tag:theconversation.com,2011:/uk/topics/child-protection-in-australia-13071/articlesChild protection in Australia – The Conversation2021-05-25T19:36:30Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1593602021-05-25T19:36:30Z2021-05-25T19:36:30ZThirteen years after ‘Sorry’, too many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are still being removed from their homes<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/400986/original/file-20210517-15-kr9r9x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Big Elders meetings are conducted annually in Perth as part of community consultation and governance for the Ngulluk Koolunga Ngulluk Koort (Our Children Our Heart) project.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Provided by author</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>On February 13, 2008, then-Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said “<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2008-02-13/cheers-tears-as-rudd-says-sorry/1041628">we are sorry</a>” to members of the Stolen Generations. This was a significant moment in the shameful history of Australia’s treatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. </p>
<p><a href="https://info.australia.gov.au/about-australia/our-country/our-people/apology-to-australias-indigenous-peoples">The Apology</a> represented a formal acknowledgement that the forced removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children was based on racist policies that caused unspeakable harm to our communities. </p>
<p>Children were forced off their lands. They were disconnected from their kin, Country, traditional languages and culture.</p>
<p>Today on Sorry Day, 13 years since the Apology, our Elders, families and communities still grieve these losses. And many families are being repeatedly traumatised by <a href="https://www.familymatters.org.au/the-issue/">contemporary child removal practices</a>. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are nearly <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/nov/16/alarming-rate-removal-of-australias-indigenous-children-escalating-report-warns">10 times more likely</a> than non-Indigenous children to be in out-of-home care.</p>
<p>To find new ways to confront this problem and promote community-identified solutions, the Ngulluk Koolunga Ngulluk Koort (Our Children, Our Heart) project conducted consultations with over 100 Elders and senior Aboriginal community members in <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ajs4.160">Perth</a>. </p>
<p>The Elders and community members repeatedly expressed concerns they were not being consulted or included in decisions being made about child protection interventions. </p>
<h2>Families still being separated</h2>
<p>Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children have a right to be kept safe and free from harm. Removing them from their families has been proven to have <a href="https://bth.humanrights.gov.au/the-report">devastating consequences</a>. They are vulnerable to a lifetime of grief and loss, shattered identities, poor health outcomes and <a href="https://www.familyisculture.nsw.gov.au/?a=726329">intergenerational trauma</a>.</p>
<p>Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families involved with the child protection system represent some of the most marginalised and stigmatised members of our community. We are witnessing child removals across multiple generations, yet policymakers are not making connections between the past harms of the Stolen Generations and the current problems families are experiencing.</p>
<p>This leaves little room to redress the harm that past policies have inflicted. </p>
<p>We need a new strategy for creating a <a href="http://www.powertopersuade.org.au/blog/child-protection-4-pillars-of-institutional-justice-capital">more responsive and just child protection system</a>. </p>
<p>This requires a <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/14407833211010220">public debate</a> about the thresholds for child removal and for clearly defining what it means to be a “good enough” parent to maintain guardianship of a child. And we need to reassess what actually constitutes <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13698575.2020.1828303">risky parenting</a>. </p>
<p>There is a lack of national leadership and coordinated, inclusive and culturally secure practice in the child protection system. Decisions are no longer made explicitly based on race, but there are <a href="https://www.familymatters.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/FamilyMattersReport2020_LR.pdf">enduring problems</a> with how the actions taken by authorities affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/first-nations-families-need-support-to-stay-together-before-we-create-another-stolen-generation-159131">First Nations families need support to stay together, before we create another Stolen Generation</a>
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<h2>The role of Elders bringing families together</h2>
<p>In the Ngulluk Koolunga Ngulluk Koort project, most of the Elders were either part of the Stolen Generations themselves, or have directly experienced the effects of that era. </p>
<p>They called for a recognition of the harm these past policies caused, and for this to be used as a foundation for formulating future policies and practices. They highlighted the deep distrust of “the welfare” (child protection services) that continues to flow through communities. </p>
<p>The Elders also discussed the ongoing disregard of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ajs4.160">child placement principle</a>. <a href="https://www.familymatters.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/FamilyMattersReport2020_LR.pdf">Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are disproportionately</a> being placed with non-Indigenous carers, despite the placement principle’s recommendation against this. </p>
<p>As part of the project, the <a href="https://www.telethonkids.org.au/our-research/brain-and-behaviour/mental-health-and-youth/aboriginal-health-and-wellbeing/ngulluk-koolunga-ngulluk-koort/elder-co-researchers/">Elder co-researchers</a> developed <a href="https://www.telethonkids.org.au/contentassets/2d5a0f1c3a26453c9d209614bc2ac4b7/nknk-recommendations-child-protection-removal-.pdf">principles and practice recommendations</a> of their own. </p>
<p>These call for child protection services to harness resources from the vast social networks that exist in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community and communicate respectfully with these community members. By doing this, trust can begin to be restored to families and damaged relationships can begin to heal. Hope can be cultivated, and the need for removing children in the future can be reduced.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/402477/original/file-20210525-23-1hmsyc1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two elders and a young child at Christmas time." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/402477/original/file-20210525-23-1hmsyc1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/402477/original/file-20210525-23-1hmsyc1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402477/original/file-20210525-23-1hmsyc1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402477/original/file-20210525-23-1hmsyc1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402477/original/file-20210525-23-1hmsyc1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402477/original/file-20210525-23-1hmsyc1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402477/original/file-20210525-23-1hmsyc1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Child protection services need to consider the potential role of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander elders in offering solutions that avoids separating families.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com.au/">Julieanne Birch/Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>What the Elders call for resonates with the concept of <a href="https://31c5ba79-a-62cb3a1a-s-sites.googlegroups.com/site/valeriebraithwaite/home/pdf/Responsive%20Regulation%20Edition%202009.pdf?attachauth=ANoY7crXeVwJQLcOn4ntFtPTMMAibdzvbGSd6rfA_0Hk2_sISXmwmmPx2xNHBLYMmrSoedUUnI8aLBf_mf3iXYd2-iAgzP6SVv6UyLFMyMpeTZKtuQEbnhYOu3VQi_zgYJSQ0fkklo2xWESQmi3lT2nY-_pWPtQBVtOgTNexASocsTVFduTMtYeZawd_M7bpIpt-RrmmoHbNQgDXUOoMFdKCzbrPtxXKdeiVfbywJZbPU1uRPw7ABsDdcvJVERkPlP0QOyeU_anIQAZNifsv40lP9eTZqqOXBg%3D%3D&attredirects=0">responsive regulation</a>. This means that regulators — in this case the child protection authority — need to take into account the cultures, behaviours and environments of the people they are regulating. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-i-am-anxious-to-have-my-children-home-recovering-letters-of-love-written-for-noongar-children-127809">Friday essay: ‘I am anxious to have my children home’: recovering letters of love written for Noongar children</a>
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<p>Responsive regulation promotes restorative practices that are relationship-centred and geared toward solving problems. These practices involve future-focused conversations that draw on the skills and insights that exist in communities.</p>
<p>Principles of responsive regulation and those developed by the Elders offer a counter-balance to the current formalistic approaches of child protection services, such as mandatory reporting, forensic investigations, court hearings, timelines for termination of parental rights, and the adoption of children in care. </p>
<p>Nationally, we need a greater commitment to using family group conferencing forums that prioritise <a href="https://www.supportingcarers.snaicc.org.au/rights-of-the-child/family-group-conferencing/">Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander decision-making</a>.</p>
<p>Elders have deep knowledge from lived experience and their voices must be heard. Their principles and practice recommendations, as well as their values and beliefs about <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/children-australia/article/abs/raising-strong-solid-koolunga-values-and-beliefs-about-early-child-development-among-perths-aboriginal-community/2C8E620069F6FBE5F3ED13F4F39A61DA">raising strong children</a>, give us a pathway to positive change. </p>
<p>The Elders advocate community-led, place-based solutions to child protection concerns. They stress this is the only way we can move forward and repair the harms from past policies that have wreaked havoc in our communities. We must do better for our children.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/159360/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brad Farrant receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council and Lotterywest. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah Maslen and Sharynne Hamilton do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>We need to stop taking Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children out of their homes and listen to elders instead.Sharynne Hamilton, Post-Doctoral Research Fellow Aboriginal Health, Telethon Kids InstituteBrad Farrant, Adjunct Senior Research Fellow in Early Childhood Development, The University of Western AustraliaSarah Maslen, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1591312021-05-14T05:47:14Z2021-05-14T05:47:14ZFirst Nations families need support to stay together, before we create another Stolen Generation<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/400693/original/file-20210514-23-h2huie.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Child protection services must be culturally safe and responsive to the Aboriginal children and families they serve.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com.au/">Jodie Griggs / Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) children are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2019.01.017">disproportionately being removed</a> from their families and placed into out-of-home care, raising concerns of another <a href="https://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/stolen-generations">Stolen Generation</a>. </p>
<p>One of the main reasons is reporting to child protection services before a child is born, with separation of infants from their parents shortly after birth. This is a national crisis reflecting systemic failures, discrimination, impacts of colonisation and harmful policies, including the <a href="https://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/stolen-generations">Stolen Generations</a>. </p>
