CHILD SAFETY AND WELLBEING FRAMEWORK,
TENNANT CREEK AND THE BARKLY REGION
In mid-2018, the then Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Nigel Scullion, approached Professor Ngiare Brown of Ngaoara Limited to provide guidance on the issue of abuse and neglect of Aboriginal children in the Northern Territory. Ngaoara submitted two proposals to the Commonwealth, detailing a plan that would provide a way forward in Tennant Creek in terms of ensuring the safety and wellbeing of all Aboriginal children. Both submissions were approved for funding:
1. Scoping Report – Tennant Creek Child Safety and Wellbeing
2. Tennant Creek and Barkly region Child Safety Framework
Informed by community conversations in Tennant Creek, involving, local Aboriginal leadership, service providers and other stakeholders, including children and young people the Ngaoara team have prepared:
i. A Community Child Safety Framework; and
ii. An Implementation Plan Framework.
These frameworks are inclusive of recommendations for a more integrated response to child and adolescent safety and wellbeing, as informed by community experience and expertise, existing efforts and evidence informed practice, including a public health prevention approach to child safety.