Bringing Them Home

• Reducing the number of First Nations children in out-of-home care is a priority of the national Closing the Gap targets.
• However, child protection authorities have been removing First Nations children from their parents at increasing rates over the past decade.
• However, reunification of First Nations children with their parents is largely overlooked in child and family welfare practice.

The numbers show we’re not closing this particular gap

• Under the Closing the Gap targets, the government aims to reduce the rate of over-representation of First Nations children in out-of-home care by 45% by 2031.
• However, there are still high numbers of First Nations children in out-of-home care, despite these efforts.
• In NSW, the number of First Nations children living in out-of-home care has increased by 48% over the past decade.
• Meanwhile, the numbers of First Nations children being reunified with birth parents has decreased by 41% over the same period.

Bring Them Home, Keep Them Home

• This project is focused on understanding the best practices to bring First Nations children back to their families.
• The first group consisted of (mostly young) children recently removed from their parents on short-term or interim orders.
• These parents are required by child protection authorities to demonstrate they have made swift and significant changes to address the causes of removal.
• Unless the child can no longer live with their out-of-home carer, or a parent pursues legal options, children often remain in out-of-home care until they are 18.

Where to from here

• As of 2020-21, only 17% of funding for child protection services went to First Nations-led organisations.
• The remaining funds went to child protection interventions and out-of-home care services.
• Child protection systems also need to recognise that First Nations children’s cultural and family connections are vital to their wellbeing.