Displaying 1 - 10 of 17
Abstract
In this chapter from the book Re-Visioning Public Health Approaches for Protecting Children we critically examine the practical and organisational issues as well as the ideational and procedural ones that challenge policy makers, leaders and those delivering services as they attempt to re-focus child protection service delivery toward earlier intervention and prevention within a public health framework. Combining the knowledge we have gained in practice-led research and policy development, we highlight the challenges we have witnessed as…
The rate at which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are being removed from their families is an escalating national crisis. The Family Matters Report 2018, which is being released at the Healing Our Spirit Worldwide Conference in Sydney today, finds that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are now 10.1 times more likely to be removed from their families than non-Indigenous children. And the rate is projected to triple in the next twenty years if urgent action is not taken.
Fewer than half of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are…
Abstract
This article reviews developments in the NSW child protection system which aim to reduce the number of children in state care. The first development was changes to the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1988 made in 2016 that created a permanency hierarchy for children who have been removed and not restored to parental or extended family care. Under Section 10A of the Act, guardianship and adoption becomes the priority if restoration is not possible, although Aboriginal children are exempt from adoption to some extent. The more recent development, during 2017, is…
Abstract
Out-of-home care (OOHC) refers to alternative care, such as foster care, kinship care or residential care, for children and young people up to 18 years old who are unable to safely live with their families. Child maltreatment is common, and 1 in 35 children in Australia received child protection services in 2014–2015. Placement in OOHC is considered an intervention of last resort, meaning that those in care are the highest risk cohort receiving protective services.
I conducted a small pilot study to explore what is currently taught to future doctors about children in OOHC and…
Abstract
Many child protection systems struggle to implement effective models of frontline practice in the context of high caseloads, increasing costs, and compliance‐focused bureaucratic cultures. This article discusses changes brought about by “Practice First,” a framework for practice introduced to improve the quality and effectiveness of child protection work in New South Wales, Australia. Findings drawn from quantitative and qualitative research with practitioners show that the initiative was effective in changing cultures of practice. It enabled workers to spend more face‐to‐face…
This report, developed by the Australian Centre for Child Protection (ACCP) in consulation with an Expert Panel, provides an analysis and evaluation of a range of child protection practice frameworks in terms of the way they respond to the values and principles and approach to working with children and families applicable to the continuum of child protection practice. The project objective was the development of a benchmarking tool identifying the quality and comprehensiveness of child protection practice frameworks. The project sought to assess the relative strengths, limitations…
Abstract
This qualitative study explored a relational practice approach with parents whose children have been removed into out-of-home care in Australia. Where these parents commonly experience practitioners as intimidating and unsupportive, the case studies of two families provides an alternative, arguably more care-centred, approach to working with parents. The paper discusses this alternative in light of ethical social work concepts. Findings suggest positive outcomes for parents and children alike when parents and workers engage using a relational approach where care is the central…
The subject of this report is to present the findings of stage two of a project aimed to address the anticipated risk to the foster care workforce by identifying and disseminating the most effective strategies to attract, support and retain foster caring families across all states and territories in Australia. The report presents a qualitative study aimed at identifying successful and new approaches to recruitment, support and retention of foster carers and kinship carers. The project comprised three states: a literature review on foster care attraction,…
Abstract
This qualitative study explored a relational practice approach with parents whose children have been removed into out-of-home care. Where these parents commonly experience practitioners as intimidating and unsupportive, the case studies of two families provides an alternative, arguably more care-centred, approach to working with parents. The paper discusses this alternative in light of ethical social work concepts. Findings suggest positive outcomes for parents and children alike when parents and workers engage using a relational approach where care is the central feature.
Background
An independent review into Queensland's youth detention centres was announced by the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Yvette D'Ath on 19 August 2016.
The review examined the practices, operation and oversight of the state's two youth detention centres in Townsville and Brisbane, in addition to evaluating the effectiveness of programs and services delivered in Queensland's youth detention centres. It also reviewed specific allegations of mistreatment of young people made by former staff members and young people previously in youth detention in…