Trends in the removal of Aboriginal children in Western Australia.

Abstract

ObjectivesTo understand in greater detail the rates of interaction Indigenous children have with the child protection system in Western Australia and how they vary by birth year, geographic region, and between family units. ApproachWe used data linkage between the Western Australian Department of Communities (child protection data), the Midwives Notification System, and Deaths Registry. Our cohort consisted of all Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander children born in Western Australia between 2000 and 2013, with child protection data available from 2000 to 2015. We used cumulative incidence curves to visualise the overall rates of interactions with the child protection system and decompo..