Abstract
This article discusses the failings of out-of-home care (OOHC) in Australia, focussing on 20th century OOHC systems’ construction of non-offending minors as “problems” while exposing them to high-risk environments defined here as “crime scenes”. Governments are deemed culpable for the inherent criminality of the system and its institutions. Juxtaposed to this is the development of care-leaver activist groups since the 1990s, and their fight to make governments and institutions accountable and to advocate in legal and bureaucratic forums for care-leavers and those currently in care. The discussion benefits from the insights of the article's lead author, herself a former state ward and a long-time care-leaver activist. The article identifies obstacles militating against activist successes, including institutional resistance and the historical reluctance of academics, especially criminologists, to engage with the problem.
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