The New South Wales government has launched an Aboriginal family preservation program aimed at giving at-risk children space to “tell their own stories” after a historic investment.
Program details
The program, co-designed by First Nations families, Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisations (ACCOs) and the NSW government, aims to reduce the overrepresentation of Indigenous children in out-of-home care through a holistic approach to child and family protection.
On Tuesday, the NSW government distributed $350m to twenty-five ACCOs across the state as part of the Minns Labor government’s broader $900m investment in a redesigned family preservation service system. The money will also fund a further 30 non-government organisations to support vulnerable families.
Success stories
At Coffs Harbour on the mid-north coast, Abcare, an Aboriginal family support service, has already started seeing success. As part of their program, Abcare’s healing centre (Bimirr Darrundaygy) gives children access to trauma-informed and culturally safe support, including psychologists, a registered nurse and narrative therapists who specialise in helping children to “re-author” their stories.
Jack Archibald, a Kamilaroi and Wiradjuri man and a narrative therapist at Abcare, said that he had worked with a nine-year-old boy, Blake*, who had been diagnosed with level 2 autism and lived with his mother and young brother, who has level 3 autism.
Archibald said prior to accessing the program, the boy and his family had suffered through domestic violence and that Blake “struggled to express his story in words” – but was able to work with him through drawing.
“Some of the things that came up within his drawings were incredible,” he said. “The things that he held inside of his mind, he must’ve been holding on for so long.
“We started breaking it down in a narrative way and building a new story out of his drawings.”
He said Blake was now thriving, trying new things and reaching goals at school.
“I’ve been able to advocate with a psychologist, so he’s not retelling his story again. And his mum is being supported with an autism parent group out their way.”
Impact and statistics
In NSW, First Nations children make up just 7.8% of children aged 0 to 17, yet account for 46.1% of children in out-of-home care across the state. The minister for families and communities, Kate Washington, said that rate was “way too high” and was the reason why the state government was “investing so heavily” in family preservation programs.
At Abcare on Tuesday, Washington met with staff members and healthcare professionals at the healing centre, where she said she heard stories that “literally gave me chills”.
“I heard stories today of their engagement with children in ways that I’m not hearing elsewhere in the state,” she said. “They are providing wraparound, holistic support that’s culturally sensitive and responsive and really making a difference.
“There’s some very special support being provided to families in ways that I haven’t seen happening elsewhere.
“I’ve learnt a lot today about what we can be doing better across the state and in the reform of the child protection system of NSW.”
First Nations families across the state can now access or be referred to family preservation services through local ACCOs. The program offers intensive support to prevent children entering foster care by strengthening family connections, building parenting skills and creating safe home environments.
Abcare’s CEO, Greg Bennett, who has been working in child protection for 40 years, said children often struggled to find their “voice and their identities” when removed from their families but said his organisation was making a real impact.
“Certainly, coming into care doesn’t mean a loss of identity, which so many times we’ve seen and certainly going back to the Stolen Generations, kids who were removed from family had a loss of their culture and identity and connections to those communities,” he said.
“So we make sure that doesn’t happen.
“Just because the kids weren’t safe being with mum or dad, it doesn’t mean that they should lose their identity.
“We work with families the department puts as ‘at-risk’ … so the kids don’t get removed and so the families stay close together.”
* Name has been changed.