<p>We must take meaningful steps to enshrine the full intent of the <a href="https://www.snaicc.org.au/">Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care’s</a> <a href="https://www.snaicc.org.au/reviewing-implementation-of-the-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-child-placement-principle-2020/">Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle</a> in legislation and implementation in practice.</p>
<h2>Another Stolen Generation</h2>
<p>In 2018-19, one in five First Nations children removed into out-of-home care was less than one year old. The same year, First Nations infants were removed at a <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/child-protection/child-protection-australia-2018-19/summary">rate of 44.1 per 1,000</a> – nine times that of non-Indigenous infants. </p>
<p>This represents failed progress towards the <a href="https://www.closingthegap.gov.au/closing-gap-targets-and-outcomes">Closing the Gap target</a> to reduce over-representation of First Nations children in out-of-home care by 45% by 2031. Rather, the gap is widening and urgent reforms are needed.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.familyisculture.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/726329/Family-Is-Culture-Review-Report.pdf">Professor Megan Davis questions</a> whether Australia is meeting its obligations as a United Nations member and signatory to the <a href="https://www.unicef.org.au/our-work/information-for-children/un-convention-on-the-rights-of-the-child">UN Convention on the Rights of the Child</a>. As she wrote,</p>
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<p>Maintaining the best interests of the child and the integrity of Indigenous families and communities should be primary considerations in development, social families and health and education programmes.</p>
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<h2>Fear of child protection services</h2>
<p>Child protection “risk assessment” guidelines are <a href="https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/INFORMIT.167881515261979">driving increased notifications</a> from health services. These <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0145213417300078">can be triggered</a> by parental homelessness, previous involvement with child protection services (as a child or adult), mental ill-health, young parenthood, cognitive impairment, substance use or family violence.</p>
<p>Prenatal child protection notifications are made to ensure families get support. However, fear of child protection services is a <a href="https://20ian81kynqg38bl3l3eh8bf-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/AT.19.03_Langton_RR-FVsupport-Women.pdf">barrier to this support</a>. Many “risk factors” are <a href="https://www.familymatters.org.au/the-family-matters-report-2020/">directly related</a> to socio-economic deprivation, inadequate access to the social aspects of health, and systemic discrimination. </p>
<p>Child protection responses are often punitive, removing an infant if the mother cannot comply with directives. </p>
<p>For example, identifying family violence is crucial, but notifications can be used as an additional <a href="https://www.anrows.org.au/media-releases/barriers-preventing-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-women-from-reporting-family-violence/">threat against mothers by their perpertrators</a> in coercive relationships. Child protection involvement is then experienced as further (systemic) violence, rather than care. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.bps.org.uk/sites/www.bps.org.uk/files/Policy/Policy%20-%20Files/PTM%20Summary.pdf">Increasing fear</a> of losing a baby is likely to discourage women from disclosing domestic violence to welfare workers, putting lives at <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0225441">greater risk</a>. Responses to threats (for example, fight, flight or freeze) can also negatively affect <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3493169/">maternal and fetal health</a> and behaviour. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/victorias-truth-telling-commission-to-move-forward-we-need-to-answer-for-the-legacies-of-colonisation-156746">Victoria's truth-telling commission: to move forward, we need to answer for the legacies of colonisation</a>
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<h2>Lack of culturally safe support for families</h2>
<p>In a <a href="https://cope.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/COPE_Mapping-Project_WEB.pdf">survey of perinatal health care workers</a>, 98% reported that trauma, stress and grief significantly impacted First Nations parents - yet only 43% were not satisfied their service could address these issues. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.familyisculture.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/726329/Family-Is-Culture-Review-Report.pdf">Other issues that need to be addressed</a> include:</p>
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<li><p>a lack of culturally safe support for mothers before or after they are separated from their child. Some babies are removed shortly after birth without the mother even being told this was being considered</p></li>
<li><p>a lack of transparency, accountability and documentation by child protection services.</p></li>
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<p>These systemic failures lead to immeasurable pain for First Nations families. They can also exacerbate <a href="https://www.telethonkids.org.au/globalassets/media/documents/aboriginal-health/working-together-second-edition/wt-part-4-chapt-17-final.pdf">intergenerational trauma</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://dro.deakin.edu.au/eserv/DU:30090847/magnus-controlledtrial-2016.pdf">Outcomes for children admitted to out-of-home care</a> in Australia are poor. A <a href="https://www.facs.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/321728/research_wards_leavingcare2.pdf">study</a> of young people leaving this mode of care reported nearly 50% attempted suicide within four years. </p>
<p>Children removed from their parents often also experience:</p>
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<li><p>lifelong interactions with child protection and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5142401/">justice systems</a></p></li>
<li><p>entrenched disadvantage and institutionalisation</p></li>
<li><p>disconnection from culture, community and family.</p></li>
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<p>The high costs of out-of-home care could be better <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/car.1192">invested</a> in preventing family disruption.</p>
<h2>A better way forward</h2>
<p>Becoming a parent is a time of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0225441">optimism and hope</a>, offering an opportunity to transform vicious cycles of intergenerational trauma into reinforcing cycles of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/car.1192">nurturing, love and healing</a>. </p>
<p>This relates to <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nn.4458">parental brain development</a> fostering “connectedness”, which is central to the <a href="https://www.telethonkids.org.au/globalassets/media/documents/aboriginal-health/working-together-second-edition/wt-part-1-chapt-4-final.pdf">social and emotional wellbeing</a> of First Nations people.</p>
<p>Health care services specialise in complex physical health issues (for example, caring for pre-term babies). Yet, complex social and emotional health issues are classified as “risk factors” and parents are referred to child protection services for “support”, despite mental health and other expertise being available.</p>
<p>According to the World Health Organisation, <a href="https://www.who.int/about/who-we-are/constitution#:%7E:text=Health%20is%20a%20state%20of,belief%2C%20economic%20or%20social%20condition">health is</a></p>
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<p>a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.</p>
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<p>Health care services must develop expertise and resource capacity to address social and emotional complexity - including cultural expertise and ways of talking about sensitive issues. This might include <a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/py/py16051">yarning</a>, <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.02014/full">storytelling</a> and deep listening, or <a href="https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/INFORMIT.732386012034745">dadirri</a>.</p>
<p>Child protection notifications should only be made when concerns remain about risks to the child after support is provided. Child protection support should then be provided in partnership with health care services. Decisions must be transparent, with professional review, research and evaluation to foster expertise. </p>
<h2>Principles to follow</h2>
<p>The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle provides an organising framework to coordinate efforts, ensuring a comprehensive response with First Nations children and families at the centre. </p>
<p><strong>Examples under the placement principle could include</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><p>prevention: enabling universal access to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wombi.2021.03.011">culturally safe</a> care</p></li>
<li><p>partnership: a community-driven <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-028397">co-design</a> of an appropriate model</p></li>
<li><p>placement: ensuring all families requiring support can access alternative options to removal (such as <a href="https://bubupwilam.org.au/">full-time childcare support</a> and <a href="https://www.tpk.govt.nz/en/mo-te-puni-kokiri/our-stories-and-media/he-korowai-trust-providing-ordinary-services-in-an">supported family accommodation</a>)</p></li>
<li><p>participation: honest, transparent interactions with parents — no baby should be removed without prior authentic discussions</p></li>
<li><p>connection: if child safety concerns still remain, efforts must be made to preserve connections to family, community, culture and Country. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>These connections are essential elements for First Nations people’s cultural, social and emotional wellbeing. The welfare of parents must also be considered. Too often parents are left alone, without support, following the removal of their baby.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/indigenous-children-are-leaving-out-of-home-care-to-uncertain-futures-this-is-the-support-they-need-143906">Indigenous children are leaving out-of-home care to uncertain futures. This is the support they need</a>
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<p>Child protection services must be culturally safe and responsive to the First Nations children and families they serve. Grounded on these foundations, the <a href="https://www.familymatters.org.au/">Family Matters Building Blocks</a> provide an evidence-informed framework, emphasising all families enjoy access to high quality, culturally safe universal and targeted family supports. </p>
<p>This is aimed at ensuring children can thrive, and are best developed and delivered by First Nations communities themselves. </p>
<p>In this <a href="https://www.familymatters.org.au/week-action/">SNAICC Family Matters National Week of Action</a>, we argue over-representation of First Nations children in out-of-home care is not accidental, and we are calling for change to support families to stay together from the start.</p>
<p>We can do this better – and we must.</p>
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<p><em>Those interested in joining the Family Matters campaign can find more information <a href="https://www.familymatters.org.au/week-action/">here</a>.</em></p>
