Assignment about Ways of Addressing the Over

Running head: WAYS OF ADDRESSING THE OVER- REPRESENTATION OF
AUSTRALIAN INDEGENOUS CHILDREN IN OUT-OF-HOME-CARE SYSYEM
Literature Review: WAYS OF ADDRESSING THE OVER- REPRESENTATION OF
AUSTRALIAN INDEGENOUS CHILDREN IN OUT-OF-HOME-CARE SYSYEM
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

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WAYS OF ADDRESSING THE OVER- REPRESENTATION OF AUSTRALIAN
INDEGENOUS CHILDREN IN OUT-OF-HOME-CARE SYSYEM
Literature Review:
Introduction:
It can be said that out of every three children in the population of Australia, there is one
child who belongs to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islands. These are the children who belong
to the families residing in Torres Strait, an island that is situated between Queensland and Papua
New Guinea. These are the people who have increased melanin in their body and they have a
different identity all together along with varied cultural traditions. However, the children
belonging to this part of the community are generally over represented not only in New Zealand
and Canada but also in Australia. These children are over re[presented in terms of their welfare
systems. Since these children require increased care and protection, they are subjected to the
child welfare systems, which take care of them under the specified rules, regulations, legislations
and the jurisdictions. The prime purpose of the literature review is to talk about the causes,
effects and also the present scenario of the out of home services in Australia, whose main
purpose is to take care of the indigenous children.
Causes of increased representation of the indigenous children
As per the discussion of Mendes & Baidawi (2012), there are innumerable causes for the
indigenous children of Australia to receive care in the out- of- home- care system. They are in
most of the cases neglected by their families and receive no proper care from their parents or
care givers. Often the children belonging to the indigenous traditions are forcibly removed from
their culture and their community which invariably leads them to remain aloof and devoid of
care. Mendes & Baidawi (2012) also says that these children are the victims of the socio –

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WAYS OF ADDRESSING THE OVER- REPRESENTATION OF AUSTRALIAN
INDEGENOUS CHILDREN IN OUT-OF-HOME-CARE SYSYEM
economic traumatic experiences which led them to suffer from severe trauma and loneliness.
They demand foster care and help. The children are the victim of poverty and they have to
experience a lot within these families which are poor and lack proper housing facilities, These
are the main factors which lead to the over representation of the indigenous children in the
welfare systems of child care in Australia. The aboriginal families also suffer from high rates of
improper dwelling and housing. This has a serious effect upon the care and negligence of their
children. Moreover, they also have cases of early parenthood, where the parents have no proper
understanding of child protection and child care and it is not even in their community to take
care of their children. Unemployment is another major issue for the children trying to seek
external help as they constantly get discriminated. There are also cases of family violence and
the family members being addicted to alcohol. These are the major reasons that let the children
to seek help and rely over the tertiary child protection centers. According to the reports of
Tilbury (2015), the rate of the children suffering from the lack of proper care has increased in the
year of 2011 to 2012, as compared to the other non indigenous children. There have been 82
percent of the indigenous children approximately of a random count of 1000 children in
Queensland who were in need of help as compared to the other 16 percent of the population who
belonged to the non indigenous group (Lehmann & Vicary, 2015). The reports of the Crime and
Misconduct Commission of 2004 has also discussed in this context that there has been a serious
imbalance between the children of the indigenous population and the children of the main
Australian nation, the imbalance of the Torres islanders requiring the child protection systems
have increased to many folds since there had been the recommendations for foster care by the
Crime and Misconduct Commission Inquiry. They are almost rated to be five times more prone
to substance abuse and also the neglect received from their families and also they are almost nine

