Child protection leaders across South Australia are stepping up to keep Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children safe with their families, communities and culture.

Centacare recently hosted the state’s inaugural CEO forum on Family Matters, a national campaign to eliminate the over-representation of Indigenous children in out-of-home care within a generation.

In South Australia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children (aged 0-17 years) make up 3.5 per cent of the child population yet they account for 30 per cent of all children in out-of-home care.

The CEO forum explored ways to progress jurisdictional plans for legal, policy and practice change to reduce the number of ATSIC children in the child protection system.

The aim is to influence governments at state, territory and national levels to change their policies in relation to child protection, and to refocus resources on prevention and family support services.

The Family Matters vision is for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people to grow up safely in their home, receive a good education, and be proud of who they are.

For more information, visit the campaign website.

#FamilyMatters

Leaders of non-government organisations recently met in Adelaide to workshop the Family Matters campaign.