MOSCOW, September 29 (RIA Novosti) - Reports of child abuse in the Northern Territory (NT) of Australia have increased by 30 percent over the 2013-14 financial year, the Australian Associated Press (AAP) reported Monday.
"We are all shocked and trying to work out that increase in volume," the director of the Out of Home Care Division a part of the NT Department of Children and Families (DCF), Simone Jackson, was quoted as saying by AAP.
"It's sad to say we have a lot of parents who are unable to provide the minimum care requirements for their young people. Child protection is the symptom, never the issue," Jackson added.
The DCF reported a 25 percent rise in children in out-of-home care and 29 percent more investigations surrounding child protection matters, AAP reported. Jackson claimed the current system providing therapeutic support to families with children in care are "very poor."
"Aboriginal children do best when they have that (cultural) connection, when they come out the other end as adults knowing who they are, their identity intact," Jackson was quoted as saying by AAP.
Currently some 85 percent of children in care are indigenous however the NT has the lowest placement rate of Aboriginal children with Aboriginal carers in Australia. Jackson hopes to increase the number of Aboriginal carers in the system, but assures all carers will be required to undergo the standard 12 month training and will not be admitted for the sake of boosting numbers. The executive director also urged the government to increase indigenous community awareness in order to reduce stigmas surrounding its children.
According to the NT Department of Children and Families, there has been a 90 percent increase of children in care over the last five years.
The DCF was established in 2011 with the aim of promoting safety and family wellbeing in the Northern Territory. The department provides services including child protection, adoption, foster care, and family and parenting support.
