Berry Street Web Docs Berry Street Aboriginal Plan | Page 2
Berry
Street
Aboriginal
Plan
2009-2012
The Context Within Which We
Operate
In Victoria, the foundation of the Children,
Youth and Families Act (2005) is the 'Best
Interests of the Child' principles which
promote "...the need, in relation to an
Aboriginal child, to protect and promote
his or her Aboriginal cultural and spiritual
identity and development by, whenever
possible, maintaining and building their
connections to their Aboriginal family and
community."
■ Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data
indicates that there are over 15,000
Aboriginal children and young people living
in Victoria. However, many Aboriginal
Communities believe that the ABS figures
significantly underestimate the actual
number of Aboriginal children, young people
and families living in Victoria.
■ The age structure of the Victorian Aboriginal
population is considerably younger than that
of the non-Aboriginal population.
■ The Victorian Aboriginal population is
distributed almost evenly between
metropolitan and country regions.
■ The life expectancy of Aboriginal males and
females in Victoria is approximately 18 years
lower than for non-Indigenous Victorians.
■
Aboriginal children and young people are overrepresented in Child Protection (ten times
more likely to be substantiated as Child
Protection cases), and out of home care.
■ Aboriginal women and children are
over-represented in family violence statistics.
■ Victoria’s school retention rates for Aboriginal
young people are amongst the worst in
Australia.
■ Aboriginal youth are involved with the
Juvenile Justice system at 11 times the rate
of non-Aboriginal males and 23 times the rate
of non-Aboriginal females.
Berry Street is a major provider of services to
Aboriginal children, young people and families,
with approximately 300 Aboriginal people
accessing Berry Street services in 2008-09,
including about 90 children and young people in
the Take Two program. We work in partnership
with numerous Aboriginal Community Controlled
Organisations, including a significant partnership
with the Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency
(VACCA).
■