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WAYS OF ADDRESSING THE OVER- REPRESENTATION OF AUSTRALIAN
INDEGENOUS CHILDREN IN OUT-OF-HOME-CARE SYSYEM
times more prone to live in the out- of- home- care systems. (Department of communities, Child
Safety and Disability Services, 2012).
Consequences faced by indigenous children
Lehmann & Vicary (2015) discusses that as a result of this segregation from the families
and from the communities, the indigenous children suffer from severe issues such as mental
trauma and mental illness. They are also seen to be suffering from substance use and violence
towards other creatures and species. The problems faced by the children of the Aboriginal and
Torres Islands are increasing day by day since they suffer from increased poverty and the
Government does not even pay heed to them. the cases of such substantiated harm to the children
is increasing day by day in Queensland and since there are a lot number of families facing the
issues, there has been an increased need for the provision of improved care and suitable
placements for the children, so that they remain protected. According to Mendes, Saunders &
Baidawi (2016), the Queensland government has also found out that the children face increased
number of problems as a result of the severe negligence of their families. They tend to be
alcoholic and have poor education. Negligence often lead them to be suffering from repeated
cycles of disempowerment and also disadvantages related to the social and cultural spheres. They
tend to be dependent on welfare and often are seen to be suffering from social isolation. They
feel that they should be aloof and should have no ties with the society which have a serious effect
upon their mental health and also increased cases of maltreatment.
Growth of Child Welfare Systems
As per the discussion of (Lehmann & Vicary, 2015), the child care welfare systems have
developed and grown in the context of these scenarios, where the children belonging to the

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WAYS OF ADDRESSING THE OVER- REPRESENTATION OF AUSTRALIAN
INDEGENOUS CHILDREN IN OUT-OF-HOME-CARE SYSYEM
indigenous tribes receive no care and when the young people demand for better protection and
care. Their cultural traditions and their situational crisis have made the out- of- home- care
systems in Australia to grow and work for improving new ways of taking care of them. As per
the reports and the history of out- of- home- care systems, the officials have made sure that they
offer services and professional help to the children, and also financial help so that they can shape
their lives and also solve their issues. It has also been discussed by Lindstedt , et.al., (2017) that
the children are much neglected by the political institutions and also the political parties in
Australia. The main reason for this is that they are mere children who are devoid of any financial
status. They are in need of financial help and can not contribute to the economy of the nation,
because they are physically not that strong. Moreover, these children are not even eligible for
casting votes during the elections and elect their political bodies. Thus since they do not belong
to the list of receiving care, they are in need of the trade union care which the out- of- home- care
systems in Australia try to provide them with.
Problems faced by the indigenous children in the out of home care systems
However as per the discussion of Funston & Herring (2016), there have been serious
problems regarding the well being of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child welfare
being. The main reason for this is the increased number of indigenous children who need
external help from the out- of- home- care systems. There have been recognized institutions that
need to abide by certain rules, regulations and principles related to the child care services.
However as per the discussion of Menzies & Stoker (2015), there have several cases which have
showed that the out- of- home- care systems in Australia have not been successful in providing
proper care and protection to the indigenous children. Menzies & Stoker (2015) also suggests
that there have been reasons behind this. The out- of- home- care agency needs to have a proper

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WAYS OF ADDRESSING THE OVER- REPRESENTATION OF AUSTRALIAN
INDEGENOUS CHILDREN IN OUT-OF-HOME-CARE SYSYEM
organizational structure and there should be efficient staffs who would have proper experience in
dealing with such children. There should also be important strategies that needs to be
implemented by the organization, in the form of grooming behaviors so that the children of the
Torres Islands can have proper foster care and develop into better individuals outside their home.
Also in this regard, McDowall (2016), agrees that it is essential for the out- of- home- care
systems to work for the betterment of these children. It has been found that the indigenous
children are not at all placed under the principles of the Aboriginal and Torres Islander’s
Children protection. There needs to be an essential need for these children to have contact with
their families and their communities so that the culture is kept intact. This would help them to
satisfy their human rights, but according to the study conducted by McDowall (2016) it could be
concluded that almost 31 percent of the indigenous children do not feel connected to their
tradition or their families, and only 14v percent of them have a knowledge about their culture. He
has agreed to the fact that this had been one of the major issues for which the indigenous children
are not receiving the proper care, as there is negligence on the part of the out- of- home- care
systems as well. As per the discussion of Moss (2009), thus it is very important for the out- of-
home- care systems to maintain a good practice, not because it is expected to meet the standards
but because it is very important to ensure the safety and the protection of the young people who
seek help and care from the external systems.
Educational needs of the indigenous children
In accordance to this, as per the discussion of Gill and Oakley (2018), the children and
the young indigenous people of the Australia apart from receiving improper care, also face a
number of educational issues as they find themselves in disparity with their peers. It is essential
for the out- of- home- care systems to collaborate with their educational needs apart from their

