Cumulative incidence of child protection system contacts among a cohort of Western Australian Aboriginal children born 2000 to 2013

• Published in: Child Abuse & Neglect
• Main Authors: Harrap, Benjamin, Gibberd, Alison, O'Donnell, Melissa, Simons, Koen, Jones, Jocelyn, Lima, Fernando, McAullay, Daniel, Falster, Kathleen, Banks, Emily, Eades, Sandra
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia 2023
• Subjects: Aboriginal children; Child protection system; Cumulative incidence; Family services; First nations; Indigenous; Sibling; Social and Behavioral Sciences; First Nations
• Online Access: https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ecuworks2022-2026/2742; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2023.106297; https://ro.ecu.edu.au/context/ecuworks2022-2026/article/3742/viewcontent/Cumulative_20incidence_20of_20child_20protection_20system_20contracts_20among_20a_20cohort.pdf

Background: Reducing the over-representation of Aboriginal children in the child protection system is a key target for the Australian government. Objective: We aimed to provide more recent evidence on the population-level cumulative incidence of contacts for Aboriginal children with child protective services (CPS) in Western Australia (WA). Participants and Setting: Linked administrative data was provided for WA CPS between 2000 and 2015 for 33,709 Aboriginal children born in WA between 2000 and 2013. Methods: Descriptive summaries and cumulative incidence estimates were used to examine changes in CPS contact trends over time and within sibling groups. Results: There was an increase in early-childhood contacts for children born more recently, with 7.6 % and 2.3 % of children born in 2000–2001 having a notification and placement in out-of-home care by age one, respectively, compared to 15.1 % and 4.3 % of children born in 2012–2013. Among sibling groups where at least one sibling had a CPS contact, approximately half of children had their first contacts on the same date as another sibling. For children born after one of their siblings had been placed in out-of-home care, 31.9 % had themselves been placed in out-of-home care by age one. Conclusions: Multiple children tend to be placed into out-of-home care when at least one sibling is, which is likely to have a significant impact on families affected. The additional risk of placement also carries over to children born after the first removal in a sibling group, highlighting the need for further support to prevent future removals.