July saw the return of NAIDOC Week and this year's theme, Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud and Proud, reminds us that the pride, strength, and knowledge within our First Nations communities are a force for change. It’s also an opportunity for non-Indigenous Australians to reflect and celebrate the strengths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples' cultures, knowledge, and traditions, and the way in which we can all be enriched through connection to the world’s oldest living culture.

In this field in particular, we are fortunate when Aboriginal ways of knowing, doing, and being that supported children and families to thrive for millennia are able to be translated into practice to benefit all children. 

In our Strategic Plan, ACCP made Aboriginal self-determination a key priority of the work that we do, and through welcoming Aboriginal researchers, promoting Aboriginal-led solutions, and embedding cultural governance and lived experience in our structure and approaches, we strive to recognise and celebrate the strengths of culture throughout the whole year.

Within the recently-published Final Report of the South Australian Commissioner for Aboriginal Children & Young People's Inquiry into the application of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle in the removal and placement of Aboriginal children and young people in South Australia, Holding on to Our Future, we see confirmation of what we know is a trend across the country - that First Nations children are overreported and overrepresented within the child protection system. The report found that the removal of Aboriginal children today was occurring at a rate comparable to removals during the Stolen Generations. A key aspect of our work is continuing to generate new research and help to drive change to enable self-determined response, reduce removals, increase reunification and to change the patterns and trajectories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families in the Child Protection System today.

In this issue of ACCP Inform, we are proud to share with you our current projects and approaches aimed at driving solutions responding to the systemic issues that impact Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, families, and communities - from the analysis of linked data shining a light on a system of reporting and removals rather than early intervention and prevention, through to developing new models to support children and families through the perinatal period. In addition, we invite you to meet some of our Aboriginal team members whose leadership and expertise help to shape and strengthen the Centre's activities.

Prof Leah Bromfield
ACCP Director & Chair of Child Protection

ACCP's current and inaugural Aboriginal Strategy and Engagement Lead, Amy Cleland, is also an ACCP Advisory Board member and PhD candidate with an impressive history in policy and practice, and experience working directly with Aboriginal children and families who have experienced youth justice and child protection interventions. Amy's expertise is also recognised as a member of the Systems Leadership Working Group as part of Safe and Supported: the National Framework for Protecting Australia's Children 2021-2031 and a member of the University's Reconciliation Action Plan Committee.

A major focus for the Aboriginal Strategy and Engagement Lead in the last 12 months has been in developing and piloting alternative models to overcome systemic disadvantage in Aboriginal people's access to undertake higher degrees by research, such as eligibility criteria for PhD studies. This included the Department of Human Services-sponsored DHS EIRD Professional Research Secondment Scholarship, which engaged two Aboriginal child protection practitioners in a research training secondment, intending to develop research skills applicable to their current work, and to expand their options for a future career in research. The scholars were supported and nurtured at ACCP by a team of predominantly Aboriginal women to incorporate cultural supervision and pastoral care. They had the opportunity to learn Indigenous research methodologies and research skills relevant to the development of culturally led solutions in policy and practice that they could take back to their employing organisations, and benefitted from professional and community networking that came with the experience.

In addition, in her role as Aboriginal Strategy and Engagement Lead, Amy's facilitation of ACCP staff's ongoing cultural learning has included her leading a recent professional development session, in which research and practice staff developed a deeper understanding of the role of ethics in research engaging with Aboriginal people, knowledge, and communities. Amy's personal and professional experience guided staff in navigating the nuances of cultural engagement, and the importance of maintaining trust and developing relationships through respectful engagement, consultation, and perpetual learning. Complex issues raised included definitions of 'community' and where consultation with multiple layers of community is appropriate; also highlighted was the importance of Aboriginal thought leadership and recognising that Aboriginal participants in research should also be acknowledged as advisors, collaborators, and co-authors in research outputs.

We continue to value the enormous contribution of the Aboriginal Strategy and Engagement Lead role to the ACCP and the ongoing wisdom and guidance it brings across our work and approach.

ACCP takes the principled position that, given the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in the child protection system, all ACCP projects need to actively consider the needs of Aboriginal children, families, and communities and at a minimum to include opportunities for the voices and perspectives of First Nations peoples to be heard. The theme for NAIDOC week was Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud and Proud.  At ACCP we are particularly proud of the Aboriginal-led work undertaken within the Centre which showcases Aboriginal ways of knowing, being, and doing.

ACCP is committed to projects focussed on improving outcomes for Aboriginal children, families, and communities. Integral to this is our work and partnerships with Aboriginal people, organisations and communities. This includes our much-valued Aboriginal staff and Advisory Board members, as well as students and working in partnership with Aboriginal organisations and partners as highlighted below.

A study that uses data from the Pathways of Care Longitudinal Study (POCLS) to identify the factors that support the mental health of Aboriginal children in out-of-home care and/or leaving care is currently underway, led by Professor Sandra Eades in collaboration with Prof Melissa O’Donnell and Fernando Lima. The study aims to recommend strategies that strengthen factors associated with better mental health outcomes.

The Ngulluk Moort, Ngulluk Boodja, Ngulluk Wirin (Our Family, Our Country, Our Spirit) Out-of-Home Care Study is underway through the Telethon Kids Institute, partnering with Aunty Millie Penny AM, Aunty Charmaine Pell, and organisations Key Assets, Life Without Barriers, and MacKillop Family Services.

