We're now live to discuss the first anniversary of the #FamilyIsCulture report into out-of-home care in NSW, together with @AbSecNSW @Jumbunna_Inst @mdavisqlder and some other distinguished speakers. We'll be tweeting key highlights in this thread.

The Family Is Culture Review looked at the individual circumstances of more than 1,000 Aboriginal children & young people who the state of NSW removed from their parents in 2015-2016.

The Family Is Culture Review was the result of tireless activism by Aboriginal people, families & organisations including Grandmothers Against Removals, says @mdavisqlder.

“It was heartbreaking to see the number of cases where families’ phone calls don’t get returned,” @mdavisqlder says. There are instances of the system gaslighting families.

The actions of the system can “entrench a sense of powerlessness” in families, says @mdavisqlder.

“We don’t believe there’s been an appropriate response to the review,” says @mdavisqlder. Her team hasn’t been kept informed by the NSW Government of their actions in response to the review - they only find out when the public does, or moments before.

Professor Davis and her team looked at FACS through the concept of bureaucratic ‘ritualism’ - large bureaucracies can develop their own cultures which can be indifferent/resistant to the intentions of legislators. Policies don’t consistently filter through to practice.

“The state has adopted many rituals of listening to Aboriginal peoples... but it does not often ‘hear’ what Aboriginal people are saying.” Prof Davis & her team found that Aboriginal history & culture were poorly understood by many FACS staff.

“I can’t see any evidence of the right to self-determination in this system,” says @mdavisqlder. Self-determination is frequently referred to as a concept, yet ill-defined in law & policy, even less so in practice.

“While we welcome the appointment of a Deputy Guardian, that is a form of ritualism” and the role is “toothless” says @mdavisqlder. “It’s a pretty disingenuous response to the report” - the NSW Govt is “cherry-picking” which recommendations to pay attention to.

Child protection is “one of the few professions in which you can make profoundly wrong and incorrect decisions but nothing happens to you” says @mdavisqlder. Yet our kids have to live with the impacts of those decisions for the rest of their lives.

Increasing transparency & accountability is a major focus of the Family Is Culture recommendations, says Dr Althea Gibson who worked on the review. This can be achieved through establishing a new independent statutory body for monitoring & oversight (& other recommendations too).

Nearly a fifth of the Aboriginal children who were taken from their parents were 6 months old or younger, says Emma Buxton-Namisnyk, who also worked on the review team. Some Aboriginal women avoid pre/neo-natal health services because they fear their babies will be taken.

Restoration of children to their families is stated as the preferred path forward after kids are removed, yet the FACS paperwork shows that caseworkers only consider this a “realistic possibility” in a very low proportion of cases. Practice contradicts policy.

All recommendations made in regards to reforming the Care and Protection Act have been deferred by the Government to a review that’s happening ~2024. How many more Aboriginal kids’ lives will be damaged by then?

Bill Pritchard is Acting Exec Leader of @AbSecNSW, the peak org for Aboriginal children & families in NSW. “We waited quite a while before there was any action at all in response” to the Family Is Culture report, and when it came it was “underwhelming” he says.

“We don’t want a scattergun approach, we want a plan that will fit with the needs of communities” in rolling out reforms, says Bill Pritchard of @AbSecNSW. Community consultation must come first.

Data sovereignty is another big theme in #FamilyIsCulture. Bill Pritchard says that @AbSecNSW often has difficulty accessing the data on Aboriginal children in out-of-home care - there is gatekeeping of information by FACS/DCJ. We need the info on our own kids.

“I was disappointed that there was no dedicated funding in the NSW Budget to implementing the recommendations of #FamilyIsCulture,” Bill says. “The Govt takes humanity out of program delivery - it’s all about how much it’s going to cost.”

“I’m actually starting to lose faith” that the NSW Government can reform the child protection system, Bill says. In the year since the Family Is Culture report was handed down, so little has happened.

“We know that our children thrive when they’re connected to culture, identity and community,” says Karly Warner, CEO of the ALS. “To date the ALS has been disappointed by the extent of the Govt’s response” to #FamilyIsCulture.

Karly notes that a disproportionate number of Aboriginal young people who grow up in the out-of-home care system are later forced into the quicksand of the youth justice system. The state assumes the role of both parenting and punishing.

“We have to prioritise the implementation of legislative amendments recommended by the Family Is Culture review,” Karly says. The ALS has been disappointed to see the NSW Gov pushing legislative reform back to 2024.

The Family Is Culture review looked at cases including that of an Aboriginal mother whose baby was taken at birth - FACS had decided to remove the baby several months before they were even born. The Court said this child should not have been removed.

A great comment from an attendee - “the term ‘absconding’ should be removed from the lexicon when it comes to children & young people returning home to family”. How perverse that kids seeking their own families should be considered ‘absconding’ from out-of-home care.

Another great comment: “The excuse that the problems are too large and that no-one knows where to start or how to address the issues can no longer be used thanks to you and your team’s report, @mdavisqlder”. So true - we have the solutions, now we need action.

“The only way you really get change in culture and practices is to hit people in the wallet, in the pocket” - there need to be consequences for unethical behaviour of caseworkers such as demotion or losing their job, says @mdavisqlder.

Currently caseworkers can lie to courts resulting in children being removed from their families, and there are absolutely no consequences - “it’s astonishing” says @mdavisqlder.

“This is what structural racism looks like,” Prof Davis says. There is a lack of professional accountability across the child protection system and it is Aboriginal kids & families that suffer the consequences of poor practices.

Prof Davis again gives a shout-out to @GMAR_NSW for their “extraordinary activism and extraordinary love” for our kids

“That is cutting at the heart of our culture, taking a baby from their mother at the hospital” - @mdavisqlder

Prof Davis on those FACS workers who act dishonestly & unethically: “People do it because they get away with it. The department & system protects them, but doesn’t protect our families.” Why do doctors, lawyers, etc have professional standards but not child protection workers?

Karly Warner is now wrapping up. Thanks for joining us on Zoom & here on Twitter. Over the coming year @AbSecNSW & the ALS will continue to advocate for the Family Is Culture recommendations to be implemented as an urgent priority. Please stay in touch & continue your support!

If you would like to pitch in to support the ALS in leading more of our own solutions, we very warmly welcome donations to our Black Lives Matter at Christmas Too campaign https://www.alsnswact.org.au/black_lives_matter_at_christmas