‘It a punitive f***ing system’: Brooke Oliver spent a majority of her life as a ward of the state, now she helps kids coming out of care

Aboriginal children are far more likely to be forced into state care, grim new figures reveal, as one young woman explains what her childhood was like after she was taken.

Removed at birth from her mother, Brooke Oliver spent her entire childhood as a ward of the state, which she describes as being “worse than prison” for kids who end up in the same institutions.

From birth, she says the Department had already decided to make her a ward of the state until adulthood.

“I was a heroin born independent baby so I was born at 22-weeks,” she told the Advertiser, on Thursday.

“My mum and dad both went to jail straight after being born.”

Now, at 26, she does not hold back and says she is “an open book” about her childhood, which was spent in foster care, kinship care and residential homes until she was 18.

Ms Oliver, who now works for an organisation that helps transition kids from out-of-home back into “normal society”, said there needs to be change.

Brooke Oliver, who spent her entire childhood as a ward of the state and now helps other kids transition from out-of-home care. Picture Dean Martin

“It’s just like such as military routine and you don’t get cared for because you become that like, too hard of a basket case,” Ms Oliver said.

“There were alarms in all doors and you couldn’t even get a drink by yourself without asking permission to unlock three doors to get f***ing water.

“It was a weird time. It was a weird, toxic culture. I used to pace and sit in one area for like, at least five hours of the day because I didn’t know what else to do.

“A lot of kids in care now, they’re institutionalised, they’re welfare dependent and they get lost and broken and defeated by the system.”

Ms Oliver says it is “very difficult” for kids to integrate back into society and she says it is like that because out-of-home really does become like “juvenile detention”.

“A lot of the bad behaviours that you learned in care, you have to just unlearn and you have to learn how to merge back with society,” she said.

Chief Executive Officer of SNAICC, Catherine Liddle says the growing rate of Indigenous children in out-of-home care is completely "unacceptable".

CEO of the Department for Child Protection (DCP), Jackie Bray said she valued Ms Oliver’s “bravery” in speaking about her experience, and that the DCP was working towards “empowering young people” to have their “voices heard”.

“As a department, we truly value the bravery shown by young people, including Brooke, who share their journey and experience through care, acknowledging this can be re-traumatising for the young person,” Ms Bray said.

“Their selflessness helps to pave a way forward for children and young people who may come into contact with the child protection system in the future.”

In South Australia there were 1817 Aboriginal children in state care as of June 30, accounting for 37 per cent of the total 4864 children in care.

SNAICC CEO Catherine Liddle said the current trend was completely unacceptable, and said that there needed to be a national commissioner for Indigenous children.

“Removing our children from family, culture and community causes ongoing harm, and too often does not lead to safer outcomes,” Ms Liddle said.

“This report shows the immediate and effective impact Government can make by appointing a National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Commissioner.’

Ms Liddle said that it was “critical” for the commissioner to have legislative power in order to investigate and make recommendations on issues impacting Indigenous children.