Indigenous child protection statistics appalling
August 8, 2011
The incredibly high number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in contact with the child protection system is now beyond what any fair society would accept, say members of the Combined Voices campaign. While Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are 6.4 per cent of the population they represent 36.7 per cent of Queensland children subject to a care and protection order.
The call to address this appalling situation comes on the eve of a workshop featuring Canadian Cindy Blackstock. The workshop is part of the Queensland Council of Social Service annual conference. Cindy is Executive Director of the First Nations Child & Family Caring Society.
“Cindy has had incredible success with similar issues in Canada,” says Karyn Walsh, QCOSS President. “She is here to show us that things can be turned around. Approximately 15,540 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in Queensland have had some form of contact with the child protection system. While this is an unacceptably high proportion – it is not an insurmountable number: we can fix this.” says Karyn.
“It has been two years since we launched the Combined Voices campaign,” says Dianne Harvey, CEO, Qld Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Child Protection Peak. “But the statistics get worse each year. We recognise government was quick to respond when we started two years ago. However, this needs to be sustained, supported and managed at every level of every organisation – government and non-government alike,” says Dianne.
“This is not just about Indigenous service providers,” says Lindsay Wegener, PeakCare CEO. “Importantly, it’s more about mainstream service providers thinking seriously about how they can work differently. And it’s about everyone in Qld standing up and saying: enough! Tomorrow’s workshop will help people and organisations begin this process,” says Lindsay.
“Combined Voices wants to dispel many myths and misconceptions,” says Garth Morgan, Executive Director of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Human Services Coalition. “One of the myths is that the statistics are about families not knowing how to look after their children. In reality, these statistics are more about poverty – and problems with health, education and housing,” says Garth.
Combined Voices is a coalition of Indigenous and non-Indigenous peak bodies, representative groups and individuals.
Dianne Harvey 0409 486 426, Karyn Walsh 0413 619 785
Jenny Whitworth 0417 779 819, Mark Jeffery 0419 732 583
