Continuity, Engagement and Integration: Early Intervention in Remote Australian Aboriginal Communities

ABSTRACT

Over the last decade there has been at best limited implementation of preventive interventions for vulnerable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and their families in remote communities of northern Australia despite growing involvement in the child protection system. This paper describes challenges for services seeking to engage parents who are subject to child protection measures. Brief case studies from an early intervention program in a remote community illustrate that responsiveness and continuity of engagement of parents over time is a necessary basis for an integrated approach to meeting the needs of vulnerable children and families in very remote settings.

KEYWORDS:

• Indigenous Child Protection
• Family Interventions
• Culturally Sensitive Social Work
• Remote Communities

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Corrigendum

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the work of the Let's Start team and partner organisations. Funding was provided by the Australian Government Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, the Northern Territory Government, and the Cooperative Research Centre for Aboriginal Health. An evaluation was funded by the Australian Research Council, Linkages Grant no. LP0668218. Ethics approval was granted by Charles Darwin University Human Research Ethics Committee, Approval no. H05070 and the Human Research Ethics Committee of the Northern Territory Department of Health, and the Menzies School of Health Research, Approval no 1606.