<p><em>Correction: this article originally stated Indigenous children are increasingly being removed from their families rather than disproportionately</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/159131/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Catherine Chamberlain receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council as a Career Development Fellow, and Lead Investigator on the Healing the Past by Nurturing the Future project. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Birri O'Dea receives funding from the Australian Government (Research Training Program Scholarship) and the Alison Mary Jackson and Nancy Rosemary Kingsland Scholarship as part of her PhD Candidature.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jacynta Krakouer received funding from the Australian Government (Research Training Program Scholarship) as part of her PhD candidature. She is also affiliated with SNAICC and is a member of the SNAICC Family Matters Leadership Group.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Helen Milroy receives funding from the Million Minds Mental Health Research Mission, Telethon Trust, and Perth Children's Hospital Foundation. Helen is a board member of Young Lives Matter, Gayaa Dhuwi Proud Spirit Australia and Beyond Blue and is a Commissioner with the National Mental Health Commission.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Gray is co-chair of the Family Matters campaign - a national campaign led by SNAICC - National voice for our children, to ensure that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people grow up safe and cared for in family, community, and culture. He receives funding from the Australian Research Council investigating effective restoration practice and consults on child protection systems and practice. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alison Elliott does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are increasingly being removed from their families and placed into out-of-home care, raising concerns of another Stolen Generation.Catherine Chamberlain, Associate Professor Indigenous Health Equity, La Trobe UniversityAlison Elliott, La Trobe UniversityBirri O'Dea, Charles Darwin UniversityDr Jacynta Krakouer, Associate lecturer, The University of MelbourneHelen Milroy, Professor & Director, Centre for Aboriginal Medical and Dental Health (CAMDH), The University of Western AustraliaPaul Gray, Associate professor, Jumbunna Insitute for Indigenous Education and Research, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1063302018-11-13T00:59:03Z2018-11-13T00:59:03ZWhy controversial child protection reforms in NSW could lead to another Stolen Generation<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/245005/original/file-20181112-83564-mgbkal.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C13%2C4608%2C3435&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The most commonly criticised feature of the bill is the arbitrary maximum period of two years within which a decision about permanent placement has to be made. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Among the most significant powers exercised by governments is that of removing children from their families. Potential <a href="https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/bills/Pages/bill-details.aspx?pk=3598">reforms</a> before the NSW parliament this week would <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-24/nsw-government-adoption-law-overhaul-proposed/10422140">expand this</a> power in frightening ways. </p>
<p>The reforms contained in the <a href="https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/bills/Pages/bill-details.aspx?pk=3598">Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Amendment Bill</a> represent a radical shift in basic child welfare principles. These changes could make removals more permanent, while dispensing with core safeguards and transparency measures. It is Aboriginal communities who stand to lose the most.</p>
<p>Children are already being removed from Indigenous communities at an unprecedented rate. Indigenous children make up <a href="https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/publications/children-care">36.9% of children in out-of-home care</a> in Australia, despite being just 3% of the population.</p>
<p>And stakeholders ranging from the <a href="https://www.kinchelaboyshome.org.au/">Kinchela Boys Home Aboriginal Corporation</a> to the peak body for <a href="https://www.clcnsw.org.au/">Community Legal Centres NSW</a> are fearful that, if passed, the NSW legislation <a href="https://www.clcnsw.org.au/nsw-forced-adoptions-open-letter">will force adoptions and create another Stolen Generation</a>.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1060304328257241088"}"></div></p>
<h2>What’s been proposed?</h2>
<p>We’re especially concerned by four fundamental proposed changes: </p>
<ol>
<li>placing a two-year limit on creating a permanent arrangement for a child </li>
<li>making guardianship orders by consent outside of courts</li>
<li>amending how families can apply for restoration </li>
<li>removing parental consent to adoption for children on permanent orders.</li>
</ol>
<p>Proponents suggest the reforms are aimed at stopping children “flopping from one foster home to another”, as Pru Goward, NSW minister for family and community services, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-24/nsw-government-adoption-law-overhaul-proposed/10422140">put it</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/245179/original/file-20181112-194519-wv7mb4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/245179/original/file-20181112-194519-wv7mb4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245179/original/file-20181112-194519-wv7mb4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245179/original/file-20181112-194519-wv7mb4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245179/original/file-20181112-194519-wv7mb4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245179/original/file-20181112-194519-wv7mb4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245179/original/file-20181112-194519-wv7mb4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Pru Goward says the bill will bring ‘landmark reforms’ to the state’s child protection system.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dean Lewins/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>However, we are talking here about legally permanent care arrangements being made with arbitrary deadlines.</p>
<p>As Aboriginal advocates have argued, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/empowering-indigenous-communities-to-prevent-child-abuse-and-neglect-32875">as the evidence attests</a>, family and kin support is key to keeping Aboriginal kids home, safe and connected with their culture. The reforms proposed in the bill will make it much harder to achieve that goal.</p>
<h2>A permanent placement within two years</h2>
<p>The most commonly criticised feature of the bill is the arbitrary maximum period of two years within which a decision about permanent placement has to be made. </p>
<p>As governments increasingly outsource their child welfare responsibilities to private agencies, there is a danger that market incentives can intrude into decision-making. The incentive to cycle children into permanent arrangements, regardless of their suitability, to meet performance indicators and targets is particularly chilling. </p>
<p>In Australia, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse <a href="https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/contemporary-out-home-care">noted the vulnerability of children in care to sex abuse</a>. Yet, once children are placed on guardianship orders or adopted, they are on their own, with no further review or oversight. They are no longer counted in the out-of-home care statistics.</p>
<p>And the <a href="http://healingfoundation.org.au/">factors that cause children to enter into care</a> – especially Aboriginal children – aren’t usually solved within a two-year time frame. They’re often related to poverty and inter-generational trauma. These include insecure housing, drug and alcohol addiction, family violence, and mental health and behavioural problems. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/child-protection-report-lacks-crucial-national-detail-on-abuse-in-out-of-home-care-93008">Child protection report lacks crucial national detail on abuse in out-of-home care</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><a href="https://www.facs.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/421531/FACS_SAR.pdf">Almost half</a> of all children in out-of-home care in NSW in 2014-2015 had a parent who had contact with the child welfare department themselves when they were a child.</p>
<p>Services to address these problems (such as support for victims of domestic violence and rehabilitation facilities) are either not available or have a lengthy wait list – sometimes two years or longer.</p>
<p>And it’s hard to see how the frequently backlogged NSW Children’s Court could cope with the additional pressure of a looming two-year deadline. </p>
<p>The changes create insurmountable conditions tantamount to permanent removal with no oversight.</p>
<h2>Guardianship orders ‘by consent’ outside of courts</h2>
<p>Under the bill, permanent care orders can be made “by consent” in alternative dispute resolution without necessarily establishing a child is at risk. As the Law Society of NSW <a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/344/Letter_to_Minister_for_Family_and_Community_Services_-_Children_and_Youn....pdf?1542063294">says in its submission</a> to the state government: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>While the child’s safety and best interests are of course paramount, these provisions would allow the court to make a guardianship order with the parents’ consent, even where there is no finding that a child is at risk of significant harm or should be subject to a care and protection order. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>These decisions will be made in negotiations – without judicial oversight – between families, governments, agencies and carers with vastly different legal resources, powers and goals. Families will be assisted by lawyers who may be ill-equipped to deal with a sudden influx of new cases in an unfamiliar forum.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-children-in-institutional-care-may-be-worse-off-now-than-they-were-in-the-19th-century-104395">Why children in institutional care may be worse off now than they were in the 19th century</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The legislation provides limited safeguards, but these cannot make the alternative dispute resolution suitable in cases where fundamental legal rights - such as the state breaking up a family - are at stake. </p>
<p>This means thousands of children who have already been transferred from foster care to private guardianship arrangements - <a href="https://public.tableau.com/profile/facs.statistics#!/vizhome/Objective2-Improvingthelivesofchildrenandyoungpeople/Dashboard1">over 894 of them Indigenous as of June 2017</a> - could soon be adopted without their parents’ knowledge or consent.</p>
<p>Once a decision has been made, the reforms narrow the criteria for reviewing them. This makes it virtually impossible for families to get permanent placement decisions changed.</p>
<p>In its own <a href="https://www.facs.nsw.gov.au/download?file=633577">report</a> on the bill, the NSW government conceded most stakeholders opposed these changes.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1061807670116544512"}"></div></p>
<h2>Rushed process leaving little time for response</h2>
<p>Decisions such as these already take place in the <a href="http://aftertheapology.com/">context of the unconscious bias</a> and structural racism of the out-of-home care system. And Indigenous <a href="http://www.familymatters.org.au/aifs-releases-paper-examining-implementation-child-placement-principle/">child placement principles</a> – which aim to keep children safe while retaining their connections to family, community, culture and country – are not being properly implemented.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/factcheck-qanda-are-indigenous-children-ten-times-more-likely-to-be-living-in-out-of-home-care-54825">FactCheck Q&A: are Indigenous children ten times more likely to be living in out-of-home care?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>We do not yet know the extent of that system failure. The NSW government is not waiting for the results of an <a href="http://www.familyisculture.nsw.gov.au/about-us/terms-of-reference">ongoing review into how it handles Aboriginal child placements</a>. A similar review in Victoria revealed that systematic failings have contributed to the over-representation of Aboriginal children in care and that over <a href="https://ccyp.vic.gov.au/assets/Publications-inquiries/always-was-always-will-be-koori-children-inquiry-report-oct16.pdf">60% of those children had been placed with non-Aboriginal carers</a>.</p>
