeing, and a National Children’s Act—are vital steps toward ensuring that every child in Australia is protected and empowered.   At UNICEF Australia, we believe that child justice reform is about building safer, more supportive environments #ForEveryChild.   Read the full report: 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gjdjyz2s 🔗

Following the release of the Final Report from the Inquiry into the application of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle in the removal and placement of Aboriginal children and young people in South Australia, by the SA Commissioner for Aboriginal Children and Young People April Lawrie, the ACCP would like the acknowledge the continuing issue of Aboriginal children being over-reported, over-investigated, and over-represented in child protection, child removals and long term Guardianship orders in this state as well as across the nation. It is again evidenced through Commissioner Lawrie’s report that new, targeted approaches are needed to prevent the removal of Aboriginal children from their families and communities. We at the ACCP support the development of new strengths-based solutions based on Aboriginal knowing, being and doing, which are Aboriginal designed and led, and supported by whole of government approaches responding to the current unmet needs of Aboriginal children and families.   Read the full report here: https://lnkd.in/gz4xupXQ

A critical report from SNAICC - National Voice for our Children #FamilyMattersReport2024 With the overrepresentation of Aboriginal children in OOHC, the government needs to urgently invest in community-controlled organisations (ACCOs) to deliver services and care for children. Something that Barnardos Australia is strongly committed to. Deirdre CHEERS Allies for Children Australia https://lnkd.in/gKjvMYg4

The promotion and protection of children's rights is embedded in Article 3(3) of the Treaty on European Union. Article 24 of the #Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU, meanwhile, recognises that #children are entitled to 'protection and care as is necessary for their well-being'. Over the years, the EU has moved from a sectoral approach towards a more coherent policy approach. Whereas initially, children's rights were developed in relation to specific areas, such as the free movement of persons, since 2000 the EU has taken a more coordinated line. The EU has its own legal and policy framework on children's rights and #child protection, as well as an overall strategy. Find in our latest Topical Digest, a collection of European Parliamentary Research Service’s #publications in the area of #childrensrights ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eDG4Aua2

There is still time to register for our webinar tomorrow ⬇ #AntiPovertyWeek2024 #ChildrensPolicy #PublicPolicy

We are so proud to release our 2023–2024 Annual Reports today. These publications report on our progress over the last year to achieving our vision where every Queensland child is loved, respected, and has their rights upheld. For the second year, we have captured our standout achievements from the Annual Report in our engaging, standalone Highlights Report. It details the impact of our work and how it has influenced systemic change in Queensland. Through Parliamentary submissions, system reviews, research projects, community engagement, our strengthened partnerships, and our communications activities, we are proud of what we have achieved in 2023–2024 to deliver better outcomes for Queensland children and families. We are legislated to assess the performance of Queensland’s child protection system and report our findings in our Annual Report. For the first time, we have published this assessment as a standalone report, and we are pleased to share it as part of this year’s annual report release. This report provides insights about the performance of the child protection system in comparison with other Australian jurisdictions, and it also reports on Queensland’s progress towards reducing the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in the child protection system. We will be sharing insights from this report over the coming weeks. This has been a huge year for us, and we invite you to read about all that we have achieved at: https://lnkd.in/gQ_3HX6r #QFCC

#BREAKING Shine Lawyers has filed a class action in the Federal Court on behalf of First Nations families in Western Australia and New South Wales whose children were removed and placed into out of home care by relevant state government departments. "First Nations families allege that widespread racial discrimination across the child protection system has resulted in the unlawful and unjust separation of First Nations children from their families, and a loss in their cultural connection," Shine's Class Actions Special Counsel Caitlin Wilson said. Caitlin is spearheading the class action, which was filed against the Department of Communities in WA and the Department of Communities and Justice in NSW. "First Nations children are consistently and significantly over-represented in out of home care and at present Western Australia boasts the highest rate of over-representation in the country," Caitlin said. Caitlin said First Nations children were 19.7 times more likely than non-First Nations children to be removed from their families and placed into State care in WA. "Families in New South Wales aren't much better off," she said. "New South Wales has the lowest reunification of First Nations children at only 2.3 per cent, has the third highest rate of First Nations children on long-term orders and First Nations children are around 11.5 times more likely than non-First Nations children to be living in out of home care." To find out more about the class action, your eligibility or to register, go here: bit.ly/fncractionsfiled #firstnations #childremoval #stolengeneration # investigation #westernaustralia #rightwrong