Child protection: a new approach in South Australia

Abstract

This paper argues the case for an integrated approach to child protection services, embracing children's safety, risk and needs and incorporating formal assessment instruments. It then provides a brief overview of the new child protection system in South Australia. The steady rise in child abuse/neglect reports raises questions about how best to provide child protection services. Analysis of South Australian data suggests that much of the rise can be attributed to an increase in reports of neglect and emotional abuse and an increase in re-notifications. This in turn raises questions about the traditional investigative approach. In 1995 Messages from Research advocated that agencies re-focus on children's needs and concentrate less on investigations into safety and risk. The critical question is how to distinguish families requiring investigation from those needing support. The latest research suggests that such decision-making in child protection is generally inconsistent and unreliable. This paper argues that statutory agencies should use formal assessment tools to determine the level and nature of their interventions. These arguments have been critical in the development of the new child protection model in SA, which relies on a centralized intake, differential response to reports and the structured decision-making system. Initial evaluation of the new model indicates improvements in consistency of initial screening and responses to children in danger. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.