COMMUNITY CONTROLLED SOCIAL SERVICES
DEMAND 8
Fund early childhood programs, youth services, men’s programs and women's centres, with specific needs determined through the local councils.
Overview
The Intervention was supposed to be an emergency response to serious social issues in Aboriginal communities such as domestic violence and child abuse, as documented in the Little Children are Sacred (LCAS) report.
But the 97 recommendations of this report, which focus on locally driven solutions and a serious injection of resources into all communities, have largely been ignored.
LCAS author Pat Anderson has said, "the future of Aboriginal children in the Northern Territory is not being protected by the intervention: it is being further undermined."
There have been increases in federal funding to some community programs, such as the introduction of women's shelters in 15 extra communities. The number of communities with Night Patrol services has increased from 31, to almost all 73 "prescribed areas".
But the abolition of Aboriginal Community Government Councils means that these services are often run by Shire Councils over which people have no control. And cuts to Community Development Employment Projects (CDEP) have meant that there are far less local people working in community services, or many services are no longer operating.
The rate of children being taken into out-of-home care has increased from 10.8 to 14.9 per 1000 children, leading some in communities to talk about a "new stolen generation".
Professor Muriell Bamblett, co-chair of a 2010 review of the NT child protection system said Aboriginal people felt disempowered by the Intervention and ''their capacity to parent their children has been taken away.''
Launching the findings of the review (pdf) she said, "We saw a raft of issues that set the context for child abuse and neglect such as chronic housing shortages and overcrowding, chronic unemployment, health and eduction issues".
The review said the system was in crisis and called immediate action, including the establishment of Aboriginal controlled services.
Explore the reality further: What's the next demand?