<p>It is astonishing this bill is being rushed straight to the upper house in the last sitting days before the NSW election in March, leaving no chance for adequate debate and giving Aboriginal stakeholders just weeks’ notice to respond. A recent motion to send the bill to a short inquiry that would last mere days was voted down.</p>
<p>We know that NSW child protection laws need to change, but not this way. The Commonwealth government <a href="https://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/our-country/our-people/apology-to-australias-indigenous-peoples">has apologised</a> to the Stolen Generations, and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOOJc1C6erg">the NSW government has apologised to survivors of forced adoptions</a>. Both apologies warned us of the need to learn from past policies. If this bill passes, we will have all but forgotten them.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/106330/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Terrri Libesman has a grant from the Law and Justice Foundation, together with the Aboriginal Legal Service NSW, to investigate Aboriginal participation in child protection decision making in NSW.. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alison Whittaker does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>One of the state’s most significant powers is the ability to remove children from their families. Potential reforms in NSW could expand this already racialised power in frightening ways.Alison Whittaker, Research Fellow, University of Technology SydneyTerri Libesman, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1004772018-08-06T12:28:52Z2018-08-06T12:28:52ZMore parents accused of child abuse than ever before<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/230410/original/file-20180802-136646-ytolek.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Parents in English-speaking countries are now increasingly likely to be accused of abusing their children. This mainly affects large proportions of families who are poor, deprived or socially excluded. My new <a href="http://bilson.org.uk/wp_new/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Adoption-and-SG-prepublication.pdf">research</a> shows how this trend is being played out in England and what’s behind it.</p>
<p>Despite similarities between child protection systems in English-speaking countries, their statistics are not directly comparable – but common trends within countries can be identified. The latest data shows increases in child protection investigations in Australia of <a href="https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/publications/child-abuse-and-neglect-statistics">42% between 2012 to 2016</a>, Canada, <a href="http://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/3/3/483">74% between 1998 and 2008</a>, and in the US, <a href="https://americanspcc.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/2016-Child-Maltreatment.pdf">17% between 2007 and 2015</a>. In England between <a href="http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110909085148/https:/www.education.gov.uk/researchandstatistics/statistics/allstatistics/a00195890/referrals-assessments-and-children-who-are-the-sub">2008</a> and <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-children-in-need">2017</a> investigations more than doubled (a 124.3% increase). </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/230434/original/file-20180802-136679-jmf8gg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/230434/original/file-20180802-136679-jmf8gg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/230434/original/file-20180802-136679-jmf8gg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=602&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230434/original/file-20180802-136679-jmf8gg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=602&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230434/original/file-20180802-136679-jmf8gg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=602&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230434/original/file-20180802-136679-jmf8gg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=756&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230434/original/file-20180802-136679-jmf8gg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=756&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230434/original/file-20180802-136679-jmf8gg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=756&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But in all these countries, investigations became less likely to actually find abuse. In England there was a fall between 2008 and 2017 from 44% to 36% of investigations finding harm and requiring what’s known as a “child protection plan”. Investigations not leading to a protection plan almost tripled from 42,800 to 119,040. On average in England in 2017 an investigation not leading to a protection plan started every four minutes and 40 seconds.</p>
<h2>Why the increase?</h2>
<p>Reasons for investigations have been <a href="http://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/3/3/483/htm">studied in depth</a> in Canada where, between 1998 and 2008, there was no change in urgent protection but a doubling of rates of children found to be in chronic need. In these cases, intervention was intended to prevent future harm mainly from neglect or emotional abuse. </p>
<p>England had similar trends between 2008 and 2017 with an increase in findings: 15% in sexual abuse cases and 26% in physical abuse, compared with a 164% in emotional abuse and 103% in neglect. Sexual and physical abuse together accounted for only 16% of the reasons for child protection plans in England in 2017. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/230766/original/file-20180806-191035-1l5mwac.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/230766/original/file-20180806-191035-1l5mwac.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/230766/original/file-20180806-191035-1l5mwac.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=342&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230766/original/file-20180806-191035-1l5mwac.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=342&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230766/original/file-20180806-191035-1l5mwac.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=342&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230766/original/file-20180806-191035-1l5mwac.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230766/original/file-20180806-191035-1l5mwac.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230766/original/file-20180806-191035-1l5mwac.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Trends in reports, investigations, substantiation and harm in Western Australia 1996 to 2009.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Surprisingly there is little evidence that investigative child protection systems in these countries reduces maltreatment. One of the few studies <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140-6736(11)61087-8.pdf">compared six countries</a> and found no consistent evidence for a reduction in maltreatment. </p>
<p>Similarly, my <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/264091516_Responding_to_information_about_children_in_adversity_Ten_years_of_a_differential_response_model_in_Western_Australia">study of trends over 15 years</a> in Western Australia found no change in the extent or type of harm recorded by social workers when abuse was substantiated. This was despite fluctuations in the number of reports, investigations and substantiations of abuse.</p>
<h2>Children at risk</h2>
<p>It might be thought that only a small minority of children are involved in child protection. But a recent <a href="https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/full/10.2105/AJPH.2016.303545">study</a> suggested that in the US, 37% of children are investigated before the age of 18. Studies in <a href="https://aifs.gov.au/publications/family-matters/issue-96/children-australia">Australia</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/08/study-one-in-four-new-zealand-children-reported-welfare-agencies">New Zealand</a> found around a quarter of children were notified for child protection before the age of 18. </p>
<p>All these studies showed higher incidence of child protection involvement for excluded groups. In the US, over half of African-American children were investigated and similar rates were found for Aboriginal children in Australia and New Zealand.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/safeguarding-children-a-comparison-of-englands-data-with-that-of-australia-norway-and-the-united-states">Data on English child protection differs</a> from those in other English-speaking countries as it covers both welfare and child protection, though this difference is narrowing. My <a href="http://cdn.basw.co.uk/upload/basw_43143-3.pdf">earlier research</a> showed that one in every five children is referred to children’s services before the age of five. This rate is <a href="http://bilson.org.uk/Family_Law_prepub.pdf">doubled in deprived communities</a> where children have a much higher chance of being involved. </p>
<h2>Postcode lottery</h2>
<p>My <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326377446_Adoption_and_Child_Protection_Trends_for_children_aged_under_five_in_England_Increasing_investigations_and_hidden_separation_of_children_from_their_parents">new research</a> used a freedom of information request to show how children’s involvement in child protection is changing. The study looked at two groups of children and mapped their involvement in children’s services from birth to their fifth birthday between 2012 and 2017. During this time there was an increase of over 35% in the rate of children investigated and those adopted.</p>
<p>The research also found that before their fifth birthday in 2017, one in five children were referred, one in seven were “in need” and required a service to achieve a reasonable standard of health or development, and one in 16 were investigated. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229689/original/file-20180728-106499-1iw1uoc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229689/original/file-20180728-106499-1iw1uoc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229689/original/file-20180728-106499-1iw1uoc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=846&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229689/original/file-20180728-106499-1iw1uoc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=846&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229689/original/file-20180728-106499-1iw1uoc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=846&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229689/original/file-20180728-106499-1iw1uoc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1064&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229689/original/file-20180728-106499-1iw1uoc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1064&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229689/original/file-20180728-106499-1iw1uoc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1064&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Children’s involvement in child social care in England.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There were also major differences between local authorities. In Manchester almost half of all children had been referred before the age of five – the highest rate in the study. The rate of investigations ranged from 17.4% in Blackpool to 2% in Hull and Stockport.</p>
<h2>A ‘rescue culture’</h2>
<p>There are several explanations for these rapid increases in England. Families are under stress because of increasing <a href="https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/relationship-between-poverty-child-abuse-and-neglect-evidence-review">inequality</a>. This increases factors associated with concerns about abuse including <a href="https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/publications/poverty-and-mental-health">mental illness</a>, <a href="http://www.sdf.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/.../Drugs__Poverty_Literature_Review_2007.pdf">drug and alcohol misuse</a>, and <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-profile-for-england/chapter-5-inequality-in-health">child and parental ill-health</a>. It creates stress in relationships making <a href="https://research-information.bristol.ac.uk/files/80376377/JRF_DV_POVERTY_REPORT_FINAL_COPY_.pdf">intimate violence</a> – a key factor in emotional abuse – more likely. It also directly causes neglect because of parent’s inability to clothe, feed, house and otherwise look after children. </p>