“Centring the voices of Aboriginal researchers and Elders, and participating in truth-telling sessions with foster care agencies and people with lived experience of out-of-home care from the Aboriginal perspective, ensures we are addressing the issues that are important to the community,” says Melissa.

The first publication from this important project was published on 3 July.

Image courtesy of Telethon Kids Institute

In July 2023, ACCP's Prof Melissa O’Donnell and Dr Jacynta Krakouer were invited by Wungening to participate in their Dabakarn Kadadjiny (slow steady learning) Research-to-Practice Seminar Series, with their presentation ‘Pregnant mothers and infants involved in child protection processes: Challenges and opportunities in preventing children entering out-of-home care’.

This free online series allows a two-way learning process by which professionals in the community sector can apply new knowledge to their practice, and researchers can adapt staff queries to their research.

These valuable partnerships with the ACCO sector enhance and strengthen ACCP’s activities, by providing critical access to the knowledge and insights of Aboriginal community members, and ensuring that our work aligns with the self-determined needs and priorities of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

The group was established by the National Office for Child Safety to provide a forum for the Australian Government to seek advice and expertise supporting the successful delivery of the National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Child Sexual Abuse 2021-2030. This exciting development recognises the valuable contributions Leah and Deb have made to the National Strategy Advisory Group across their years of membership thus far, and their leadership in their respective sectors.

Aunty Muriel has been CEO of the Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency (VACCA) since 1999, and through her advocacy and impactful leadership she has advanced the interests of Aboriginal children and their connections to culture and community, influencing significant policy and legislative reforms to centre the importance of cultural connection and self-determination in Victorian laws that affect these children. Thanks to her advocacy, her role as CEO now provides her with legal responsibility for Aboriginal children and young people who are under Children's Court protection orders - placing responsibility of these children back in the hands of the Aboriginal community.

Aunty Muriel is also the Chairperson of the Secretariat of Aboriginal and Islander Child Care (SNAICC), and is actively involved with many State and National committees. She has received many awards and honours recognising her dedication and achievements, including the Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 2019 for distinguished service to the Indigenous community in Victoria.

Aunty Muriel is a longtime collaborator of the Centre, and a former member of our Advisory Board. She is currently a member of the Child Protection Expert Group, of which Prof Leah Bromfield is Chair.

Congratulations again to Aunty Muriel for this inspirational body of work and leadership.

From the Research Project: Understanding the experiences of child sexual abuse disclosure in Australia in the wake of the Royal Commission, sign up to hear from a panel of experts including ACCP's Prof Leah Bromfield, Amanda Paton, Dr Eden Thain, Jacqueline Le Mesurier, and Sian Burgess.

To register, email dvb@griffith.edu.au or a.borges@griffith.edu.au.

Since the inaugural offering of this course (February 2021) 1,462 students have successfully completed this course, who now have a greater understanding of how abuse and trauma impacts on a child’s development and functioning.

We have received extremely positive feedback regarding the relevance, quality, ease of navigation, and helpfulness of this course. Our students to date are from a variety of sectors, including Child Protection, Communities, Education and Health, across government, community and not for profit agencies. Our students are able to complete the course in their own time, only needing a few hours a week within the 6 week course period, enabling the course to be undertaken around work commitments.

Enrolment for our next intake closes Friday 4 October.

Cox, S., Bromfield, L., Chong, A., & Arney, F (2024). Opportunities to Strengthen Child Abuse Prevention Service Systems: A Jurisdictional Assessment of Child Welfare Interventions  Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research.

Hamilton, S., Jones, L., Penny, M., Pell, C., Ilich, N., Michie, C., Mutch, R., O'Donnell. M., Sheperd, C., & Farrant, B (2024). Ngulluk Moort, Ngulluk Boodja, Ngulluk Wirin (Our Family, Our Country, Our Spirit): An Aboriginal Participatory Action Research Study Protocol. Journal PLOS ONE.

Johnsen, M., O’Donnell, M., Harries, M., & Fisher, C. (2024) Hospital-Based Healthcare Workers’ Experiences of Involvement in Perinatal Child Protection Processes: A Scoping Literature Review. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse. Sage Journals.

Lanais, K., Gnanamanickam, E., Maclean, M., & Segal, L. (2024). Investigating the impact of Out-of-Home Care on early childhood development. Child Abuse & Neglect.

Lima, F., O’Donnell, M., Gibberd, A., Falster, K., Banks, E., Jones, J., Williams, R., Eades, F., Harrap, B., Chenhall, R., Octoman, O., & Eades, S.(2024) Aboriginal Children Placed in Out-of-Home Care: Pathways Through the Child Protection System. Australian Social Work.

Maclean, M., Lima, F., & O'Donnell, M. (2024). Investigating Positive Educational Trajectories among Children who Experienced Out-of-Home Care. Children and Youth Services Review.

Maclean, M., Lima, F., & O'Donnell, M. (2024). Positive reading achievement outcomes in children who experience out-of-home care: Characteristics and predictors. Child Abuse & Neglect.

Moodie, S., Jones, J., Chenhall, R., Williams, R., Garlett, C., Gibberd, A., O’Donnell, M., McAullay, D., McNamara, B., & Eades, S. (2024) . Intersectoral collaboration for supporting the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal families and children in out-of-home care: perspectives from Western Australian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations. Frontiers in Public Health, section Public Health Policy.