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The Recruitment, Retention, and Support of Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander Foster Carers: A Literature Review

Nick Richardson, Leah Bromfield, and Daryl Higgins


Australian Institute of Family Studies, 2005. ISBN 0 642 395349.
Download the complete report in Word (1.3 MB) or PDF (2.3 MB).
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Table of Contents

  • Section 1. Overview PDF (158 KB)
    • Trends in out-of-home care
    • Out-of-home care and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
    • What are the causes of child maltreatment and other family violence in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities?
    • Overview
  • Section 2. Out-of-home care in Australia: a contextual framework PDF (194 KB)
    • The placement of children into out-of-home care
    • Out-of-home care in Australia: Indigenous specific contextual issues
    • Table 1: Proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care placed in accordance with ACPP by state and territory at 2001-04 (AIHW 2005)
  • Section 3. Recruitment and retention of foster carers PDF (425 KB)
    • Cultural competence
    • Motivations to become a carer
    • Effective recruitment practices
    • Assessment of foster carers
    • Table 2: The core competencies on which the British Association for Adoption and Fostering assessment model is based (Asquith and Beesley 2002)
    • Training
    • Retention and satisfaction
    • Support
  • Section 4. Recruitment and retention of kinship carers PDF (254 KB)
    • Gaps in the literature
    • Kinship care: a contextual framework
    • Messages from research
  • Section 5. Children and young people in care PDF (192 KB)
    • Children's wellbeing
    • Children's services
    • Wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children
  • Section 6. Conclusion PDF (64 KB)
  • References PDF (168 KB)
  • Appendices
    • Appendix A. Current state and territory approaches regarding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child welfare PDF (291 KB)
      • Australian Capital Territory
      • New South Wales
      • Northern Territory
      • Queensland
      • South Australia
      • Tasmania
      • Victoria
      • Western Australia
    • Appendix B. Government and non-government reports relevant to the out-of-home care service provision to Indigenous families PDF (108 KB)
    • Appendix C. Key messages from research PDF (145 KB)
      • Recruitment and retention of foster carers
      • Recruitment and retention of kinship carers

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