<p>Austerity policies have dramatically reduced expenditure on support for families – particularly in the most <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03003930.2018.1430028">deprived areas</a>. While the government argues that quality services can still be delivered at a lower cost, it ignores the <a href="http://www.communitycare.co.uk/2018/02/07/clear-evidence-links-deprivation-expenditure-quality-childrens-services/">evidence to the contrary</a> from its own inspection service. </p>
<p>Reactions to child deaths and government policies have also created a growing pressure to adopt a culture of <a href="https://anzswjournal.nz/anzsw/article/download/219/283">child rescue</a> rather than family support. And this has led to increasing separation of children from parents and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/law/2018/jun/13/legal-system-of-child-protection-is-in-crisis-says-senior-judge">a crisis</a> in the family court system. </p>
<p>The postcode lottery shown by this research stems from a combination of these pressures and the extent that this “rescue culture” has taken hold. Whatever the cause, these changes have created a deteriorated environment for families in deprived communities who face more stress, less support and the highest ever risk of being accused of abusing their child and <a href="http://bilson.org.uk/wp_new/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/community-care-update.pdf">then losing them to care or adoption</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/100477/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andy Bilson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Increasing numbers of parents are being accused of child abuse.Andy Bilson, Emeritus Professor of Social Work, University of Central LancashireLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/930082018-03-08T19:26:17Z2018-03-08T19:26:17ZChild protection report lacks crucial national detail on abuse in out-of-home care<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209284/original/file-20180307-146675-1i05l9p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Around 40% of children in out-of-home care have been there for five years or more.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/">Australian Institute of Health and Welfare</a> has released a <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports-statistics">new report</a> showing that one in 32 Australian children received child protection services in 2016-17, with 74% being repeat clients.</p>
<p>The report also noted that the number of children receiving child protection services rose by about 25% over five years, which may “relate to changes in the underlying rate of child abuse and neglect, increases in notifications, and access to services, or a combination of these factors.”</p>
<p>It follows the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse’s <a href="https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/final-report">final report</a>, which included 409 recommendations to make institutions safer places for children.</p>
<p>One of the Commission’s most striking findings was that Australia’s alternate care systems cannot protect children from abuse. </p>
<p>Today’s Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) report, titled <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports-statistics">Child Protection 2016-2017</a>, reinforces that some fundamental changes are needed to redress this situation. </p>
<h2>What’s in today’s report - and what’s not?</h2>
<p>The report notes that in 2016–17, the national recurrent expenditure on child protection and out-of-home care services was $4.3 billion, up 8% from 2015–16.</p>
<p>A significant proportion of this money went to provide alternate care to the 47,915 children (as of June 2017) who were in out-of-home care. These are children who cannot live with their families because of abuse or neglect, parental incapacitation or illness.</p>
<p>These children are mostly young and highly vulnerable. The AIHW report noted that across Australia in 2016–17, infants were most likely to have received child protection services, while those aged 15–17 were least likely. The median age of children receiving services was eight.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209282/original/file-20180307-146694-5ee6i1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209282/original/file-20180307-146694-5ee6i1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209282/original/file-20180307-146694-5ee6i1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=475&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209282/original/file-20180307-146694-5ee6i1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=475&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209282/original/file-20180307-146694-5ee6i1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=475&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209282/original/file-20180307-146694-5ee6i1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=596&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209282/original/file-20180307-146694-5ee6i1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=596&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209282/original/file-20180307-146694-5ee6i1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=596&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports-statistics">AIHW</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209277/original/file-20180307-146675-13y7yiw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209277/original/file-20180307-146675-13y7yiw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209277/original/file-20180307-146675-13y7yiw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=256&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209277/original/file-20180307-146675-13y7yiw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=256&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209277/original/file-20180307-146675-13y7yiw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=256&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209277/original/file-20180307-146675-13y7yiw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=322&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209277/original/file-20180307-146675-13y7yiw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=322&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209277/original/file-20180307-146675-13y7yiw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=322&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Nationally, 47,915 children were in out-of-home care at 30 June 2017—a rate of 8.7 per.
1,000 children</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports-statistics">AIHW</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The rates are higher for Indigenous children, who are in out-of-home care at a rate of 13.6 per 1,000. In 2016-17, Indigenous children were also 10 times as likely as non-Indigenous children to enter out-of-home care. </p>
<p>Many children have already spent considerable periods living away from their families: for example, 41% of children in out-of-home care have been there for five years or more.</p>
<p>For the first time, AIHW presented data on disability status. While national figures aren’t available and definitions aren’t consistent, the report said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>In 2016–17, data on the disability status of children in out-of-home care were available for six jurisdictions, representing 71% of children in out-of-home care at 30 June 2017. Overall, 15% of children in out-of-home care at 30 June 2017 were reported as having a disability.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>It’s a lot of data to get your head around. Yet amidst all the statistics, tables and figures, one crucial measure for benchmarking, identifying and acting on child abuse is missing. </p>
<p>There is no reliable national data in this report on the number of notifications, investigations and substantiations of abuse that takes place <em>when a child is in out-of-home care</em>. </p>
<p>The report says that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Some jurisdictions include cases of alleged abuse in out-of-home care in the data provided for this report on the number of notifications, investigations and substantiations… but these cases cannot be separately identified in the
national data.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Without this basic information on the national rate, government assurances that children are safe in out-of-home care ring hollow.</p>
<h2>Abuse of children in out-of-home care</h2>
<p>The Royal Commission noted that a range of factors allow perpetrators to exploit opportunities to abuse vulnerable children in care. These include separation from family, unstable placements, isolation and a lack of relationships with reliable, safe adults.</p>
<p>It <a href="https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/sites/default/files/final_report_-_recommendations.pdf">made over 30 recommendations</a> aimed at improving Australia’s out-of-home care system so that children are less likely to be sexually abused while they are under the state’s protection. </p>
<p>Significantly, it recommended that federal and state governments collect information about children who were found to have been sexually abused while in out-of-home care, as well as information about their characteristics and the alleged abuse.</p>
<p>It also recommended the establishment of a nationally consistent approach to service delivery, recording, reporting, and information sharing for child sexual abuse in out-of-home care. </p>
<p>Today’s AIHW report cautions that national child protection data are likely to understate the true prevalence of child abuse and neglect across the country. </p>
<p>Its own figures, which only include notifications made to organisations like the police and non-government welfare agencies if the notifications were also referred to child protection department, support this assertion. </p>
<p>However, the lack of data in the AIHW report relating to abuse in out-of-home care also reveals a more troubling aspect of our national child protection systems.</p>
<p>The Royal Commission is the latest body to have found that children in out-of-home care have experienced abuse at the hands of people meant to protect them. <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Community_Affairs/Completed_inquiries/2004-07/inst_care/report/index">Numerous inquiries</a> have made similar findings. In 2009, the <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/our-responsibilities/families-and-children/programs-services/apology-to-the-forgotten-australians-and-former-child-migrants">prime minister apologised</a> to people abused as children in out-of-home care.</p>
<p>It’s not just historical abuse, as a <a href="https://www.childprotection.sa.gov.au/sites/g/files/net691/f/cisc-complete.pdf">series of inquiries</a> instigated since the National Apology <a href="https://www.agd.sa.gov.au/projects-and-consultations/projects-archive/child-protection-systems-royal-commission">have made clear</a>. </p>
<p>Children living in <a href="https://ccyp.vic.gov.au/assets/Publications-inquiries/as-a-good-parent-would.pdf">group home settings</a> (also known as residential care) appear to be the most vulnerable. </p>
<p>The failure of government departments and welfare agencies to report data on the abuse of children in care allows those bodies to escape scrutiny. </p>
<p>National data collection and public reporting by state and territories of their performance may seem a minor issue. But as the Royal Commission has made clear, it is only through having this information that we will be able to learn the lessons of the past, and ensure that we have measures to keep safe the children we have placed under government care and protection.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/93008/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Katherine McFarlane has received funding from Criminology Research Council to examine the criminalisation of children in out-of-home care.
