In May 1995, the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families was conducted in response to efforts by key Aboriginal agencies and communities to increase public attention to this issue. The Report of the Inquiry was entitled, “Bringing Them Home – National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families”. (1997).
In response to the Bringing Them Home Report of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families, the Australian Government funded the Bringing Them Home Counsellor program for the social and emotional well being of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children have been forcibly removed from their families and communities since the earliest days of European occupation of Australia” (Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission – The Bringing Them Home Report, 1997 p27).
The Bringing Them Home Counsellor program funds over 100 counsellors nationally to provide counselling to individuals and families, and related services to communities affected by past practices around the forced removal of children from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families. This program is administered through the Office for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health in the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing.
In March 2006, Urbis Keys Young, an independent social research firm, was commissioned by the Department of Health and Ageing to evaluate the Bringing Them Home (BTH) Counsellors program. They found that there are generally high levels of client satisfaction and positive outcomes for clients who have used the program.
