Number Of Indigenous Children Being Removed From Families By The State Set To Triple In 20 Years

A new report reveals the number of Indigenous children to be removed from their families is set to triple in the next two decades, based on current trends.

Family Matters, a national coalition of 150 Indigenous leaders and child protection bodies, is set to release the report at Parliament house today, according to the ABC.

The group will be urging the Federal Government to implement new national strategies and a "Closing the Gap" target. It is hoped these policies will be geared towards reversing the growing numbers of Indigenous children in the child protection system.

“I have seen the enormous feats that struggling families have achieved when they are supported” Prof. Muriel Bamblett #FamilyMatters

— SNAICC (@SNAICC) November 8, 2016

Natalie Lewis, co-chair of Family Matters, authored an article published by the Guardian about how growing up with family is both a human right and essential for healing.

As a Kamilaroi woman, she writes: "I see the denial of the right to connection to family and culture for so many of our children removed from family by child protection authorities."

She's concerned that things have not improved since the famous apology about the stolen generations presented by former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in 2008.

"The fact is things haven't improved. The numbers have climbed, and dramatically so," she writes.

"Nationally, figures have more than doubled since 2008, with our children removed from their families, communities and cultures at a rate nearly 10 times that of non-Indigenous children."

Indigenous educator and Family Matters ambassador Dr Chris Sarra said, "There is a crisis and we need to do something about this."

This is what the Family Matters coalition is fighting for: to have the over-representation of Indigenous children in out-of-home care eliminated by the year 2040.

Dr Sarra expressed the importance of committing to a "tangible way" of returning those children to families and communities in a way that is safe for them.

The report notes that too much money is being spent by state and territory governments on crisis responses rather than rehabilitation services for vulnerable families.

"Redressing the causes of Aboriginal child removal requires a strategy across a spectrum of issues that traverses federal and state lines," Lewis writes.

This will include things like: family support, inadequate housing, social security, family violence, health, drug and alcohol misuse, health and mental health issues, early childhood education and care, and child protection.

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