The parents of children in state care must be recognised as key stakeholders and play a primary role in the child protection system. A forum being held in Brisbane today for Global Day of Parents emphasises the critical role parents play in rearing children.
“Parents need to be key stakeholders in any child protection system,” says Micah Projects CEO Karyn Walsh. “On United Nations Global Day of Parents we need to value the role of parents in any child protection response. For more than twenty-five years, multiple inquiries into the child protection system have emphasised the need to establish and adequately resource an effective family support sector.
“In 2025, flexible, non-stigmatising early support for families is needed more than ever. Support, not surveillance, is needed along with help to address the root causes of family stress to strengthen and heal families.
“Global Day of Parents recognises the family has the primary responsibility for nurturing, protecting and rearing children. For their full development, children should grow up in a family environment and in an atmosphere of happiness, love and understanding.
“Through the Family Inclusion Network we have the opportunity for parents of children in care, or at risk of going into care, to meet with ministers and other stakeholders about the role of parents in the child protection system,” says Karyn.
Parents who have experienced and are experiencing the child protection system are gathering for the Family Inclusion Network Global Day of Parents Forum today.
“On Global Day of Parents we need to recognise the increasing over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in the child protection system,” says Professor Jody Currie from QUT Faculty of Health. “We need to recognise the impact this has on the parents, the families and children.
“Everybody who comes to the door of an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander family has cultural awareness and safety training along with a whole range of frameworks. But there is no training for First Nations parents.
“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents’ agency and self-determination must be respected in engaging with the child protection system. Practitioners need to acknowledge the damage that engaging with the system has on the outcomes of First Nation parents, children and families,” says Jody.
Main Pictue L-R: Karyn Walsh Micah Projects CEO, Jody Currie from QUT Faculty of Health and kylie valentine Director of the Social Policy Research Centre UNSW Sydney.
