Child Protection In Australia Research Articles

Providing patient-centred care as Medical Radiation Practitioners to children and young persons in out of home care.

Modern healthcare focuses on patient-centred care where patients' needs, beliefs, choices and preferences are valued and lead to better health outcomes. Children and young persons in out of home care (OOHC) require more health care services compared with children from similar social and economic backgrounds. Each state and territory government are responsible for statutory child protection in Australia. If a child is unsafe in their current environment, they may be removed and placed into OOHC where they have ongoing case management with either a government or non-government agency. Complex trauma is the prolonged and uncontrolled exposure to traumatic events, like those experienced by maltreated children. Complex trauma can create a toxic stress response that produces biological alteration to the developing brain and affects the lives of the child, other family members and their descendants. Children with complex trauma often do not have the ability to regulate their responses to stimuli, reacting to minor triggers with disproportionate reactions. Many of these children will present with challenging behaviours. Trauma-informed care is a method of service delivery that seeks to actively minimise re-traumatisation. Creating a safe space is an essential element of trauma-informed care. Children with a history of complex trauma have life experiences that may be re-lived in a healthcare setting. There are ethical and legal considerations like privacy, consent and mandatory reporting when dealing with children in OOHC. By practising trauma-informed care Medical Radiation Practitioners can minimise further trauma to one of the most vulnerable population groups in Australia.

Still unseen and ignored: Tracking community knowledge and attitudes about child abuse and child protection in Australia.

In September 2003, we released the first results of a national community attitude tracking study about child abuse and child protection. At that time, we concluded that as a community, violence against children was tolerated. The community did not understand or appreciate the seriousness, size and cost of child abuse in Australia. There was evidence that child abuse was not viewed as an important challenge facing children in Australia. A second study conducted in 2006 found that nothing much had changed, indeed community engagement with the issue of child abuse may have even deteriorated. A third study in 2010 found that the community actively avoids the problem of child abuse rating it less concerning than high petrol prices. In 2021, 18 years after the first report was published, we have concluded again that child abuse remains out of sight and out of mind as a community concern. This article describes the findings of this fourth iteration of our survey and analyses the implications for ensuring that individuals are more engaged and committed to taking action to preventing child abuse and/or protecting children from violation.

A Modern History of Child Protection in Australia: Queensland 1965–1980

ABSTRACT This article examines child protection policy and practice in Queensland in the 1960s and 1970s, which was a period of major social change affecting relations between children, families, and the state. Using government annual reports from the period, the article traces developments in policy and service delivery. It discusses changes in two interlinked areas: the use of preventative family support approaches and the expansion of the professional knowledge base. Understanding the history of a policy field can facilitate critical reflection on current debates. The child protection field continues to revisit long-standing tensions about the best ways to safeguard children from abuse and neglect in their families, albeit in different ways. IMPLICATIONS It is important to recognise and value the social work profession’s strong contribution to building the child protection knowledge base. Many current debates in child protection are not new: since the child protection field developed in the 1960s, it has continually revisited tensions about how best to intervene to address the individual and social causes of child abuse and neglect. Documenting the history of a social policy field can facilitate critical reflection on current developments.

Discussion of the Knowns and Unknowns of Child Protection During Pregnancy in Australia

ABSTRACT Legislative provisions for accepting unborn child reports into the child protection system in Australia have coincided with a noticeable rise in the number of infants entering care. This article collates information on the child protection process during pregnancy based on a desk review of relevant public primary sources. The effectiveness of child protection during pregnancy in reducing statutory intervention at or following birth and avoiding unintended consequences is also explored through an examination of relevant child protection data, reviews, and research. The summary revealed some differences in the process of making, accepting, and responding to an unborn child report across Australia. The knowns about child protection during pregnancy include a high rate of unborn child reporting, a high proportion of children involved in unborn child reports who are subsequently admitted to care, and a disproportionate representation of Indigenous children in these statistics. The knowledge gaps include the circumstances of parents involved in unborn child reports who are approached by child protection and when; parents who refuse to engage; parents who are provided advice and support; and the outcome of these cases. Some aspects of child protection practice during pregnancy, including information sharing, risk assessment and case planning, and parental engagement and partnership throughout the process represent further knowledge gaps. IMPLICATIONS Attention to the high rate of unborn child reporting to child protection in Australia and to the differences in procedures for responding across the states and territories is needed. The high proportion of children involved in unborn child reports who are subsequently admitted to care, and the disproportionate number of Indigenous children who are represented in unborn child reports, substantiations, and care entries during infancy need to be addressed. There is a need for further research on child protection practices during pregnancy and case outcomes to maximise safe pregnancy journeys.

