Department Of Community Services Research Articles

The Mediating Role of Resilience and Living in Care on Psychosocial Outcomes

Purpose This study examined the mediating role of resilience and living in care experiences between risk exposure (victimization by community and adverse childhood experiences) and psychosocial outcomes (housing instability, delinquency, and post-traumatic stress reactions) for youth receiving child welfare and community services. Method Two hundred and fifty-one youths (14–19 years old) who are receiving interventions from the Department of Community Services in Nova Scotia, Canada, were recruited. Multiple measures were administered to the youth. Results and conclusion Resilience and experiences of living in care significantly mediated the relationship between risk factors and outcomes, with youth demographic characteristics influencing the pattern of these relationships. Findings suggested that resilience and living in care experiences could reduce the effects of risk factors on psychosocial outcomes. These findings demonstrate a role for Child Welfare agencies in promoting youth access to the resilience-enabling resources necessary to sustain well-being.

Understanding emergency placements for Nova Scotian children in foster care.

To cope with a critical lack of foster families, Nova Scotia's Department of Community Services uses rented private facilities staffed by subcontracted companies, known as "places of safety". Similar models are used across the country, with places of safety intended to be used for emergency placements only. The mean length of stay in a place of safety was 255 nights in 2020. Male children are far overrepresented, as are Indigenous children. Despite the increasing use of places of safety, little is known about the impacts of these short-term and unhomelike environments. Previous research on placement disruption shows that placement change and multiple placements impact children's health, mental health, and attachment behaviour. This paper presents data on the use of places of safety in Nova Scotia and synthesizes existing research on placement disruption to present advocacy priorities and directions for further research.

Protracted, Intermittent Outbreak of Salmonella Mbandaka Linked to a Restaurant - Michigan, 2008-2019.

In 2018, Michigan public health officials determined that a single restaurant in southwest Michigan was the source for a protracted, intermittent outbreak of Salmonella enterica serotype Mbandaka infections occurring since 2008. Isolates from 36 infected persons shared two highly related pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) patterns and highly related whole genome sequencing (WGS) subtypes. The initial focus of the local public health investigation on food items rather than food sources (i.e., restaurants) through a questionnaire, difficulty in food history recollection among ill persons, and sporadic case identification over periods from months to years contributed to delayed source identification. The Kalamazoo County Health and Community Services Department (KHCSD) and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) collected clinical specimens, performed multiple rounds of environmental testing, and conducted multiple regulatory visits, and based on accumulated findings over 10 years, identified the restaurant source. A 2018 investigation by KCHCSD and MDHHS found that environmental samples and stool specimens from asymptomatic restaurant employees tested positive for the Salmonella Mbandaka outbreak strain. A complex association between the restaurant environment and employees resulted in patron illnesses. Environmental health interventions, facility renovation, asymptomatic employee exclusions, employee health monitoring, and recurrent facility environmental sampling measures were implemented. As a result of ongoing cases and environmental persistence of Salmonella Mbandaka, the restaurant closed permanently in 2018. Restaurant employee stool testing and environmental sampling for Salmonella early during the investigation of confirmed Salmonella cases linked to a restaurant enhances source identification. Exclusion or restriction of asymptomatic food workers with stool-positive nontyphoidal Salmonella should be considered part of restaurant outbreak mitigation.

