Abstract
This paper will provide an overview and analysis of developments in child protection and out of home care in Australia. It will outline early responses to perceived inadequate parenting to provide the historical and policy contexts of contemporary debates on, and responses to, the care and protection of children and young people. Child maltreatment affects a large number of children across Australia. The statistics of reported maltreatment reflect striking increases over time. Over the last decade, several public inquiries into the operation of child protection have been undertaken in a number of state jurisdictions following which some states have embarked on large scale reform of legislation and policy, to either strengthen the child protection mandate, or refocus services. Some exemplars of significant reform in selected states will be cited. Some of the themes that will be explored in the paper will include the impact of major state based public inquiries, overseas reviews and research on child protection policy and practice; the changing balance between orientations to child protection and family support, the parameters of out of home care, the high levels of governmental intervention experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families, and a critical appraisal of major transformations in protective care.
Highlights
Responding to vulnerable children who are neglected or maltreated is an integral focus of child welfare practice in Australia
This article has reviewed the nature of child welfare practice and the ways in which the state responds to children and families
The expanding concepts of child protection and protective care, and an accompanying body of research have reinforced the recognition of the need for permanency in children’s lives through supportive care in the environment of their families or through stable out of home care (OOHC)
Summary
The largest ATSI (Indigenous Australians) population resides within New South Wales (208,364 people), while the Northern Territory (despite the lowest total population) has by far the largest percentage of population identifying as ATSI, at 29.78%. The definition and scope of maltreatment, its causes, and how it should be responded to are the subject of continuing international and national debate Central to this debate is the nature of the relationship between the state and family, wherein parents’ perceived right to raise their children autonomously is mediated by the obligation of the state to intervene when families fail, due to lack of resources or parental dysfunction, to meet minimal standards of care as in the case of abuse and neglect [3,4]. Some researchers have argued that the definitions of abuse applied to families are too broad, exposing families to unwarranted intrusion and investigative processes [6] These dilemmas confront child protection systems internationally and are relevant to child protection policy and practice in Australia. Responses to abuse and neglect in Australia will be reviewed to provide a historical context to the current profile of national efforts in child protection policy and practice
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