Factors associated with child protection recurrence in Australia

The aim of the current research was to advance understanding of child protection in Australia by examining the factors associated with recurrence of child protection notifications to the formal child protection system. Extant research has been primarily undertaken in the USA and it is important to understand whether similar factors associated with recurrence actually hold in the Australian context. Administrative data were obtained for a sample of 9608 children first subject to a screened-in report in 2011–12. Children were followed for 12 months. Cox Proportional Hazard models were used to measure associations between 26 independent variables and four types of recurrence: subsequent reports, subsequent investigations, subsequent substantiations, and subsequent intervention. Factors associated with recurrence in Australia were broadly similar to those identified in other jurisdictions, including reports and substantiation for neglect, younger age, prior child protection involvement in the household, and parental characteristics including drug use, mental health problems, and history of maltreatment as a child. As in previous studies, post-investigative service provision was positively associated with recurrence. In prior US research, race did not predict recurrence. However, in the present study, Indigenous Australian children were significantly more likely to be subject to all types of recurrence measured. Future research on recurrence should aim to disentangle the complex relationships between child protection recurrence, child maltreatment, and service delivery. Recurrence is not a good proxy indicator of child safety. The findings have implications for the equity of recurrence-based risk assessment tools as they are applied to indigenous populations.

The Intersection of Domestic Violence and Child Protection in Australia: Program Participant Accounts

ABSTRACTDomestic and family violence (DFV) and child maltreatment have been widely identified as co-occurring social phenomena. It has been well established that children living in an environment of DFV are at significant risk of either directly experiencing violence themselves, or being neglected due to their parents’ reduced caregiving capacity. In order to effectively address clients’ presenting concerns, intervention responses must account for the overlap between these social issues. This article describes the experience of DFV and child protection involvement as experienced by clients attending two different interventions at Relationships Australia NSW; group programs for DFV perpetration or victimisation; and a parenting program in the context of statutory child removal. Findings provide evidence of overlap between these issues and highlight how a supportive and non-judgemental group environment can allow parents to make behavioural changes and equip themselves to provide a safe and nurturing environment in which to raise their children.IMPLICATIONSPrograms for parents whose children have been removed have major overlap with domestic and family violence interventions.Supportive group work processes can help parents begin to address issues of violence and abuse.It is important to address child protection and domestic violence concerns at the same time, in order to provide children with a safe environment.

A Review of Cumulative Harm: A Comparison of International Child Protection Practices

This article explores the prevalence of cumulative harm as a subtle and pervasive harm type, often dismissed or ignored in child protection assessment and reporting practices. The author examines a range of trends and research that identifies current gaps in the legislative response to cumulative harm identification and intervention. Through analysis of the current practices informing child protection in Australia, it is clear that there is movement towards a more holistic understanding of harm and the impacts of long-term maltreatment. However, a nationwide level of consistent practice has not yet been achieved, which places cumulative harm and reoccurring maltreatment on an equal footing with episodic maltreatment, particularly in relation to notification and reporting. Internationally, although variations are evident, just as they are in national framework, there is an inclusive impetus towards early intervention as a means of addressing harm prior to the onset of cumulative impact. There is a growing emphasis on children's wellbeing, development and universal right to quality of life and fair treatment.

Social Work and Child Protection in Australia: Whose Job is it Anyway?

At the release of Professor Eileen Munro's final report of her review of child protection services in England and Wales, debate began in Australia about how her recommendations could be applied to reform and improve services in Australia. One particularly strong theme within the report is the need to strengthen professional social work as part of the reform of child protection services. However, as social work is not the key profession in child protection services in Australia, the direct applicability of Munro’s recommendations is limited. The emphasis on the centrality of the social work profession to the provision and reform of child protection services is highly pertinent though as workforce development features strongly in Australian proposals for service reform. In this article, the reasons why ‘child protection business’ is not ‘social work business’ are explored historically and currently, with the aim of stimulating debate about who is employed in child protection services. Using Australian child protection services as a case study, the article also makes a contribution to debates about the international project of social work and the transferability of ideas for reform across international borders.

