AbSec welcomes NSW ban on alternative care arrangements for vulnerable children

The New South Wales Government’s decision to ban the use of alternative care arrangements for vulnerable children has been welcomed by the state’s leading Aboriginal child and family organisations.

The decision, announced on Tuesday during Child Protection Week, follows a report by New South Wales child and youth advocate Zoë Robinson, which found that many at-risk children have been placed in for-profit care arrangements for significant periods of time – some for as long as 600 days.

Children gave testimonies about their experiences at hearings across the state. The report highlights shocking cases of neglect, sexual abuse and children exposed to widespread drug use while in alternative care arrangements (ACAs).

In the past 10 months, the number of children in ACAs has fallen from 139 to 39. Families and Communities Minister Kate Washington said she had made it clear that “vulnerable children do not belong in hotels, motels or caravan parks with shift workers instead of foster parents”.

“Under our administration, unaccredited emergency shelters will be a thing of the past, and it is long overdue,” she said.

AbSec chief executive John Leha said it was a “long overdue shift” in policy towards a system that prioritises the wellbeing of children – particularly Aboriginal children – who are “grossly over-represented in unsafe ACA placements. No child should be left in environments that undermine their cultural safety and identity”.

Aboriginal children made up almost half of the children placed in ACAs, a result of being removed from their families, cultures and communities, according to AbSec.

Last month, Karly Warner, Director of Aboriginal Legal Service (ALS) NSW/ACT, said: “Children belong in safe homes and not forced to live in motels where strangers are constantly playing the role of parents.”

“Many Aboriginal families are devastated that their children are forced to stay in hotels and caravan parks instead of growing up connected to their family, culture and community,” Ms Warner said.

ALS noted that the Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) “removes Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their homes more than 12 times more often than non-Indigenous children”.

AbSec CEO John Leha said the next step was support for children who had experienced ACAs (Image: AbSec)

Many First Nations children were not leaving ACAs and moving into other forms of foster care, but were instead placing themselves in institutions, which they called “particularly concerning” and a “cry for help.”

“These children do not make the decision to place themselves lightly. Often, it is an act of survival, driven by a desire to escape the systematic neglect and isolation they experience in ACA environments,” AbSec said.

They argued that while it may seem like a choice that empowers children, it often leaves children vulnerable, prevents them from accessing good support systems, and leaves them more susceptible to further instability, exploitation or harm.

“Self-placement shows that the so-called care system is failing many children, especially Aboriginal children,” Mr Leha said.

“Instead of providing a nurturing environment, it has become something they feel they need to escape from. These children are looking for connections to their culture, their family, and their identity because those are the very things that have been taken away from them.”

AbSec emphasized the importance of “culturally informed, trauma-informed supports” for children who have entered and been placed in the ACA system.

“It is not enough to simply remove children from unsafe situations,” Mr Leha said.

“We must invest now in providing culturally informed, therapeutic care for every child who has undergone or is leaving an ACA for as long as that care is needed.”

The ACAs have cost New South Wales taxpayers $500 million over the past six years, almost $2 million per child per year.

The New South Wales government said the care is provided by “unaccredited agencies with limited government oversight who are not required to meet the NSW Child Safe Standards for Permanent Care”.

“The previous administration allowed the child protection system to spiral out of control, dramatically increasing the use of emergency shelters for vulnerable children,” said Secretary Washington.

According to Mr Leha, the investment should focus on the “healing power of strengthening cultural, family and community ties for children who have experienced traumatic disruption”.

“AbSec stands ready to work with the New South Wales Government to transform the child protection and care system so that the community can develop approaches that are rooted in culture, strengthen families and enable our children to grow and thrive,” he said.