Enhancing Direct Practice with Forgotten Australians: What is the Experience of Service Providers?

Abstract

ABSTRACT The term “Forgotten Australians” refers to adults who as children were placed in out-of-home care in Australia between 1920 and 1989. Following the Australian Government’s apology to Forgotten Australians in 2009, the Federal and State Governments funded specific services to address the lifelong consequences of abuse and neglect inflicted upon Forgotten Australians. The impacts include difficulty forming and maintaining relationships, poor educational outcomes, unemployment, and poverty. The ability of service providers to engage Forgotten Australians and provide appropriate counselling has been given little research attention. This article reports on a survey of providers delivering counselling to Forgotten Australians regarding their knowledge and experiences in delivering services. Effective practice with Forgotten Australians requires knowledge of the history of Forgotten Australians, the uniqueness of the experiences of individual Forgotten Australians, and working within respectful relationships. The study highlights that preparing counsellors to work with Forgotten Australians requires specific training. IMPLICATIONS Service providers who work with Forgotten Australians (care leavers) require an understanding of the historical context in which Forgotten Australians experienced abuse and neglect while in institutions and out-of-home care. The compounding long-term impacts of institutionalisation affect Forgotten Australians in numerous ways, pointing to a need for targeted service delivery for this group. Key professional disciplines need to include knowledge and skills to work with Forgotten Australians (care leavers) in their curricula to promote best practice in conjunction with training across a range of services that promote service providers’ understanding of the experiences of Forgotten Australians. Service delivery should be empowering, non-hierarchical, and encompass understandings of trauma and attachment.