Aboriginal practitioners speak out: contextualising child protection interventions

This paper reports on how the summit was designed and on some of the ideas and concerns that emerged within this dialogical space of cooperative inquiry.

Authors:
Bessarab, D., & Crawford, F

Authors notes:
Australian Social Work, 63(2), 179-193

Keywords:
Aboriginal practitioners, speak out, contextualising child protection interventions, Aboriginal, child protection, community practice, practitioner voice, partnerships, curriculum and policy

Abstract:
One month before the June 2007 Federal Government Emergency Intervention in the Northern Territory some 55 West Australian Aboriginal child protection workers attended a 3-day summit in Fremantle. Their purpose as front-line practitioners from across the State was to identify how more nurturing and healing communities could be developed and supported in a climate of despair. This paper reports on how the summit was designed and on some of the ideas and concerns that emerged within this dialogical space of cooperative inquiry.