As a child I experienced out of home care, where I left the system disconnected from both my family and culture.

As an Aboriginal Elder and Leader, for the past thirty years I have worked in the out of home care and child protective system, developing this space so that the next generation of First Nations children and youth never lose their cultural identity and connectedness.

This strong vision built the foundations of my organisation Karla Kuliny Aboriginal Corporation. Karla Kuliny was founded on the need for therapeutic care in the First Nations OOHC space that is an Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation (ACCO) embedded with trauma-informed and strength-based approaches.

In Noongar language, the name Karla Kuliny means 'return to campfire'. 'Return to campfire' underpins what we as an organisation are trying to achieve - bringing our young ones back to knowledge and safety.

Karla Kuliny has been built to revolutionise the support and service delivery for First Nations children, young people, families and communities. Operating under a 100 per cent Aboriginal board, and my guidance as CEO, Karla Kuliny is managed under a team who utilises their shared knowledge, connection to country, truth telling and extensive experience in the First Nations foster care sector.

Recent reports have shown that First Nations children and youth between the ages of 0 - 15 (and above) made up 59.3 per cent of children and youth in care between 2022-2023. We continue to be the most over-represented in the OOHC system.

There are developments being made by the Department of Communities to reform the OOHC system to align with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle. It is important to have ACCOs included in the reform process of a system that is overrepresented by our children and young ones. In doing so, the reform is led by those who have the cultural authority, are trusted in this space, have lived experience, and understanding of identity and cultural needs.

As an ACCO, Karla Kuliny has been awarded a contract by the Department of Communities as a part of the system reform. We will use the Doolann Model of Therapeutic Care, which we developed alongside the Australian Childhood Foundation.

'Doolann' means strong hands and is the name of my mother and great grandmother. The Doolann highlights our collective vision and intent of the many strong hands of those involved in the relationships that hold our children and youth close.

At Karla Kuliny, I want the child and young person to be the centre of our work by maintaining a focus on their rights, needs, care and support. I want the children and youth in my care to feel valued, heard and protected. We can achieve this by developing plans that reflect their strengths, capacities and agency.

These plans allow for a two-way experience with the youth under our care and the carer. Utilising the expertise of the carer and the lived experience of the youth to empower and promote growth and play in a healthy and safe way.

Dr Glenda Kickett, Chief Executive Officer of the Karla Kuliny Aboriginal Corporation