The removal of Aboriginal children from their families is increasing at an alarming rate, sparking fears the numbers will soon match the Stolen Generation.
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Without change, as many as 14 out of every 100 Aboriginal kids will be living in state care in South Australia by 2031 an inquiry into the issue has predicted.
It is estimated that between 10 to 33 per cent of all Aboriginal children were removed from their families as part of the Stolen Generation between 1910 to 1970.
Indigenous children are still devastatingly over-represented in child protection, despite a target to reduce the rate by 45 per cent, Commissioner for Aboriginal Children and Young People April Lawrie said.
If current trends continue, the number of Aboriginal children living in out-of-home care is anticipated to increase by 50 per cent over the next decade, compared to a projected increase of 13.5 per cent for non-Aboriginal children.
Ms Lawrie has made 17 recommendations in a preliminary report released on Wednesday.
They include amending child-protection legislation to place greater emphasis on keeping Aboriginal children in their communities.
The onus should also be placed on authorities to justify their application to remove a child.
The report revealed one out of every two Aboriginal children was subject to at least one child protection notification in 2020/21, compared to one in every 12 non-Aboriginal children.
The disparity comes despite the government's objectives of reducing the number of Aboriginal children removed from their families and ensuring that, if they are removed, they grow up safely in the care of their kin, community and culture.
Ms Lawrie said a child needed to have a connection to family, community and country to develop a cultural identity.
"Disconnection will only continue the cycle of disadvantage, poverty and trauma," she said.
"South Australia needs a system that enshrines connection to culture, family and community as a birthright for Aboriginal children.
"Family and culture is everything."
SA child protection minister Katrine Hildyard said the government would carefully consider the report's recommendations as it conducted a review of the Children and Young People (Safety) Act.
"We need to look more deeply at exactly what the changes proposed by the interim report will encompass, but the themes that were within it are ones that we are right now actively considering as we draft legislation," Ms Hildyard said in a statement.
"It is clear that improvements need to be made."
13YARN 13 92 76
Aboriginal Counselling Services 0410 539 905
Australian Associated Press