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WAYS OF ADDRESSING THE OVER- REPRESENTATION OF AUSTRALIAN
INDEGENOUS CHILDREN IN OUT-OF-HOME-CARE SYSYEM
protective care services. Although there had been a planning for providing educational support to
the students in the out- of- home- care systems, there have also been problems regarding the
plans and the supplementary educational practice. Here comes the effectiveness of the cross
collaboration of the workers since the educational institutions of the indigenous people do not
have any shared agenda of their educational benefit. However as per the studies and the reports
of Tenders Info news it can be said that in order to cater for the needs and support the
indigenous children, it is important to cater to the needs of the families and look after their well
being. There has been several programs and action plans which have ensured the protection of
the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders children and their families. The Queensland
government has paired up and made a partnership with the Family Matters so that they can share
a common interest of proper support and care for the indigenous people (Fernandex, Lee &
McNamara, 2018). There has been financial grants and also radical new ideas of empowering
the women of these families and also strengthen them so that they can encourage greater number
of people to take care of their children themselves. This would in effect help in the stability of
the families and the children would be lesser victims of negligence.
Need of improvement of the out of home care services
For this reason , the agencies are required to inherit and adopt certain effective initiatives
that would keep in mind the protection of the communities and the indigenous families because
that is what can help in reducing the number of children who need foster care and external
support. As a result of this requirement, as per the discussion of Jongen, et.al., (2014), there have
been recent developments in the Queensland Government and also in the Victoria and South
Wales areas of Australia, which propose that there need to be changes in the daily functions and
also in the jurisdictions and regulations of the indigenous child protection agencies. There had

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WAYS OF ADDRESSING THE OVER- REPRESENTATION OF AUSTRALIAN
INDEGENOUS CHILDREN IN OUT-OF-HOME-CARE SYSYEM
been plans and practices that included a sustainable development of the families so that there can
be proper transfer of the guardianship and also the transfer of the duties from the parents to these
out of home care systems. According to Shmerling et.al., (2019), there also had been proper
plans to improve the skills of the staffs of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Child
Protection systems, so that they can use their skills in providing the best support to them. They
have learnt from the past experiences of Child protection practices where the children who used
to live in these institutions were severe victims of sexual and child harassment as well as harsh
financial conditions an limited education. Many of these children had been forced to be removed
from the foster care which had a severe impact upon their families and the communities. As per
the argument of Cuthbert & Quartly (2010), the people had also lost their trust and faith from all
the government and the non government institutions. This had resulted in the representations of
the Aboriginal and indigenous children in the out of home care systems, which finally resulted in
their over representation.
Conclusion:
Thus there are several reports and cases of the Crime and Misconduct
Commission which suggest that the out of home care service providers should be more active in
their practices and they should have proper design and culturally oriented techniques that would
provide the children and their families with improved care and better quality services. Since
there are a lot of other reasons, that have led the children to take the external help and care from
the foster care systems, there should be proper protection for them, and their families should also
be taken care of.

