Social Work - Theses

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The pursuit of aboriginal control of child welfare

Freedman, Linda ( 1989)

This is essentially a study of Aboriginal child welfare in Victoria today. However, from necessity it is more than this for the study cannot be undertaken without reference to the events and policies of the last 200 years. Nor can it be isolated from the range of issues confronting Aboriginal communities today including the realms of health and education as well as the broader community services arena. The theme of this study is Aboriginal community control, a call by Aboriginal people for an abandonment of past and present approaches by governments, and for the opportunity for Aboriginal people to determine their destinies in ways they wish. This call is particularly strong in the child welfare field where there has been a failure of governments, at both state and national levels, to address Aboriginal child welfare issues. Government rhetoric, both Commonwealth and Victorian, is about "self-determination". Aboriginal demands are for "community control". This study will be looking at the gap between government policies and practices, with the emphasis on the child welfare field, and between government policies and practices and Aboriginal demands. (From Introduction)