Enhancing the implementation of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle
Professor Fiona Arney is the Director of the Australian Centre for Child Protection at the University of South Australia and is a leading expert in child protection research, resilience and models of parenting and childhood vulnerability. Marie Iannos is a registered psychologist with 8 years clinical experience in child and adolescent mental health, and research into the health and wellbeing of mothers and children. Alwin Chong is a Wakamin man and is currently the Acting Director of Yaitya Purruna Indigenous Health Unit (YPIHU) at the University of Adelaide. Alwin is a respected Aboriginal leader and advocate for Aboriginal health research that is culturally equitable. Stewart McDougall first joined the Australian Centre for Child Protection in 2011 as a Summer Vacation Research Scholarship holder, and then as Honours student with the Centre. Since 2013, Stewart has been a part of the Centre's research team. Samantha Parkinson first joined the Australian Centre for Child Protection in 2011 as a Psychology Honours student before continuing on as a Research Assistant and Project Manager in the following years. She left the Centre in July 2013 to pursue further education overseas and has recently returned to the Centre as a Research Assistant.
We would like to acknowledge the valuable work by a round table brought together under the auspices of the former Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (now the Department of Social Services) to identify ways to enhance the application of the principle and nationally consistent reporting.
The authors would like to thank our external reviewer, John Burton (Manager, Policy and Resources, SNAICC) for his helpful comments in refining this paper.
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