Resources

This article, published in Child & Family Social Work, explores how child protection practitioners in Australia understand children’s participation. The study found differing understandings among practitioners and suggested a number of systemic changes that are needed to support consistent and meaningful participation.

This report by Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS) explores the occurrence, overlap or interrelationships between domestic and family violence, alcohol and other drug issues and mental health issues in Australian families involved in the child protection system. A critical interpretive synthesis of the academic and grey literature found significant weaknesses in the evidence base. The study concluded that further research is needed to understand these interactions in the Australian context.

The Productivity Commission has released this paper, the second in their What Works reviews, investigating what is known about systems that enable a public health approach to protecting children. A key finding of the review is that developing a learning process which encourages continuous improvement and assists the child protection workforce to handle uncertainty is an important feature of the commissioning process for government when seeking to deliver an effective public health approach.

RMIT University has released this report evaluating the IFAS pilot program delivered by Victoria Legal Aid. IFAS provides non-legal advocacy and support to parents and primary carers who are involved in the investigation stage of the child protection system with the primary aim of diverting families from the child protection system. The evaluation found a high level of satisfaction among clients and estimates that 20 per cent of clients are diverted from court. A cost-benefit analysis found that around $3.52 is saved by the Victorian Government for every $1 spent on IFAS.

This report from Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS) is the first of two reports that will explore how services and systems can better respond to the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people experiencing domestic and family violence (DFV) who come to the attention of child protection systems. The evidence review found that the voices of Aboriginal children are largely silent in the literature despite the extensive impacts of DFV on their lives and that this concerning outcome is driven by a service system focused on adults.

This article published in Child Abuse and Neglect by researchers from around the world investigates children’s risk for maltreatment during the COVID-19 pandemic by examining child maltreatment reports and child protective services responses across 12 regions. The research found that the pandemic has caused disruption to in-person services which has had substantial negative impacts on the operation of child protective services across all countries included in the study.

The study in Child and Family Social Work examines Australian parents' experiences with child protection during pregnancy and post-birth. It reveals the trauma of baby removal and suggests improvements such as increased support, better communication, and consideration of changing circumstances by child protective services.

This report from the Institute of Child Protection Studies at Australian Catholic University explores emerging trends, issues and needs in the child welfare workforce and the educational profile of this workforce. The study found that the tertiary component of the child welfare workforce within jurisdictional statutory welfare agencies is predominantly tertiary-qualified, however limitations in data availability prevented a more detailed analysis. The report concludes that the workforce is facing significant challenges that are getting in the way of a transition to a public health model of child welfare provision in Australia.

Linked data analysis by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare found that over 50% of youth justice-involved young people had previous contact with the child protection system. Additionally, 1 in 4 detained young people had prior experience in out-of-home care. This underscores the interconnectedness of these systems and the need for comprehensive support.