Question On Notice No. 3002 asked in the Legislative Council on 23 June 2020 by Hon Nick Goiran
Question Directed to the: Leader of the House representing the Minister for Child Protection
Parliament: 40 Session: 1
Question
I refer to the article published in The Australian on 10 June 2020 entitled “Spike in number of Indigenous kids placed in care”, in which it was reported that there has been a 4.7 percent increase in Indigenous children entering care since March 2019, and I ask:
(a) is the Minister aware of the increased intake; and
(b) what are the reasons for the increased intake?
Answered on 8 September 2020
(a) Yes.
(b) Children come into the care of the Department of Communities’ Chief Executive Officer for a number of reasons including sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, family and domestic violence, neglect and wellbeing concerns.
While noting the total number of Aboriginal children in care from March 2019 to March 2020 has slightly increased, this represents a decreased growth rate from the previous year, and a long-term downward trend overall.