112 Becoming parents again: the challenges of raising grandchildren as main caregiver

Abstract Background ‘Skipped generation households’ in which grandparents are the main caregiver to children under 18 years of age, are becoming common in Canada. Reasons for this include teen pregnancy, the death of a parent, mental illness and addictions. These grandparents and the grandchildren they care for are at significantly increased risk of physical and mental illness, yet receive less psychosocial and financial assistance compared to children that enter the foster system. Research on this population in Canada is limited. Objectives Our study aimed to use the lived experiences of skipped generation families to better identify their needs in the healthcare system. Design/Methods We conducted semi-structured interviews of grandparent primary caregivers from ten households in our community to chronicle their lived experiences raising their grandchildren. Participants were identified and recruited by general pediatricians using convenience sampling. Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, coded using Atlas.ti software and classified into themes by consensus. Results A total of 11 primary caregiver grandparents from 10 households participated in interviews. Nine participants were female. The average age of grandparents was 56 years (range 45 to 64 years) and on average they had been caring for their grandchild for 4 years (range 0.9 to 9 years). Eight households began caring for their grandchild following involvement of the Department of Community Services. Five primary themes emerged from the interviews: Changes in family dynamics, psychosocial impact on grandchild and grandparent, lack of resources for grandparent caregivers, challenges parenting later in life, and resilience inspired by the love of family. Many participants described feeling unsupported, both financially and emotionally, after assuming care of their grandchildren and identified a need for additional counselling services, childcare subsidies and assistance through respite care. All participants involved highlighted that caring for their grandchildren changed their lives in many positive ways. Conclusion While grandparents are frequently prioritized as caregivers of apprehended children, our study suggests that they are also disproportionately under-resourced and poorly supported relative to children that instead enter the foster care system. Based on these findings, we urge for the provision of critical resources to address the emotional, respite and financial needs of these vulnerable children and their grandparents.

PROGRAM PEMBERDAYAAN MASYARAKAT PESISIR BERBASIS PENDIDIKAN DI SAUBEBA-ABUN PAPUA BARAT

Since 2010, Universitas Papua - UNIPA in particular the Research and Community Services Department wasinvolved in survey, outreach program and collaboration works with people in Saubeba as a part ofLeatherback conservation program. To follow up the work of UNIPA, between June and August 2016, agroup of student from UNIPA conducted a field work in Saubeba, Abun District of Tambrauw Regency withspecial concerned on 11 programs that have been planned together with the communities. Agriculture,Agricultural Product Processing, Education, Environment and Health as well as Leatherback Conservationwere prioritized as essential programs. This paper provides part of the program that conducted incollaboration witth local communities in order to support education-based of coastal communitiesempowerment.

A researcher's journey: Exploring a sensitive topic with vulnerable women.

The conduct of research regardless of the subject or methods employed brings responsibilities and challenges. These are greater when dealing with sensitive topics and vulnerable groups and therefore researchers must navigate a range of complex issues and make choices in relation to practical, ethical and philosophical concerns. While literature dealing with research methodologies and research design may assist to some degree, it cannot provide a clear pathway or template as each research project must respond to a unique set of circumstances. We can however, also learn from sharing our stories and critical reflections on our research processes. The purpose of this article is to highlight the practical and methodological issues arising from researching a sensitive topic with vulnerable women experiencing an Assumption of Care. Research involving topics that are deeply personal and private combined with a vulnerable population can be complex and challenging for the researcher. Although some issues were anticipated from the literature, others encountered in this study were unexpected. Special considerations and prerequisites were necessary to build mutual trust and share power with women who had experienced an Assumption of Care at birth. Narrative Inquiry was a good methodological fit for this study as it privileged the voices of women and insisted that their experiences be considered within the context of their lives. Although Narrative Inquiry is a suitable choice for researching sensitive topics with vulnerable women specific considerations are still required to ensure the benefits of this research for both participants and researchers. Family and Community Service (FACS) have now replaced the formerly known Department of Community Services (DoCS) and in consideration of the timing of this study this article uses the terminology as DoCS.

Evidence-based practice in speech language pathologist training of early childhood professionals

With more children attending formal child care and limited speech language pathology resources, there is a need to consider alternate service delivery models. One such approach is clinician training of early childhood professionals (ECPs). To be appropriately targeted and efficient, training programs should be based on research evidence. This systematic review focuses on studies into which ECP skills improve child language and literacy. Databases searched were PsychINFO, Scopus, Web of Science, CINAHL, ERIC, LLBA, and Medline from 1990 onwards. Papers were included if they were (a) studies reporting the efficacy of professional development programs in terms of positive outcomes for both child and ECP, or (b) longitudinal or cross-sectional experimental investigations that examined the relation between ECP skills and child language/literacy outcomes. The initial search identified 212 potential studies with 34 studies meeting the inclusion criteria. These 34 studies included 2 longitudinal, 1 descriptive, and 31 cross-sectional experiments (16 randomized controlled trials, RCTs; 15 non-RCTs). The review identified four key skill categories: (a) quality adult–child interactions; (b) explicit literacy instruction; (c) storytelling skills; and (d) supporting peer-to-peer interactions. The inclusion of these skills by clinicians in training of ECPs is supported by research evidence. Source of funding: Department of Community Services, Western Sydney area assistance Scheme, NSW, Australia.

