"While orphanages no longer exist in Western Australia, thousands of traumatised children live in out-of-home care in what some child protection staff call 'hidden' residential institutions," says this article from WA Today. "About 5500 children were living in out-of-home placements, including foster care arrangements and group homes, across [Western Australia] as of June 30." According to the article, "there were 375 children in 64 residential care group homes run by state government or community service organisations" as of June 30. "Children who have been victims of neglect or abuse are traumatised, the Residential Care Manual states, and many child protection interventions, including the removal from home and placement with strangers, may actually increase a child’s trauma," the article continues.
