TY  - SER
AU  - O'Donnell, Melissa
AU  - Taplin, Stephanie
AU  - Marriott, Rhonda
AU  - Lima, Fernando
AU  - Stanley, Fiona J. 
TI  - Infant removals : : the need to address the over-representation of Aboriginal infants and community concerns of another ‘stolen generation’
PY  - 2019///
PB  - Elsevier, 
KW  - ABORIGINAL & TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER PEOPLES
KW  - CHILD ABUSE
KW  - CHILD NEGLECT
KW  - CHILD PROTECTION
KW  - CHILD WELFARE
KW  - OUT OF HOME CARE
KW  - INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
KW  - INFANTS
KW  - INTERGENERATIONAL TRAUMA
KW  - INTERVENTION
KW  - IWI TAKETAKE
KW  - AUSTRALIA
N1  - Child Abuse & Neglect, 2019, Advance online publication, 12 February 2019
N2  - Objectives:  The removal of a child from their parents is traumatising, particularly in Aboriginal communities where a history of child removals has led to intergenerational trauma. This study will determine  where  disparities  in  child  protection  involvement  exist  among  Aboriginal  and non-Aboriginal children and characteristics associated with infant removals. Challenges faced by child protection and other agencies, and opportunities for overcoming these, are discussed.

Methods:  Data  from  both  the  Australian  Institute  of  Health  and  Welfare  and  linked Western Australian  government  data  was  used  to  examine  disparities  between  Aboriginal  and  non-Aboriginal children in the child protection and out-of-home care system.

Results:  Nationally,  Aboriginal  children  are  ten  times  more  likely  to  be  placed  in out-of-home care than non-Aboriginal children and this disparity starts in infancy. Infants were removed from parents with high levels of risk. Aboriginal infants were at increased risk of being removed from women  with  substance-use  problems  and  had  greater  proportions  removed  from remote,  dis- advantaged communities than were non-Aboriginal infants.

Conclusions:  Aboriginal  infants  have  a  high  rate  of  removal.  Although  there  are  many complexities  to  be  understood  and  challenges  to  overcome,  there  are  also  potential strategies.  The disparity between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal infant removals needs to be seen as a priority requiring urgent action to prevent further intergenerational trauma. (Authors' abstract). Record #6195

UR  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2019.01.017
ER  -