This paper throws a spotlight on the systemic disadvantage experienced by parents who have their children removed from their care. With data drawn from the annual reports of the Legal Aid of Western Australia, the child protection agency in Western Australia, and the Productivity Commission, the authors illustrate the disconnection between the agency’s policy to reunify children once removed from their birth parents; the resources made available to support families to overcome their difficulties; and how the gap is further widened when parents without financial means and who are disempowered face legal proceedings on their own. We profile the increasing numbers of infants who are removed, the decreasing numbers of these infants who are discharged from care, and the shortfall of grants of legal aid that are provided to parents when they go to court. For this group of parents, permanent loss of their children is a reality. The aim of the paper is to capture the extent to which there is a fundamental blemish on the principles of due process and fairness, and once statutory processes are triggered, the best interests of the child and the support of parents are contingent, with poverty being the key mediating factor.

中文翻译：

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婴儿搬家和父母缺乏代表

本文重点关注让孩子远离照顾的父母所经历的系统性劣势。作者利用西澳大利亚法律援助、西澳大利亚儿童保护机构和生产力委员会的年度报告中的数据，说明了该机构的政策之间的脱节，即一旦与亲生父母分离的儿童就可以重新团聚；可用于支持家庭克服困难的资源；以及当没有经济能力和被剥夺权利的父母自己面临法律诉讼时，差距如何进一步扩大。我们分析了越来越多的被带走的婴儿，这些婴儿出院的人数减少，以及在父母出庭时提供给父母的法律援助资金不足。对于这群父母来说，永久失去孩子是一个现实。本文的目的是了解正当程序和公平原则在多大程度上存在根本缺陷，一旦触发法定程序，儿童的最大利益和父母的支持将视乎贫困而定。关键的中介因素。