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WAYS OF ADDRESSING THE OVER- REPRESENTATION OF AUSTRALIAN
INDEGENOUS CHILDREN IN OUT-OF-HOME-CARE SYSYEM
References and Bibliography:
Arney, F., Iannos, M., Chong, A., McDougall, S., & Parkinson, S. (2015). Enhancing the
implementation of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement
Principle. Child Family Community Australia, Australian Institute of Family Studies, 34.
Australian Law Reform Commission. (2017). Pathways to Justice-an Inquiry Into the
Incarceration Rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. Australian Law
Reform Commission.
Cripps, K., & Laurens, J. (2015). The protection of cultural identity in aboriginal and Torres
Strait islander children exiting from statutory out of home care via permanent care orders:
Further observations on the risk of cultural disconnection to inform a policy and
legislative reform framework. Australian Indigenous Law Review, 19(1), 70-87.
Cuthbert, D., & Quartly, M. (2010). Adoption, fostering, permanent care and beyond Re-thinking
policy and practice on out-of-home care for children in Australia. Children
Australia, 35(2), 2-5.
Fernandez, E., Lee, J. S., & McNamara, P. M. (2018). Understanding the experience and
outcomes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care during
the Twentieth Century. University of New South Wales.
Funston, L., & Herring, S. (2016). When will the stolen generations end?: A qualitative critical
exploration of contemporary'child protection'practices in Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander communities. Sexual Abuse in Australia and New Zealand, 7(1), 51.

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WAYS OF ADDRESSING THE OVER- REPRESENTATION OF AUSTRALIAN
INDEGENOUS CHILDREN IN OUT-OF-HOME-CARE SYSYEM
Gill, A., & Oakley, G. (2018). Agency workers’ perceptions of cross-system collaboration to
support students in out-of-home care. Children Australia, 43(1), 47-56.
Jongen, C., McCalman, J., Bainbridge, R., & Tsey, K. (2014). Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander maternal and child health and wellbeing: a systematic search of programs and
services in Australian primary health care settings. BMC pregnancy and childbirth, 14(1),
251.
Lehmann, J., & Vicary, D. (2015). Out-of-Home Care–Where to Next?. Children
Australia, 40(4), 290-297.
Lindstedt, S., Moeller-Saxone, K., Black, C., Herrman, H., & Szwarc, J. (2017). Realist review
of programs, policies, and interventions to enhance the social, emotional, and spiritual
well-being of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people living in out-of-home
care. International Indigenous Policy Journal, 8(3).
McDowall, J. J. (2016). Connection to culture by indigenous children and young people in out-
of-home care in Australia. Communities, Children and Families Australia, 10(1), 5.
Mendes, P., & Baidawi, S. (2012). Pathways into youth justice: Strengthening policy and
program supports for young people in the youth justice system who are transitioning from
out-of-home care. Children Australia, 37(1), 10-22.
Mendes, P., Saunders, B., & Baidawi, S. (2016). Indigenous Young People Transitioning from
Out-of-Home Care (OOHC) in Victoria, Australia: The Perspectives of Workers in
Indigenous-Specific and Non-Indigenous Non-Government Services. International
Indigenous Policy Journal, 7(3).

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WAYS OF ADDRESSING THE OVER- REPRESENTATION OF AUSTRALIAN
INDEGENOUS CHILDREN IN OUT-OF-HOME-CARE SYSYEM
Menzies, K., & Stoker, L. (2015). When “Culture Trumped Safety”, Developing a Protective
Weave in Child Welfare Organisations: A Case Study. Children Australia, 40(3), 260-
268.
Moss, M. (2009). Broken circles to a different identity: an exploration of identity for children in
out–of home care in Queensland, Australia.‐ Child & Family Social Work, 14(3), 311-321.
Parker, R., & Milroy, H. (2014). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health: an
overview. Working together: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health and
wellbeing principles and practice, 2, 25-38.
Shmerling, E., Creati, M., Belfrage, M., & Hedges, S. (2019). The health needs of Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander children in out of home care.‐ ‐ Journal of paediatrics and child
health.
Tilbury, C. (2015). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families in Australia: Poverty and child
welfare involvement. In Theoretical and Empirical Insights into Child and Family
Poverty (pp. 273-284). Springer, Cham.