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Families From Other Cultures

A family's cultural and linguistic background is a valuable aspect of its identity, and cultural sensitivity and understanding are paramount when working with young people and their families.
Ideas from this Help Sheet
1. Explore family background and dynamics with young people and families in a manner which demonstrates interest and respect for cultural and linguistic diversity.
2. Offer information about contemporary Australian viewpoints on adolescent development and parenting practices where appropriate, to increase knowledge and understanding.
3. Provide information regarding current laws and legal issues where appropriate.

It is a worker's responsibility to explore, gain understanding and take a stance of respect towards families' experiences and traditions. This may include the experiences of newly arrived families and/or descendants of migrants, or indigenous Australians. Different issues may arise for families as a function of their relative level of acculturation over time, and the experiences of past and present family members in their countries of origin and/or Australia.

Conflict may arise between young people and their families as a function of these issues and needs to be understood and dealt with in this context.

The following links may provide some information that will help workers deal with issues for families from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

Indigenous Australians


  • Diversity @ Work
    General information and resources.

  • Bringing Them Home
    Report of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families

  • SNAICC
    The Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care, SNAICC, is the national non-government peak body in Australia representing the interests of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families.

  • Child and Youth Help
    Children, Youth and Women's Health Service has a range of information sheets on parenting for Aboriginal families.


General


  • Centre for Multicultural Youth Issues
    Includes information sheets and resources such as "Making Successful Referrals with Refugee Young People and their Families", CLD parenting resources and background information for workers with young people from the Horn of Africa.

  • Northern Migrant Resource Centre
    Offers information about Migrant Resource Centres throughout Victoria, and conduct training about a range of migrant and refugee populations that have recently settled in Victoria.

  • Queensland Health - Multicultural Health Resources
    Presents health and socio-cultural information on ethnic communities (including torture and trauma and issues and issues for children, young people and women). It encourages health staff to actively explore cultural issues with patients and cautions against stereotyping.

  • Parenting and Child Health
    Links to various sites with information regarding multicultural health issues from the Children, Youth and Women's Health Service.


"I think there's something wrong with my daughter. She hardly ever goes out and her friends are have stopped visiting. I think that she's not coping mentally."
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