She is a former Chief of Staff to the NSW Minister for Families and Community Services (2015).</span></em></p>A new report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reveals grim detail on the breadth of child abuse in Australia. But crucial national data on abuse in out-of-home care remains elusive.Katherine McFarlane, Senior Lecturer, Centre for Law & Justice, Charles Sturt UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/680512016-11-08T19:05:47Z2016-11-08T19:05:47ZAustralia failing to safeguard cultural connections for Aboriginal children in out-of-home care<p>Child protection and out-of-home care have been the subject of multiple inquiries and reviews, and 2016 has been no exception. This year there have been <a href="http://childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/">four</a> <a href="http://www.agd.sa.gov.au/child-protection-systems-royal-commission">separate</a> <a href="https://www.ag.gov.au/About/RoyalCommissions/Pages/Royal-Commission-into-the-Detention-of-Children-in-the-Northern-Territory.aspx">royal</a> <a href="http://www.rcfv.com.au/">commissions</a> into child protection and the related factors of family violence, child sexual abuse, juvenile detention and the systemic failures in these areas.</p>
<p>The Victorian Commission for Children and Young People recently released <a href="http://www.ccyp.vic.gov.au/downloads/in-the-childs-best-interests-inquiry-report.pdf">two</a> <a href="http://www.ccyp.vic.gov.au/downloads/always-was-always-will-be-koori-children-inquiry-report-oct16.pdf">reports</a> examining the failure of both government and non-government organisations to implement policies and services for Aboriginal children that will safeguard their cultural connections. </p>
<p>The inter-generational issues that have stemmed from the forced removal of Aboriginal children from their families and communities - and the resultant trauma experienced by so many - have been the focus of concerted action and advocacy by Aboriginal leaders, peak bodies, organisations and community groups since the 1970s.</p>
<p>But in these most recent reports, we see familiar concerns. These include the widespread lack of implementation of the <a href="https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/publications/enhancing-implementation-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-child/aboriginal-and">Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle</a> and the lack of cultural care planning for Aboriginal children in out-of-home care.</p>
<p>The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle (the principle) is often described and legislated as a “placement hierarchy”.</p>
<p>Under the principle, placement choices for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children who can’t remain with their parents start with family and kin networks. That is followed by non-related carers in the child’s community, and then other Aboriginal caregivers and non-relative foster carers.</p>
<p>The principle emphasises five aspects:</p>
<ul>
<li>prevention</li>
<li>partnership</li>
<li>placement</li>
<li>participation, and</li>
<li>connection. </li>
</ul>
<p>These aspects of the principle are often overlooked, or not implemented, because they are not included in legislation.</p>
<p>Nationally, the impact of the principle has crudely been measured through <a href="http://www.aihw.gov.au/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=60129554973">figures</a> from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare which assess the Aboriginality of caregivers and their relationship to a child.</p>
<p>However, the reports from the Victorian Commission, together with <a href="http://apo.org.au/files/Resource/icpp-complete-report.pdf">similar audits</a> <a href="https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/publications/enhancing-implementation-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-child">in Queensland</a>, have highlighted the reality behind the numbers. These reports show minimal practice compliance with the principle, and high levels of variability within and across jurisdictions. </p>
<p>For example, a number of children are not correctly identified as Aboriginal, which means there cannot be adherence to the principle for these children. Similarly, despite policy intent and available programs, there is minimal compliance with several practice aspects including the use of family decision making meetings and strategies to maintain cultural identity.</p>
<p>We’ve <a href="https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/publications/enhancing-implementation-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-child">examined why</a> this policy and practice disconnect exists when it comes to the safety and well being of Aboriginal children. There are several factors that act as barriers to implementation of the principle, not least of which is the increasing over-representation of Aboriginal children in child protection systems across Australia.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/144976/original/image-20161107-4698-1a37391.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/144976/original/image-20161107-4698-1a37391.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=579&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144976/original/image-20161107-4698-1a37391.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=579&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144976/original/image-20161107-4698-1a37391.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=579&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144976/original/image-20161107-4698-1a37391.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=728&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144976/original/image-20161107-4698-1a37391.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=728&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144976/original/image-20161107-4698-1a37391.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=728&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Adapted by Alwin Chong and Fiona Arney from the publication: ‘Enhancing the implementation of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle: Policy and practice considerations.’</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>If we’re going to improve conditions for Aboriginal children in child protection and out-of-home care, we must focus on breaking inter-generational cycles of trauma. We also need to make sure children feel “culturally safe”. That means they don’t face challenges to or denials of their cultural identity; of who they are and what they need.</p>
<p>We must recognise the protective properties of cultural connection, rather than viewing culture as a risk factor, and <a href="http://www.lowitja.org.au/cultural-determinants-roundtable">engage communities</a> in determining the solutions most appropriate for them.</p>
<p>In addition to the work being undertaken as part of the <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/our-responsibilities/families-and-children/publications-articles/protecting-children-is-everyones-business">National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children</a>, major national grass roots initiatives are driving this change. </p>
<p>National Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal organisations - for example, <a href="http://www.snaicc.org.au/">SNAICC</a>, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander <a href="http://healingfoundation.org.au/">Healing Foundation</a>, <a href="http://winangay.com/resources/">Winangay Resources</a>, and the <a href="http://www.unisa.edu.au/research/australian-centre-for-child-protection/">Australian Centre for Child Protection</a> - are leading the <a href="http://www.familymatters.org.au/">Family Matters</a> and <a href="http://monash.edu/research/explore/en/publications/positive-futures-indigenous-cultural-sustainability-consultation-with-the-aboriginal-community-of-the-albury-region(d97bac65-720c-4bbe-b928-14b48c04a450).html">Positive Futures</a> initiatives to find alternative approaches to support Aboriginal children, their families and communities.</p>
<p>As we come to recognise the devastating mental, physical and social impacts of trauma, grief and abuse across generations, and understand just how widespread this problem is for all children, the need to treat child abuse and neglect as a public health issue is clear.</p>
<p>This approach means better understanding the problem, its causes and impacts, and the <a href="https://theconversation.com/empowering-indigenous-communities-to-prevent-child-abuse-and-neglect-32875">strategies</a> to best <a href="http://ccde.menzies.edu.au/sites/default/files/resources/Arney%202010%20promoting%20the%20wellbeing%20of%20young%20Aboriginal%20children.pdf">prevent and respond to it</a>.</p>
<p>This approach must be supported by community determination, a strong research and evidence base, a trained and culturally competent workforce and effective interventions, including health promotion.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.pc.gov.au/research/ongoing/report-on-government-services/2016/community-services/child-protection/rogs-2016-volumef-chapter15.pdf">almost 19,000</a> Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out of home care each year need the highest quality support if we are to break these cycles of harm.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/68051/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alwin Chong is an Associate Research Professor, who works on projects for the Australian Centre for Child Protection at the University of South Australia. The Centre is funded through a combination of project grant funding from government and non-government organisations, competitive grant funding, philanthropic donations and University funds. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Fiona Arney is the Director of the Australian Centre for Child Protection at the University of South Australia. The Centre is funded through a combination of project grant funding from government and non-government organisations, competitive grant funding, philanthropic donations and University funds. </span></em></p>New reports show a widespread lack of care for the cultural needs of many of the 19,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in child protection and out-of-home care.Alwin Chong, Associate Research Professor, University of South AustraliaFiona Arney, Chair and Director, Australian Centre for Child Protection, University of South AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/601012016-05-27T05:38:31Z2016-05-27T05:38:31ZChildren with sexualised behaviours need support, not silence and stigma<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/124281/original/image-20160527-869-16o9cu9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Isolating a child from their peers does nothing to address the underlying concerns that may have lead to a child behaving in this way.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Reports of coercive sex acts among small children quite understandably provoke strong and broad ranging reactions. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/grade-one-student-sex-acts-cover-up-angers-and-shocks-parents-20160526-gp4goz.html">case</a> of a child in grade one performing sex acts on other children in a Victorian primary school point to what specialised child counsellors see as an <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-06-03/calls-for-action-to-halt-child-on-child-sex-abuse/5497196">increase</a> in the number of children with sexualised behaviours.</p>
