Over the last decade, the number of children in out-of-home care
in Australia rose by almost 115%, from around 14,500 children in
1998 to 31,166 children in 2008, according to a report released
today by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).
'In the last year alone there has been a 10% increase,' said
report co-author John Sant.
There were 28,379 children in out-of-home care in 2007.
'The rise can be partly explained by the fact that more children
are admitted to care than are discharged each year. Factors such as
low family income, parental substance abuse, mental health issues
and family violence, tend to lengthen the time these children
remain in care,' he said.
The report, Child Protection Australia 2007-08, showed that as
at 30 June 2008, 48% of children in care were in foster care, 45%
were in relative or kinship care, and just 5% were in residential
care.
The report also showed that substantiated notifications of child
abuse in Australia have fallen for the first time since 1999.
Nationally, substantiated notifications fell by 8% between
2006-07 and 2007-08. There were 55,100 substantiated notifications
of child abuse and neglect in 2007-08 compared with 60,200 the
previous year. The number of substantiated notifications fell in
all jurisdictions except South Australia, Western Australia and the
Northern Territory.
'The decline in substantiations in some jurisdictions could be a
result of the availability of programs such as early intervention
family support services, offered as an alternative response for
less serious incidents,' Mr Sant said.
On the face of it, the decline in substantiations is welcome
news, but we will need to wait for future years' data to see if the
trend continues,' he said.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children continue to be
over-represented in the child protection system, with Indigenous
children aged 0-16 years being more than six times as likely to be
the subject of substantiations as other children (35.2 compared
with 5.5 per 1,000 children).
'Overall, the rate of Indigenous children in out-of-home care
was almost nine times the rate of other children,' Mr Sant
said.
Wednesday 21 January 2009
Further information: Mr John Sant, tel. 02 6244
1093; mob. 0402 431 416
For media copies of the report: Publications
Officer, AIHW, tel. (02) 6244 1032.
Availability: Check the AIHW Publications area
for the availability of Child Protection
Australia 2007-08 report.