The Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency or VACCA is an organisation in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, founded by

Aboriginal Australians Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands ...

in the 1970s, to provide services to and advocacy for

and

Torres Strait Islanders Torres Strait Islanders () are the Indigenous Melanesian people of the Torres Strait Islands, which are part of the state of Queensland, Australia. Ethnically distinct from the Aboriginal people of the rest of Australia, they are often grouped ...

. It was also known as the Aboriginal Child Placement Agency (ACPA). The Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency (VACCA) promotes a culturally respectful and culturally appropriate approach to Indigenous children and families. VACCA played an important role in bringing to light the full extent of the horrors of the

Stolen Generations The Stolen Generations (also known as Stolen Children) were the children of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent who were removed from their families by the Australian federal and state government agencies and church miss ...

History

The Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency (VACCA) was established in 1976 after discussions at a national adoption conference held that year. In particular,

Mollie Dyer Mollie Geraldine Dyer (1927–1998) was a Yorta Yorta woman who was an Aboriginal Child Welfare Worker and Aboriginal community worker, best known for co-founding the Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency in 1977. Auntie Mollie, as she became k ...

's contribution to the conference and increasing pressure from the

Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literature ...

which saw the link between child removal from Indigenous families and over-representation in the criminal justice system. The Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency became a model for other Aboriginal and Islander Child Care Agencies nationwide and spent time networking with activists in other states to ensure the success of the other agencies.Mollie Dyer, "Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency", in C. Picton (ed) Proceedings of the Second Australian Conference on Adoption 1978, p. 182. Out of the state-based agencies, and as a result of the ' First Aboriginal Child Survival Seminar' held in Melbourne in 1979, the

Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care Secretariat may refer to: * Secretariat (administrative office) * Secretariat (horse) Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989), also known as Big Red, was a champion American thoroughbred racehorse who is the ninth winner of the Ame ...

(SNAICC) was established in 1981 as a national non-government body representing the interests of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families.

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.vacca.org.au Indigenous Australian politics 1976 establishments in Australia Organizations established in 1976 Organisations based in Melbourne

History

References

Further reading

External links