Boys and CSA Prevention: Issues Surrounding Gender and Approaches for Prevention

Abstract: Freda Briggs (2007) a leader in the field of child protection in Australia continues to raise concerns about the vulnerability and victimisation of boys, which she believes is substantially under-recognised. She argues that boys have not been well supported by child sexual abuse (CSA) prevention programs with child protection curriculum not yet having been developed to meet the special needs of boys. She advocates for school-based child protection programs that address issues relevant to boys (Briggs, 2007). This paper responds to these concerns and explores some of the complexities inherent in issues associated with boys and CSA, including boys’ perceptions of abuse, their tendency to under-report the incidence of CSA and their perception that prevention programs are not relevant. The paper also considers some of the barriers to engaging boys in prevention programs effectively and proposes games-based CSA prevention as a contemporary means of delivering key messages that address the needs of both boys and girls.; ;

Training Social Workers to Effectively Manage Aggressive Parental Behaviour in Child Protection in Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom

Training Social Workers to Effectively Manage Aggressive Parental Behaviour in Child Protection in Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom

Book Reviews: Off Limits: A Parent's Guide to Keeping Kids Safe from Sexual Abuse, Smart Parenting for Safer Kids

Two important books on the topic of child sexual abuse prevention were recently published: Off Limits: A Parent’s Guide to Keeping Kids Safe from Sexual Abuse (Wurtele & Berkower, 2010) and Smart Parenting for Safer Kids (Briggs, 2010). The authors of both books are highly credentialed with long experience researching and writing about child sexual abuse prevention. Sandy Wurtele, PhD, is author of landmark child- and parent-focused sexual abuse prevention programs conducted in the USA over the past 30 years. She has published over 80 journal articles and book chapters on this topic. Her co-author, Feather Berkower, MSW, has been conducting workshops for adults on this topic for 25 years. Freda Briggs, PhD, has over 40 years’ experience in child protection in Australia and has also published numerous scholarly works on the topic. She was the inaugural recipient of the Australian Humanitarian Award in 1998, was Senior Australian of the Year in 2000, and was awarded an Order of Australia in 2005.

Punishing Welfare

Official statistics on child protection in Australia suggest that child abuse is at crisis levels, providing a context for the most recent legislative and regulatory changes in child protection in Victoria; these promote community-managed services, voluntary care agreements, informal legal processes and fast-tracking of child intervention. This article sets out the rudiments of a genealogical account of the category of child abuse, placing the present events in the context of historical shifts in how the problem of child abuse is conceived and acted upon. It draws attention to new forms of power in relation to the policing of children and families, and their corresponding modes of subjectification that seek to fabricate individual responsibility for the underlying social arrangements surrounding children and families.

Recent Australian child protection and out-of-home care research: What’s been done – and what needs to be done?

A research-led reform strategy is urgently required in the field of child protection in Australia. While international research can be a valuable resource, a strong research base which is relevant to this country’s needs, legislation and service systems is essential. Two recent audits of Australian research completed over the past decade – one on out-of-home care and the other on child protection more broadly – have highlighted significant gaps in existing research. There is a number of important topics that have not been addressed – as well as an over-reliance on small-scale, qualitative studies and a very low level of funding for research. This paper explores these gaps and identifies crucial areas for development, encompassing: the development of a national child protection and out-of-home care research agenda; adequate funding for research, especially for multi-site, cross-jurisdictional studies; and closer collaboration between researchers, policymakers and practitioners to close the gap between what we know and what we do.

Performance measurement in child protection

Abstract The increasing use of performance measurement by government means that child protection services are under pressure to demonstrate effectiveness in protecting children from harm and efficiency in the use of public funds to help children and families. From a policy perspective, the way performance measurement is conceptualised and implemented can have major consequences for service delivery. This paper examines key issues raised in the literature about performance measurement, the context for its introduction in child protection, how the concepts of effectiveness and efficiency are dealt with, how client outcomes are defined, and assumptions about ‘good performance’. An overview of performance measurement in child protection in Australia is provided. The paper argues that a critical approach to performance measurement in child protection can contribute to improved service delivery to clients.

Performance measurement in child protection

The increasing use of performance measurement by government means that child protection services are under pressure to demonstrate effectiveness in protecting children from harm and efficiency in the use of public funds to help children and families. From a policy perspective, the way performance measurement is conceptualised and implemented can have major consequences for service delivery. This paper examines key issues raised in the literature about performance measurement, the context for its introduction in child protection, how the concepts of effectiveness and efficiency are dealt with, how client outcomes are defined, and assumptions about ‘good performance’. An overview of performance measurement in child protection in Australia is provided. The paper argues that a critical approach to performance measurement in child protection can contribute to improved service delivery to clients.

Confronting Cruelty. Historical Perspectives on Child Protection in Australia

Confronting Cruelty. Historical Perspectives on Child Protection in Australia