The Wire

A forum in Adelaide today has highlighted the soaring rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care. Whilst Aboriginal children comprise of only 5 per cent of the national child population, over a third are placed in out-of-home care. Aboriginal child welfare groups believe taking children away from their family and community deprives them of their cultural identity and sense of belonging. They say the state governments are not doing enough to honour aboriginal kinship networks, and are not committed to reducing the number of Indigenous children in out-of-home care.