Forced Adoption: Practical Skills and Awareness

The Australian Government has released a new online training package to support the aged care workforce and broader allied health professionals, who may provide services to people impacted by past forced adoption policies and practices. This follows the Minister for Social Services, the Honourable Amanda Rishworth MP, announcing $700,000 to strengthen support services during the 10th Anniversary of the Apology for Forced Adoptions.

Forced Adoption: Practical Skills and Awareness is an introductory, non-accredited online training course aimed at the aged care workforce and community service sector.

The training provides practical information to help support workers who engage with people impacted by forced adoption and mitigate the risk of re-triggering people with past trauma. It also explains the history and impacts of forced adoption.

The training responds to calls from forced adoption support services, advocacy organisations and those with lived experience, to improve trauma-informed care and appropriate services for those impacted by forced adoption, particularly as an ageing cohort. Specifically, mothers noted the impact of mistreatment and abuse they experienced at the hands of health care workers and charitable organisations.

Due to the lifelong impacts of forced adoption, many people experience complex issues at the thought of being returned to institutional settings. Engagement with health services or institutionalised care providers could deeply impact their ability to trust these services, or effectively make choices about their personal care arrangements.

Find out more

To view the online training, if you are an employee of an Australian government funded aged care provider, visit Aged Care Learning Information Solution(Opens in a new tab/window).

Alternatively, visit Forced Adoption Resources and Training.