Libesman discusses transitions in Aboriginal child welfare policy since the Bringing Them Home report, which she characterises as a shift in emphasis from self-determination to responsibility, a 'neoliberalised' policy paradigm that puts the onus on families to keep their children out of State care. Libesman's argument is that this shift is totally incompatible with keeping Aboriginal families together while Aboriginal communities are denied sufficient State support to alleviate the effects of colonisation - poverty, unresolved intergenerational trauma and associated physical and psychological health issues. Libesman's thesis is that for Aboriginal children to remain with their families, Aboriginal communities must be given the material support and operational autonomy to effectively self-govern.