<p><a href="https://crimecommission.gov.au/sites/default/files/problem_sexual_behaviour_in_children_complete.pdf">Sexualised behaviours</a> may include excessive self-stimulation, sexual approaches to adults, an obsessive interest in pornography and sexual overtures to other children, including, in some cases, coercive sex acts with other children.</p>
<p>But a lack of data means it is difficult to know how prevalent this is.</p>
<h2>The need for more data</h2>
<p>Many acts go unreported, as parents or schools seek to deal with these behaviours quietly. </p>
<p>Where parents or teachers do reach out for assistance, they often find it difficult to locate appropriate services. </p>
<p>Calls to police, child protection, or the education department don’t necessarily result in a referral to the specialised services designed to counsel children with sexualised behaviours. </p>
<p>Although specialised counselling services don’t collect data uniformly, longitudinal data from the services themselves clearly indicate an <a href="https://www.crimecommission.gov.au/sites/default/files/NIITF-PSB-REPORT-2010.pdf">increased demand</a> for sexualised behaviours counselling in recent years.</p>
<p>This apparent increase is something that we need to reflect quite carefully on as a society. </p>
<p>Although the tendency is to apportion blame to individuals - the child themselves, or their parents - to do so is to miss a much larger point. </p>
<p>Clinical practitioners that work closely with children report that sexualised behaviours are most often part of a complex set of challenges faced by a child. </p>
<p>Children, by virtue of their developmental immaturity, require secure attachments with adults, and nurturing supports, to ensure that they develop the capacity to make decisions progressively for themselves. </p>
<p>Where children’s attachment is disrupted, due to caregiver substance abuse, or a fractious home-life, for example, the supports that children need, and deserve, are lacking. </p>
<p>Enhancing our understanding of the challenges that children face is important. </p>
<p>Recent commissions of inquiry are directing much needed attention to questions about the extent to which exposure to <a href="http://www.rcfv.com.au/Report-Recommendations">family violence</a>, and <a href="http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Environment_and_Communications/Online_access_to_porn">exposure to online pornography</a> <a href="https://theconversation.com/silent-victims-royal-commission-recommends-better-protections-for-child-victims-of-family-violence-56801">impact adversely</a> on children during their crucial early years. </p>
<p>We know, however, that a child’s wellbeing is not just influenced by their immediate home context. The contexts of school, and community, also have the potential to act as strong supports for a child. </p>
<h2>Children shouldn’t be isolated</h2>
<p>For this reason, it is crucial that when a child comes to attention for sexualised behaviours, they are not further isolated from their immediate community. </p>
<p>The cultures of silence and denial that surround child sexualised behaviours mean that adults often lack the information that they need to respond appropriately. </p>
<p>There is a risk that parents or teachers minimise such behaviours, calling it “child’s play” or “boys being boys”. </p>
<p>By assuming that the behaviours are not harmful means that the supports that are required for all affected children are then not provided. This creates ongoing risks for all children. </p>
<p>At the same time, further harm is caused by panic-driven responses that stigmatise a child as a “perpetrator” and seek to isolate or punish the child.</p>
<h2>…or treated as criminals</h2>
<p>In Australia, children under the age of ten cannot be held criminally responsible for their actions – and for very good reason. </p>
<p>Children’s developmental capacity is such that the law deems that they are incapable of forming <a href="http://www.alrc.gov.au/publications/18-childrens-involvement-criminal-justice-processes/age-thresholds-criminal-justice-pro">criminal intention</a>, and the principle of <em>doli incapax</em> presumes that this also applies to children between the ages of ten and 14. </p>
<p>A criminal justice response is therefore inappropriate in instances where young children display coercive sexualised behaviours. There is no sense in which children can be described as “perpetrators,” and to do so causes a child further harm. </p>
<p>Instead, when a child comes to adult attention for sexualised behaviours it is important that the adult response is calm, non-stigmatising, and focused only on ensuring the wellbeing of all children involved. </p>
<p>Children subjected to the behaviours require the support of their caregivers, and child-centred trauma counselling. </p>
<h2>A sensitive response needed</h2>
<p>Importantly, children with sexualised behaviours are equally in need of a sensitive therapeutic response to provide them with the appropriate supports to adopt respectful behaviours towards others.</p>
<p>In school settings it is crucial that a sensible and sensitive safety plan is implemented that prioritises the wellbeing and integration of all children, including the child with the behaviours. </p>
<p>Practitioners have <a href="https://www.crimecommission.gov.au/sites/default/files/NIITF-PSB-REPORT-2010.pdf">reported</a> instances where children with sexualised behaviours are segregated by being forced to spend lunchtime seated outside the principal’s office. </p>
<p>Isolating a child from their peers and treating them with disrespect is not a sensible course of action if we seek to teach a child respectful behaviours. </p>
<p>A punitive measure of this kind strips a child of the social interaction that we know to be a protective factor. Punishing a child in this way does nothing to address the underlying concerns that may have lead the child to display sexualised behaviours in the first place.</p>
<p>Children require calm and coordinated responses from parents, teachers and counsellors.</p>
<p>After gently intervening to create a situation of safety, the response should be informed by <a href="http://www.dhs.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/644772/children-problem-sexual-behaviours-families-specialist-practice-resource-2012.pdf">specialist guidelines</a> and be sensitive to the individual circumstances and context.</p>
<p>Generic advice to suit all circumstances isn’t possible, given the legal and regulatory requirements in various contexts, depending on the age of children and the acts performed. </p>
<p>In contexts where clear response protocols are lacking, professionals working with children, including teachers, should be informed by <a href="http://www.dhs.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/644772/children-problem-sexual-behaviours-families-specialist-practice-resource-2012.pdf">specialist practice guidelines</a> suitable for the context. </p>
<p>Measures by schools to create secrecy around these issues fail to acknowledge the uncomfortable fact that child sexualised behaviours are a facet of contemporary life. </p>
<p>If we seek to understand why this is the case, and we wish to respond appropriately, then instead of silence and stigma we need to promote open and respectful conversations about the role that we can all play to support and nurture children while they develop the skills to negotiate the adult world.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/60101/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>In her former role, Wendy O'Brien conducted research on sexualised behaviours, and children's wellbeing, for the Australian Crime Commission.</span></em></p>The cultures of silence and denial that surround child sexualised behaviours mean that adults often lack the information they need to respond appropriately.Wendy O'Brien, Lecturer in Criminology, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/328982014-10-31T03:29:16Z2014-10-31T03:29:16ZChild protection: how to keep vulnerable kids with their families<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/63274/original/9kmngzrt-1414644577.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Social workers can successfully work with most families that find themselves in trouble without taking their children away.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-210400726/stock-photo-father-and-son-fixing-bike-in-summer-park.html?src=arvTCrurT8hEeA9Tm5z1tA-1-25">Nadezhda1906/Flickr</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>After a long period of expansion in the number of children living in out-of-home care, most modern child protection systems around the world have been labouring to prevent such placements. Instead, they’re choosing to work more closely with families to safely maintain children in their own homes. </p>
<p>There are many reasons for this shift. First, taking someone’s children away from them has to rank as one of the most drastic, costly and intrusive acts a government can carry out. This is recognised by each state’s substantial protection of family rights. </p>
<p>Second, maltreatment takes many different forms, which can occur with differing frequency and severity. This ranges from relatively minor “one-offs” to repeated, severe and escalating instances of horrific abuse. The vast majority of cases investigated by child protection services would fall somewhere in between. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, except in the most obvious cases, methods for assessing the extent and severity of child maltreatment are <a href="https://theconversation.com/risky-business-how-protection-workers-decide-to-remove-children-from-their-parents-32679">fairly limited</a>. They can require substantial forensic skills that are not present in our workforce, and even these are prone to high rates of error. </p>
