Child Protection Services increased 6% in Australia
According to a reporter, there has been a 6% increase in children who have been placed in the child care system in Australia. Indigenous children are seven times more likely to enter the child care system than non-Indigenous. One in every 35 children in Australia have accessed the child care system in 2014-15. However, 60% were subject to investigation only and not placed into out-of-home care. Abuse and neglect has remained steady for the past 3 years, eight per 1,000 children.
Indigenous children enter the system at a 146 per 1,000 and non-Indigenous children are 20.5 per 1,000.
An astonishing three-quarters of all children in the system are repeat clients.
The following are causes for the over-representation in child protection services:
- The legacy of past policies of forced removal
- Intergenerational effects of previous separations from family and culture
- Lower socio-economic status
- Perceptions arising from cultural differences in child-rearing practices
- Drug and alcohol abuse
- Family violence
There has been an increase of $228 million spent on child protection services in 2014-15.
Photo Credit: Photo by Damon Shaff/shutterstock
References
Medhora, S (Thursday, 21 April 2016) Referrals to Australian child protection services increase 6% in a year. The Guardian. Retrieved from: http://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/apr/21/referrals-to-australian-child-protection-services-increase-6-in-a-year
