DCP Enhancing Practice PhD Scholarship
Laws that Colonise: Aboriginal Children, Child Protection and the Australian Legal System
To address the ongoing overrepresentation of Aboriginal children in the child protection system, an ACCP PhD project aims to consolidate an understanding of the Australian legal system, child protection laws and policies, and how these govern the relationships between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people.
As part of the SA Department for Child Protection Enhancing Practice PhD Scholarship Program, Amy Cleland has engaged practitioners across the child protection system, with local Elders and community members in a series of roundtables and interviews, examining the ways in which law and policies influence their capacity to engage with Aboriginal Peoples in child protection work. With a range of stakeholders, her program of work and research is exploring the consequences of law and child protection policy on Aboriginal families and the capacity for families to stay connected to kin and land.
The project aims to identify the potential for change in practice for better outcomes for Aboriginal children and families.
