Supporting the social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children through a collaborative community approach webinar

In Australia, there is a large gap between the representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander infants, children and parents in mandated services (such as child protection) and these families’ use of voluntary community support services.

The webinar panel, made up of Bill Wilson, Dana Shen and Ruth Tulloch, discussed their extensive work with non-Aboriginal services and Aboriginal communities to find ways to address this gap.

This webinar:

• explored the challenges for non-Indigenous organisations and practitioners working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families, and how to meet these challenges
• examined current research underlining the importance of cultural competence in non-Indigenous services
• gave examples of organisational and individual practice that have built trust and collaboration within Aboriginal communities and led to positive outcomes for these families
• outlined what non-Indigenous organisations should consider in the recruitment, supervision, training and attitudes of staff when developing a culturally intelligent and responsive workforce
• gave examples of non-Indigenous staff being genuinely curious about the stories and experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff, communities, children and families.

The preferred terminology used by Emerging Minds in our resources is Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, as guided by our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social and Emotional Wellbeing National Consultancy Group.