“And it’s about staying home, it’s not just about restoring and then popping out and there’s nothing, it’s that, providing a platform for success so families can … do what they need to do with their children”.
– Parent, Bring Them Home, Keep Them Home research
– Parent, BTHKTH research
Restoration is a long process for parents to go through. Once restoration is agreed to at Court, it can sometimes take a year for your child to come home full time, and then you are usually supervised by DCJ for another year after that. DCJ and the Court often don’t like to rush restoration (for fear of being unsuccessful) and family time often increases slowly to begin with, because they want parents to ‘prove’ they are on the right track.
Parents have said they felt lost after the kids came home because they were not given enough information about their kids when they were in care, or didn’t get to spend enough time with them before they came back into their full-time care.
“…when they came home, I didn’t get enough support understanding the child’s behaviour, where I could have got help for my child; caseworker was not on my side, I was shuffled around a lot, they didn’t care.”
– Parent, Bring Them Home, Keep Them Home research
The type of support that parents receive is not consistent. Several parents said that the only contact they had with a caseworker after restoration was a phone call six months after restoration. Some parents said they didn’t get any support at all and that they didn’t want it, and some said they did have help from the caseworker and this was good. Some said they had asked for help after restoration and didn’t get it. The type of help DCJ can provide after restoration can include visits and providing advice, to practical support such as housing, counselling, and intensive parenting programs. One parent said:
“When the child returned, they had foot and mouth which needed medication. As I had no money I approached FACS for assistance and they were very helpful.”
– Parent, Bring Them Home, Keep Them Home research
Some families noticed that DCJ were not giving them much support but were still watching them (surveillance), while some families got support that they needed from DCJ and the agency involved. After restoration, some families said they lived in fear of their child being taken again. The threshold (or reasons) for removal once a child has already been removed are lower than a child who has not previously been removed. Parents have said that small things that all parents do at some point, like forgetting to send lunch to school on one occasion, would be reported to the Courts as reasons for unsuccessful restorations.
DCJ’s ‘Interim Restoration Assessment Approach’ manual 2024* says DCJ need to “Use the Measuring Change Assessment to continue to monitor parent’s progress towards the Restoration Family Action Plan. Use information gathered through the Measuring Change Assessment to inform any update reports to the Court about progress.”
*DCJ document not publicly available.
AbSec and our partners acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout NSW and their continuing connections to land, waters, and communities. We also acknowledge the lands on which these stories were told, the lands of the Dharawal, Yuin and Wonnarua people.
We acknowledge the Elders, leaders and advocates that have led the way and continue to fight for our children. We also acknowledge the Stolen Generations who never came home and the ongoing impact of government policy and practice on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, young people and families.
This website shares the experiences and advice of Aboriginal families involved in the NSW child protection system who participated in the Bring Them Home, Keep Them Home research at UNSW. We acknowledge and thank the families who generously gave permission to share their stories.
These experiences reflect what worked for those families and do not constitute advice or views of AbSec. AbSec recommends seeking independent legal advice for your own circumstances.
