From journal articles to Quick Guides and webinars, you will find tools and information to support.
Child Family Community Australia has released this paper presenting findings from a systematic literature review on the rates of therapy referral, engagement and completion following a disclosure of child sexual abuse to police or child protection. The review found that many children are not receiving the benefits of therapy due to non-referral, not engaging when they are referred or non-completion. It also identified the need for data collection and increased research attention in this area.
UNICEF Australia has released this report sharing the findings of the third phase of research into children and young people’s lived experience through the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. The report found that young people aged 13-17 years view climate change and unemployment and limited job prospects as the greatest threats to the future wellbeing and livelihood of children and young people in Australia. The report includes a platform for action that calls on government to respond to the concerns of young people.
This report from Oranga Tamariki (Ministry for Children) in New Zealand seeks to better understand the experiences of tamariki (children) and rangatahi (young people) in care. A census approach was used to conduct the survey so that all tamariki and rangatahi between 10 and 17 years of age who had been in care for more than 31 days had the opportunity to participate, resulting in a participation rate of 84 per cent. A key finding was that 97 per cent indicated that the adults they live with look after them well, with 81 per cent indicating that this was all of the time. Based on the feedback, priority areas for action are identified.
This newly released report from CREATE Foundation examines young people’s views of life in care across Australia. A total of 325 young people were interviewed or completed a survey. The data identified five major challenges: support for transitioning, issues with caseworkers, issues with carers, placement stability and safety, and involvement in decision making.
Children and Young People with Disability Australia (CYDA) has released this report seeking to understand the experiences of children and young people with disability and their families accessing the NDIS and their thoughts on proposed reforms relating to Independent Assessments. CYDA conducted a survey with 12 per cent of the 270 responses being from children and young people. The study found that less than half (45 per cent) of respondents were satisfied with the services and support received under the NDIS and overall, 80 per cent of respondents had a negative view of the proposed reforms.
This report from the Crime Statistics Agency examines the prevalence and outcomes of witnessing family violence for children aged 0-17 in Victoria. It found that over a five-year-period in Victoria, 109,356 family violence incidents occurred with at least one child witness present. Of those child witnesses, over two-thirds were aged 9 years or younger. In 2018-19, over a third of incidents took place in the lowest ranking socio-economic areas in Victoria.
This discussion paper talks about the value of developing a coherent, manageable and principled practice framework for co-constructing the child’s personal life story archive. It also includes considerations around trauma, record-keeping, confidentiality,and information technology. Systems and collaborations are essential to translate this into practice.
This 'Who Am I?' workshop report talks about the importance of capturing the perspectives of children and young people who are actively involved in the constructing their record while ‘in care’, and the process of collaboration between them and professionals. The idea was to understand the principles underpinning record-keeping and archival programs; and unpack the factors which enable or create barriers to effective practice for front line workers, managers and organisations providing out of home care.
This rapid case study talks about a Family Video Visit Program by VACRO which facilitated a virtual connection between children and their incarcerated mothers. The program relieved children from the stress of visiting a prison and helped maintain the parent-child bond. This supported mothers in their reintegration journey after leaving the prison.