Rescission or Variation of Children's Court Orders: A Study of Section 90 Applications in New South Wales

This article reports on a study of Children's Court files relating to completed applications for variation of care orders (section 90 applications) in three specialised Children's Courts in New South Wales. All files that could be located for completed applications were reviewed and nonidentifying data was recorded. The study attempted to examine the type of applications, the characteristics of applicants and the outcomes of the applications. One hundred and seventeen applications were reviewed: almost half of these were made by the then Department of Community Services (DoCS), and about the same proportion of applications were made by parents. After the section 90 applications were determined there was an increase in care orders allocating parental responsibility to the Minister for Community Services with 73% of the children placed under the care of the minister to age 18.

Health home visiting for vulnerable families: what has occurred and what is yet to arrive?

Sustained health home visiting (SHHV) is a valuable means of implementing early intervention for vulnerable families with infants or young children. This first of a two-part report describes clients and identifies nurses' activities with or on behalf of clients as part of a pilot SHHV program undertaken within a socioeconomically disadvantaged suburban area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. A forthcoming report describes the results of the intervention. Child and family health nurses visited vulnerable clients who were pregnant and/or had an infant aged 36 months or younger. Interventions consisted of direct and indirect (i.e. services involving a third party) client contact. Nurses documented all activities undertaken with or on behalf of clients using pre-determined codes. Over 29 months, the program accepted 136 referrals and 118 (87%) consented to the evaluation. Families had a mean of eight risk factors, which commonly included current mental health symptoms or disorders (49%), a history or current experience of domestic violence (51%) and being known to the Department of Community Services (40%). Nurses' most frequent interventions addressed the main carer's emotional and health needs, and infant development. Clients' level of need required coordinated care from a specialised multidisciplinary team, which was unavailable to program clients and their families.

From Care to Custody: Young Women in Out-of-Home Care in the Criminal Justice System

Children in out-of-home care (those children removed from their homes and placed in state care by an order of the Children's Court) are vastly over-represented in the New South Wales juvenile justice system. The Report of the Special Commission of Inquiry into Child Protection Services in New South Wales (Wood 2008) found that 28 percent of males and 39 percent of females in detention had a history of out-of-home care (Wood 2008:556). The much anticipated Strategic Review of the New South Wales Juvenile Justice System, released in April 2010, noted these figures and stressed that addressing the risk factors of out-of-home care and its links to the juvenile justice system was a 'sound policy platform' (Noetic Solutions 2010:88). This is a sadly familiar refrain. While the terminology may have changed (e.g. the term 'state ward' is no longer used to refer to this group), little progress has been made to reduce the number of children in care appearing before NSW courts and filling NSW's juvenile detention centres. In 1992, the NSW Parliament's inquiry into juvenile justice heard evidence that female state wards were 'forty times more likely to be detained in custody than other girls' and were 'frequently unable to meet the bail conditions regarding an approved place of residence, by default remain(ing) in detention' (Standing Committee on Social Issues 1992:141). Appalled, the Committee noted that 'state wards are a particularly vulnerable group to involvement in the Juvenile Justice System' and urged the then Department of Community Services (DoCS)1 and the Office of Juvenile Justice 'to continue to monitor the numbers of state wards in the Juvenile Justice System with a view to developing strategies as to how best such young people might be diverted from contact with that system' (Standing Committee on Social Issues 1992:54).

Local governments and the economics of community sustainability

The late John W. Gardner, who chaired the National Civic League (NCL) board of directors during the early 1990s, often said that the key in community change was finding ways to awaken and unleash the human potential within its residents. Indeed, our own experience with the All-America City Award and our Community Services department at NCL has demonstrated that citizens across sectors— government, business, nonprofits, and communityat-large—are capable of achieving what might previously have been perceived as impossible. Communities achieving remarkable results were effective because of the skilled ways in which people worked together to address highly complex issues.

