Victoria warned of another stolen generation crisis looming in state care

Victoria's new Commissioner for Aboriginal Children and Young People, Andrew Jackomos, says the state may soon have another "stolen generation" because of the high number of Aboriginal children being removed from their families and placed into care.

IMAGE: Treaty Republic - The new stolen generation

Jeff Waters ABC News 18 December 2013

In a submission to the State Government, The Commission for Children and Young People says almost 10 per cent of indigenous Victorian children were removed from their families - at least temporarily - by the state between 2011 and 2012.

The submission says: "At current levels, the rate of Aboriginal child removal in Victoria exceeds levels seen at any time since white settlement."

Mr Jackomos contributed to the review; he blames high poverty rates, inter-generational trauma and family violence for the alarming figures.

"We potentially are going to have another stolen generation unless there's urgent work both in the community and in government," Mr Jackomos said.

"I must admit I'm shell-shocked from what I'm learning here."

The young people affected are being placed into state, extended family, community, and foster care, unlike the children from the original stolen generation, who were largely adopted out to other families.

There are problems for many non-indigenous children in out-of-home care as well.

The commission's submission to a government review quotes a ministerial review of 16 young people in need.

The young people "suffered from multiple forms and incidents of abuse and often profound neglect, early in life."

The submission says there was a lack of timely and adequate assessment and intervention by Child Protection in each case.

"Many of these children were left in environments exposing them to significant harm and they were subsequently harmed," the submissions says.

"10 out of 13 young women, who had been sexually assaulted when in the care of their families were subsequently raped or sexually abused by co-residents or sexually exploited by external parties."

Victoria's Chief Commission for Children and Young People, Bernie Geary, says the child protection system in Victoria has been inadequate for many years.

"The services that we provide are more of a problem than they are a solution," Mr Geary said.

"I think we've got to work harder to ensure that we've got services for these children who are owed children who have been traumatised."

A spokesman for the state Minister for Community Services, Mary Wooldridge, said the statistics highlighted why the government is reforming Victoria's child protection and out-of-home care system.

"The (commission's) submissions make a valuable contribution to the development of the government's five-year out-of-home care plan, which is currently being finalised," she said.