Karen Heap and Trevor Pearce, Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (VACCHO)

1. Advancing Aboriginal
self-determination for children
and families
NACCHO Conference 2018
Karen Heap, Chair VACYP Alliance
Trevor Pearce, CEO VACCHO

2. We will touch on:
 The Alliance as a collective Aboriginal voice
 The Alliances’ refreshed Strategic Plan
 Aboriginal community controlled decision making to change and create
services for Aboriginal children, families and communities
 The importance of ACCOs in playing a significant role across policy and
service design
 Need for Victoria’s Aboriginal health, child and family services to join
together in prioritising the needs of Aboriginal children

3. The Victorian
Aboriginal Children
and Young
People’s Alliance
14 Victorian Aboriginal
Community Controlled Health
Services (ACCOs)
Peak voice for Aboriginal children
and young people
Advocate for systems change to
improve the lives of Aboriginal
children

4. Alliance Strategic Plan
1. Embed and maintain a cultural model of care
2. Ensure all Aboriginal children and families are empowered to lead self-
determining lives
3. The Alliance establish itself as a state-wide body
4. Advocate for and participate in implementing a 10 year Aboriginal Children
and Families Agreement
5. Adequately resource ACCOs to enable effective recruitment practices
6. Better support Aboriginal carers
7. Re-establish the Aboriginal Children's Forum
8. Strengthen the collection of data, evidence and identification of research

5. The Victorian Aboriginal Community
Controlled Health Organisation

6. The Victorian government is committed to the self-determination of
Aboriginal people and their communities. It is recognised this will require
new ways of working and an enduring partnership between government,
community service organisations and Aboriginal community controlled
organisations (ACCOs).
Aboriginal self-determination is embedded across Government
strategies, policies and plans and included in the design and delivery of
programs and services.
Aboriginal self-determination

7. The state of Aboriginal children
in Victoria
9.1% in
OOHC
Total
Aboriginal
Child
population =
19,732
25%
Aboriginal
carer
54% with
sibling(s)
23%
cultural
plan
1300
Kinship
Care

8. The Journey…
In 2012 Victoria passed legislation to introduce an independent Commission for
Children and Young People. This resulted in the appointment of Australia’s first
and only Commissioner for Aboriginal Children and Young People. Since this time
a number of critical initiatives have been undertaken including:
• In 2013 a representative group of ACCOs, CSOs provided a submission to
government entitled Koorie Kids: growing strong in their culture.
• This submission asserted that to reverse the trend, clear targets and timelines
are required to ensure all Aboriginal children in out of home care are in
placements provided by or contracted by ACCOs. Seven key priorities with
supporting actions were identified.
• During the development of Koorie Kids, the need for a strong, collective voice
for Aboriginal children and young people was recognised.
• In 2014, an in-principle agreement to form an alliance had been developed by
14 Victorian ACCOs involved in OoHC. This created the Victorian Aboriginal
Children and Young People’s Alliance, to advocate for, and positively influence
the future of, Aboriginal children and young people in Victoria.

9. In 2015 the Victorian Aboriginal Children’s Forum (ACF) was established as a
representative Forum of Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations, the
community sector and Government. The ACF meets quarterly over two days
and
• aims to drive accountability and action around Aboriginal self-
determination and address the over representation in out of home care by
delivering on the priorities of Koorie Kids: growing strong in their culture
• is co-chaired by the Minister for Families and Children and the CEO of the
Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation where the Forum is held
• provides advocacy and oversight for transition of Aboriginal children and
young people to the care and control of ACCOs
Enablers: the Aboriginal
Children’s Forum

10. Wungurilwil Gapgapduir: Aboriginal
Children and Families Agreement
• Aboriginal children and families are
strong in culture and proud of their
unique identity
• ACCOs are resourced adequately to
care for their children, and
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
knowledge and experience will drive
investment and innovation to the
sector
Tri-partite agreement: Vic Gov, ACCOs, CSOs
Signed: April 2018
Rolling (and funded) implementation plan

11. ‘With the commitment across and within
departments and the community sector,
build the capacity of Aboriginal families,
communities, ACCOs and the sector to
care for children and young people to
reduce the number of Aboriginal children
in out-of-home care’.
Implementation of
ACF Priorities 4 and 5
‘Place all Aboriginal children and
young people in out-of-home care
under the authority, care and case
management of an ACCO’

12. Government
and Agencies
commit to:
Restore authority, capabilities and available resources to
ACCOs
Direct the greatest proportion of funding to highest need
Actively partner with, support and assist ACCOs
Establish transfer of resources, services, programs
Build respectful partnerships
Build cultural safety and competence
Shared Commitment

13. • Aboriginal children do better when connected to culture and the
Aboriginal community and every Aboriginal child must have the
opportunity to learn, practice, thrive and pass on their culture.
• Connection to culture is widely regarded as a key to providing good health
and wellbeing outcomes for Aboriginal children, families, and
communities.
• It is vital that carers of Aboriginal children and young people understand
the need for Aboriginal children in their care to maintain and build their
connection to family and culture, and feel assured that new relationships
with the ACCOs resulting from a transfer will provide enhanced support
that is culturally appropriate.
The transition of Aboriginal
children to ACCOs

14. • Kinship and foster carers of Aboriginal children and young people are to be
supported by an ACCO wherever possible.
• Where an Aboriginal child is currently in the care of a kinship or foster
carer and the placement is supported by Child Protection or a non-
Aboriginal foster care agency, opportunities for transferring placement and
carer to an ACCO foster or kinship care service will be explored and
negotiated.
• ACCOs are in a unique position to provide support not only from a cultural
and spiritual perspective but also because they are able to provide many
of the fundamental health and community services a child needs to
maintain community connectedness and family reunification.
The transition of Aboriginal children to
ACCOs continued…

15. 2016 2017 2018 2021
14% 30% 50% 100%
The transition targets

16. QUESTIONS?