War and Disorder: The Hague Child Abduction Convention – Australian Law in Context

The article seeks to examine the effect of international disorder on the operation of the Hague Convention on Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (the ‘Convention’). It seeks to do so by primary reference to the decision of the Full Court of the Family Court of Australia in Genish- Grant v Director-General, Department of Community Services (2002), which adopted the zone of war interpolation into the Convention, and surrounding case law. In so doing, various lacunae are discovered to exist in the Convention. Accordingly, suggestions are made for amendment to the Convention which would bring it more into accord with modern reality.

Neoliberalism and Child Protection: A Deadly Mix

The impact of neoliberal policies in a department charged with protecting the most vulnerable members of our society, and those who are most at risk of slipping into poverty is examined. The consequences of the outsourcing of public welfare to the charitable sector and associated reductions in public welfare expenditure are explored in detail. The Department of Community Services (DoCS) is an illustration of the manner in which the negative effects of neoliberal policies persist through familial poverty and increased child abuse notifications - long after these policies have been softened and funding has been restored. This arises in part from the State Government having responsibility for operational delivery of Government Services, whilst the Federal Government has charge of macro-economic policies. Even though state funding for services increases under the Carr Labor Government, the demand for welfare services continues to escalate a consequence of Federal policies which dramatically increase the number of Australian households living below the poverty line. Comparisons are drawn between the 'hard neoliberalism' practiced by the NSW Coalition Governments and the 'soft neoliberalism/social conservatism' of the NSW Labor Governments. It is argued that the Carr Government engaged in soft neoliberalism, as it retained a contracted senior executive service, supported accommodation programs remained outsourced to the private sector and managerial systems of individually focused investigative processes were applied to DoCs staff.

‘The More Things Change …’: Bail and the Incarceration of Homeless Young People

Homeless young people are being held in remand despite being granted bail because the Department of Community Services cannot or will not find the young person accommodation, and there is no legally enforceable obligation on the Department to so. This practice is not new. Two rounds of amendments to the Bail Act 1978 (NSW) sought to steer young homeless people away from remand yet they have failed to have their intended effect. By failing to provide young homeless people with an alternative to detention the NSW Government is in breach of a number of fundamental principles of the criminal law, juvenile justice and child protection, as recognised in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, and other international human rights instruments. In its much anticipated report, the Special Commission of Inquiry into Child Protection Services in NSW recommends the establishment of bail support schemes similar to those in Victoria and Queensland, but misses the opportunity to recommend law reform which would squarely place the obligation on the state to provide accommodation for these young people.

Pregnancy and neonatal characteristics of opioid‐dependent Indigenous Australians: A rural and metropolitan comparison

To identify maternal, obstetric and neonatal characteristics of opioid-dependent Indigenous Australians in rural and metropolitan settings. Retrospective cohort study of 232 metropolitan and 67 rural infants born to mothers maintained on methadone throughout pregnancy for the treatment of opiate dependency, between January 2000 and December 2006. Medical records of identified mother/infant dyads were reviewed by evaluating 20 different maternal, obstetric and neonatal parameters. The number of infants of opiate-dependent mothers (IODMs) identified to be of Aboriginal ethnicity was 47 in the rural and 50 in the metropolitan setting. This reflected a significantly higher proportion in the rural versus metropolitan areas (70.1% vs 21.6%, P < 0.05). The effect of rurality was independent of ethnicity with significantly lower rates of neonatal withdrawal requiring treatment (P < 0.001), antenatal consultations (P < 0.01), department of community services (DoCS) involvement (P < 0.001) and shorter infant lengths of stay (P < 0.001). There was a non-significant trend towards more intrauterine growth restriction in Aboriginal infants. There were no significant differences in parameters in rural Indigenous versus rural non-Indigenous infants. Significant differences exist between rural and metropolitan IODMs in terms of less attendance at antenatal consultations, less neonatal withdrawal requiring treatment, shorter average length of hospital stay for the infant and less documented DoCS involvement. These differences maybe a reflection of a different diagnostic and management approach. Ethnicity had no major clinical impact in either the rural or the metropolitan settings. Future research comparing the long-term outcomes would be of interest.

