From journal articles to Quick Guides and webinars, you will find tools and information to support.
Selected tags
This article is part of a series of reports and articles seeking to understand the circumstances that lead to children and young people becoming ‘cross-over kids’ who involved in both the child protection and criminal justice systems.
In this seminar, Professor John Lynch and Dr Rhiannon Pilkington from the University of Adelaide discuss recent large-scale data projects in South Australia and Victoria that have informed child protection policy and practice. Professor Lynch explains how big data and epidemiology can be used to inform government, non-government and community organisations to answer important policy questions.
A number of measures available to care agencies can reduce the chances of young people becoming involved in criminal activities and the justice system. Chief amongst these are ensuring that staff have a comprehensive understanding of the effect of trauma on behaviour; that they are supported to respond to challenging behaviour constructively; and that they are able to develop consistent, trusting and supportive relationships with young people that will enable them to thrive.
In this keynote address, Eileen Munro (Emeritus Professor of Social Policy at the London School of Economics) discusses the challenges of translating research evidence from one system to another - with particular reference to her work in reviewing child protection practices in English local authorities.
Children in care often find it difficult to make and keep friends due to multiple home and family disruptions. This how-to guide by The Children's Society guides practitioners on how they can help children in care to build and maintain friendships - which can improve their wellbeing and reduce their isolation.
In this presentation, Jade Purtell (Monash University) and Ralph Salera (Salvation Army) discussed their evaluation of the Westcare Continuing Care program. The evaluation focused on the effectiveness of support provided to young people leaving care, and to their foster or residential carers. The evaluation was also supported by youth participation, as The Youth Advocates Group (TYAG) provided feedback on service improvements.
Jonathan Finch, Anthony Denahy and Emma Stirling (OzChild) discuss the development of CaringLife: an online platform and app that provides a private, safe and secure system for agencies, carers and children to upload photos, videos and important mementos during a child’s time in out-of-home care that are stored securely in perpetuity and can follow them throughout their care journey. The Pilot Program has demonstrated high levels of engagement and has been evaluated as having significant therapeutic and identity benefits.
Heidi Tucker (Anchor Inc.), Meg Beilken (Brighter Futures) and Dylan Langley (Brighter Futures Youth Ambassador Group) discuss the Brighter Futures Transformation Pilot: Learning for Life through Community Connection. The pilot utilised co-design and collective impact to create an enabling environment for innovation and systems change. The presenters discuss the importance of youth participation and collaborative efforts to improve outcomes for young people in out-of-home care.
These publications from the Department of Health and Human Services share the complexities of work with children, youth and families and some of the innovative practice approaches being used to address them. This is an annual publication shining a spotlight on examples of good practice and the variety of practice approaches available.
