Suchergebnisse

The placement of aboriginal children has been the responsibility of white social workers attached to state welfare agencies. Many of these children have been fostered or adopted by white families and have had little or no contact with the aboriginal community. Aboriginal people are now voicing opposition to such practices and are calling for an end to inter‐racial adoption. They want the placement of all aboriginal children to be in the hands of the aboriginal community and are seeking to establish aboriginal placement agencies. These, and other demands, were voiced by an aboriginal task group at the recent First Australian Conference on Adoption.

The relevance of social and economic factors other than physical circumstances in determining aboriginal health is discussed. How these factors determine the goals of aboriginal health and influence what the participants can do about them is examined. A critical need is seen for health courses to train indigenous health workers. Problems of running such courses and selecting candidates are raised, and a greater role for social scientists in such courses is noted.

Welfare is frequently seen as simply a question of providing aid to needy. In formulating welfare policy, however, the issue is not as clear cut, because with every handout comes a consequent loss to the dignity of the recipient. In this paper three such key paradoxes which confront the administrator, social worker or community agent operating in the field of Aboriginal welfare are discussed.