EN :

First Nations children in Australia remain vastly over-represented in the child protection (CP) and out-of-home care (OOHC) systems, and in juvenile detention and adult incarceration systems. To change this, we need to tackle the problem at the source; by maintaining our efforts for the implementation of First Nations rights, so that self-determination and cultural safety are embedded into the child protection system from a family’s first contact and by constantly identifying opportunities in the current system to keep our children safe. Using policy and research literature, this paper identifies the principal barrier to change as the continuing failure of settler governance to recognise the fundamental importance of First Nations rights, including the need to embed self-determination and a specific, First Nations cultural framework into the child protection system.

The article also offers personal reflections on the essential role of self-determination in keeping our children safe, drawing on Aunty Glendra Stubbs’ experiences in community-based advocacy and support of families for nearly three decades. Her reflections are linked to the literature and First Nations advocacy that support the findings and opportunities for change proposed in this paper.

EN :

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, led particularly by Grandmothers and Aunties, have persistently challenged statutory child protection systems and the harms they inflict on our children, families, and communities. Reflecting on our own experiences advocating for Aboriginal families and communities at the practice and systems level, this paper explores a reflective commentary approach concerning opportunities and challenges of community-based advocacy toward substantive sustained change. We note how the voices, experiences, and expertise of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people continue to be marginalised or ignored by non-Indigenous authorities, colonial systems, and practice. Despite the apologies and promises of successive governments, contemporary systems continue to reflect “past” approaches. In this context, we honour the strong women who have, and continue, to stand up for their children, families, and communities, further rallying for ongoing resistance and reform.

EN :

There is consensus that quality services to Indigenous children and families involve the transmission, preservation, and promotion of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit cultural connections and must be delivered within specific First Nations, Métis, and Inuit cultural frameworks led by Indigenous people. This view is expressed across research and service reports, in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s 2015 Report and Calls to Action, and in the Government of Canada’s newly enacted An Act Respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families (2019). This article reviews support for this viewpoint, drawing from primarily Indigenous scholarship and illustrated with reference to Indigenous-led services across Canada.

EN :

Children and youth with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) have limited access to assessment, diagnostic, and treatment resources – a distinct disadvantage in meeting their care needs in Australia. Limited knowledge exists on the intersection of FASD, Indigeneity, racism, trauma, and child welfare involvement. Notably, the lack of support for children with FASD increases the risk of adverse outcomes, including incarceration, homelessness, mental health problems, and early mortality. Children with FASD are often cared for in the child protection system by kinship carers, many without a diagnosis or the benefits of FASD informed care. Rarely considered is the Australian response to FASD or the Aboriginal worldview on disability. Qualitative research was utilized to conduct semi-structured interviews with six carers of Indigenous children with FASD–three foster carers and three relative or kinship carers. Seven core themes identified by carers included: FASD awareness, caregiver health, advocacy for the child, mothers of the children with FASD, loss and grief experienced by the carer, social costs, and children in child protection care. Carers identified that limited resources existed to address the disabilities and care needs of children, including training and respite. Financial disparity exists with relative carers receiving less income than foster carers. Carers demonstrated advocacy, resiliency, and resourcefulness in providing care. A lack of knowledge of FASD and core resources in child welfare services were identified as major challenges in providing care. This research examined the caregiving experiences of foster and Aboriginal kinship carers, caring for children with FASD in child protection.

EN :

First Peoples continue to face intergenerational harms as a result of settler systems of intervention in the lives of their families, including the forced removal of children. First Peoples resistance includes advocacy for systemic change, in particular, focused on foundations of greater accountability in child welfare systems, and recognition of First Peoples’ right to self-determination. However, achieving these necessary structural changes remains a pressing challenge.

Using the example of the recent Aboriginal-led review of child welfare in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, ‘Family is Culture’, this paper explores the cycle of inquiry and response, and the repeated failures to enable self-determination or strengthen public accountability and oversight. Drawing on concepts including legitimacy and the rule of law, we conceptualise this pattern of reviews as a ritual of redemption by settler child – welfare systems, distancing themselves from ‘past’ wrongs while refusing to address the harmful foundations of these systems, thereby perpetuating the violence imposed on First Peoples children, families and communities. This contrasts with First Peoples’ frameworks for child welfare reform, which must be urgently realised in order to establish such systems on more just and effective foundations.

EN :

This study brings forward new evidence regarding child protection (CP) intervention for First Nations children and contributes to a longitudinal understanding of their trajectories within CP services. It raises questions regarding the persisting, unmet needs of First Nations children, families, and communities by identifying the CP factors associated with a first decision to provide post-investigation intervention and a first decision to close a case following post-investigation intervention among First Nations children. Anonymized administrative data (2002–2014; n = 1340) were used to conduct multivariate analyses, including longitudinal analyses using Cox proportional hazards modeling. Among First Nations children, those who were very young, who were reported for serious risk of neglect, and whose situation included indicators of repeated individual or family contact with CP services were more likely to receive post-investigation intervention. Similarly, those who were very young, provided services for neglect or serious risk of neglect, and whose situation was investigated at least twice before intervention was provided were more likely to have a longer first episode of intervention. The longitudinal analyses also revealed that more than one in two First Nations children (51.7%) receiving post-investigation intervention experienced a placement in out-of-home care during their interaction with CP services. This study contributes to a better understanding of intervention for First Nations children in Canada. It highlights how First Nations children receiving CP intervention live in situations in which their needs persist over time and how current services do not appear able to respond to these situations adequately, supporting the move towards autonomous, Indigenous–led CP services.