Who's left holding the woman?: Practice issues facing hospital social workers working with women who have infants removed at birth by NSW Department of Community Services

Over the past three years, there has been a significant change in the focus of hospital social work intervention with pregnant women–from supportive counselling relating to motherhood, to systems advocacy within the child protection context.Hospital social workers in this field have frequently been faced with the inevitable conflicting interests of supporting parents and protecting infants. However, the recent changes have thrown up various ethical questions, and issues of integrity and advocacy, in what is a complex area of practice.This paper seeks to examine some of the current practice issues for social workers in this area. By examining the current context and literature, several practice themes will be considered and explored. In examining this issue at both the micro level of current hospital social work practice and the macro level of legislative and systemic issues, several best practice suggestions are considered within the context of the author's current workplace.

Estimating consumer parenthood within mental health services: A census approach

The few studies reporting the prevalence of parental mental problems or mental illness estimate that anywhere between 20–50% of clients of mental health services may be parents. The studies often fail to fully describe the population, the children involved, and their exposure to potential risk factors. A recent Department of Community Services review identified that parents with mental health issues are over-represented among maltreating families, and the National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children emphasised the need to increase the capacity and capability of adult services to identify and respond to the needs of children at risk. This paper describes the historical context, development, and implementation of the Mental Health and Parenting Census which is conducted annually across Central Coast Mental Health Services in New South Wales. In 2008 and 2009, almost one third of clients were identified as parents of children aged 0–17 years. The majority of parents were female, and the most common diagnoses were mood and psychotic disorders. Almost 60% of children were living with the parent with a mental illness on a permanent basis, and over 40% of parents experience low levels of support. The Mental Health and Parenting Census is thought to be the first of its kind to not only determine the prevalence of parenthood amongst active clients of an adult mental health service on a given day, but also to generate contextual information about the parents and the children, including exposure of children to risk factors.

Infants in Australian Out-of-Home Care

This paper presents findings from a study examining the out-of-home care (OOHC) experiences of children aged less than one year (infants), based on data collected by the NSW Department of Community Services (DoCS), Australia. The purpose of the study is to develop a profile of infant children in OOHC and to better understand why so many young children require OOHC services and their experiences with the child welfare system. Using administrative data, we employ both descriptive and multivariate analysis to explore how child, child maltreatment history and system factors are related to the placement of infants in care. Our results are in line with research conducted in the USA and UK. The most notable finding is the high child protection reporting rate and high entry rate by infants and by Indigenous infants in particular. The tendency for infants to stay in care longer than other children, coupled with a high entry rate to care, has and will continue to have a significant impact on the child welfare system and its consequences. The implications for development of policy and early intervention programmes are discussed.

Programs for high needs children and young people: Group homes are not enough

Recently the Department of Community Services in New South Wales and the Department for Child Safety in Queensland have both released information about funding and the award of contracts for group homes and other residential services. In addition, in the 2008 discussion about out-of-home care at the Wood Commission of Inquiry into the Child Protection Services in New South Wales, group homes were discussed in terms of them being less demanding environments than foster care. The view presented was that group homes are appropriate for some young people who are either unsuitable for foster care or who want a less intimate setting than that provided by foster care. This article argues that group homes or residential programs, against the New South Wales and Queensland descriptions, fail to respond to the need for quality residential programs for children and youth. This is partly due to the low level of training for staff in group homes and high staff turnover.

Forecasting Children in Foster Care - New South Wales OOHC Funding Model

The New South Wales Department of Community Services is a state child protection agency in Australia. It has developed a stock and flow discrete-event simulation model that forecasts the population of children in out-of-home care. This will allow planning and funding of out-of-home care services, as well as forecasting carer payment expenditure. It utilises estimates of unit costs for different service components and makes some assumptions about the average service packages and carer payment rates to be provided for the different types of children. Children have been found to stay longer in relative/kinship care compared to foster care. The biggest cause of out-of-home care population increases is the greater use of relative/kinship placements since 1998. The Model incorporates only five parameter shifts but its out-of-home care population projections closely predict observed past data, despite excluding all random changes. Forecasts are being continually updated as relevant new information becomes available.