<p>Third, and most importantly, while placement in foster care might benefit some children, the <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-remove-kids-from-abuse-and-neglect-but-are-they-better-off-in-the-long-run-32686">overall outcomes</a> for children placed in care tend to be uniformly poor when compared to their peers. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.chapinhall.org/sites/default/files/ChapinHallDocument_1.pdf">Research from the United States</a> shows that children transitioning from out-of-home care into adulthood have high rates of homelessness, teen pregnancy, unemployment, justice system involvement and crime victimisation, while having lower rates of educational attainment. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/63283/original/hqhc5qpp-1414646429.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/63283/original/hqhc5qpp-1414646429.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63283/original/hqhc5qpp-1414646429.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63283/original/hqhc5qpp-1414646429.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63283/original/hqhc5qpp-1414646429.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63283/original/hqhc5qpp-1414646429.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63283/original/hqhc5qpp-1414646429.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The child protection system isn’t very good at addressing individual families’ vulnerabilities.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-215551318/stock-photo-beautiful-mother-and-daughter-walking-to-school.html?src=wyj_2mTqbAQfgfrdudcAiw-1-10">Joana Lopes/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Although these outcomes cannot be attributed entirely to the foster care experience, it is probably safe to say that placing more children in out-of-home care is not a good idea.</p>
<p>That said, we’re not very good at supporting families that find themselves in trouble, particularly when their difficulties are related to conditions that are not of their own making. </p>
<p>Vulnerabilities related to poverty, social isolation, inter-generational issues around parenting skills, limited access to education, and mental and physical health issues top the list, as does the extensively documented, long-standing history of mistreatment of Aboriginal people whose children are now disproportionately placed in out-of-home care. </p>
<p>The next wicked problem for our taxpayer-funded system is how to move beyond the identification of child maltreatment to the prevention of government-funded out-of-home care. We have every reason to believe we can successfully work with most families, without taking their children away.</p>
<h2>Case model: SafeCare</h2>
<p>It’s important to note there are no magic bullets. But there are some good bets. These tend to come in the form of behaviourally focused, manualised programs that focus on specific and changeable features of child maltreatment. </p>
<p>One example from the US is <a href="https://www.childwelfare.gov/preventing/programs/types/safe_care.cfm">SafeCare</a>, an in-home parenting program for families with children aged up to five years who are involved with the child protection system for reasons of child neglect. </p>
<p>SafeCare’s 18 to 20 sessions employ a combination of training, modelling and behavioural rehearsal to help parents build the necessary skills for managing difficult child behaviour. This includes how to plan and execute daily activities, reduce hazards in the home and employ steps to prevent injury, and make appropriate health-care decisions. </p>
<p>SafeCare is one of the few programs that has been rigorously tested against normal, high-quality family services. The investigators observed significant and substantial gains in parenting skills as well as the prevention of subsequent substantiated child maltreatment reports, especially for first-time mothers. </p>
<p>A sub-group analysis of Native American families receiving the service showed similar gains up to six years after intervention – an encouraging finding for Australian Aboriginal families. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/63282/original/tsynfr8t-1414646112.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/63282/original/tsynfr8t-1414646112.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63282/original/tsynfr8t-1414646112.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63282/original/tsynfr8t-1414646112.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63282/original/tsynfr8t-1414646112.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63282/original/tsynfr8t-1414646112.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63282/original/tsynfr8t-1414646112.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Except in the most obvious cases, our methods for assessing the extent and severity of child maltreatment are fairly limited.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-195617255/stock-photo-red-headed-girl-with-red-haired-dog-eating-dog-biscuits.html?src=n1WB65E07z5x06N6K0O2_Q-6-45">S Curtis/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It also happens to be highly economical. The non-partisan <a href="http://www.wsipp.wa.gov/">Washington State Institute for Public Policy</a> uses a set of complex statistical analyses to rank the benefit-to-cost ratio of a wide range of public services. It ranks SafeCare highest among all effective child welfare services, with more than US$16 benefit for every dollar spent. </p>
<p>Although it is not clear from this publication exactly what makes SafeCare more cost-effective than the others, we can speculate. The program focus – child neglect – is expensive in the long run if not successfully resolved. SafeCare is also a structured, time-limited approach with a clear beginning and an end, so it’s not open-ended. </p>
<p>The approach also has a strong focus on supporting families through implementation of the program. </p>
<h2>Improving existing services</h2>
<p>Unfortunately, implementing new services isn’t enough; we also need to better align our child protection and family services systems. This requires breaking down existing barriers to implementing new approaches and modifying existing ones. </p>
<p>Impediments range from negative staff attitudes and limited experience with new approaches, to inflexible service models, perhaps tied to specific funding streams. There is also a lack of comprehensive, in-field support for the workforce, which is needed to build competence in the types of effective, behaviourally based strategies contained in SafeCare. </p>
<p>We need to re-create our child protection systems and infrastructure to meet the needs, circumstances and challenges of families coming through the child protection gateway. To do this, we must translate the best evidence into practice, routinely monitor outcomes and use this information to continuously improve service content and delivery. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/63285/original/s9gx3hfm-1414646662.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/63285/original/s9gx3hfm-1414646662.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=756&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63285/original/s9gx3hfm-1414646662.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=756&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63285/original/s9gx3hfm-1414646662.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=756&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63285/original/s9gx3hfm-1414646662.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=950&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63285/original/s9gx3hfm-1414646662.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=950&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63285/original/s9gx3hfm-1414646662.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=950&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Better understanding the problems will help drive evidence-based solutions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-157889258/stock-photo-boy-drawing-on-the-paper.html?src=9DI9VzUeD7Hb0cLzZeuw_A-1-7">jeep5d/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Individual states have begun to mine their vast stores of services data in an effort to understand the pathways that children and families take through the system. While still fairly limited, these data can be used to figure out what separates children who come into care from those who can safely remain with their parents. </p>
<p>Is it drug and alcohol use? Domestic violence? Harsh and coercive parenting? Insufficient economic support? Are they mostly very young children? Teenagers? </p>
<p>Gauging the extent of the problem allows us to better choose the focus and number of services needed within specific neighbourhoods or regions. It is far from easy to do this on a massive scale. </p>
<p>For now, we have to work hard while also being patient – not reaching out for the first program or idea – but investigating more fully the evidence for each problem that exists from international and Australian research studies, and how this fits within our various state and local systems. </p>
<p>This requires that we all – policymakers, practitioners, researchers, consumers and community members – come together to improve the system. We have the roadmap. We now need sustained, bipartisan support to make it happen.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This is the ninth and final part of The Conversation’s series on <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/child-protection-in-australia">Child Protection in Australia</a>. Click on the links below to read the other instalments:</em></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/infographic-a-snapshot-of-australias-child-protection-services-33090">Infographic: a snapshot of Australia’s child protection services</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/abuse-and-neglect-australias-child-protection-crisis-32664">Abuse and neglect: Australia’s child protection ‘crisis’</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/risky-business-how-protection-workers-decide-to-remove-children-from-their-parents-32679">Risky business: how protection workers decide to remove children from their parents</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/we-all-have-a-role-in-protecting-children-end-the-silence-on-abuse-31281">We all have a role in protecting children: end the silence on abuse</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/we-remove-kids-from-abuse-and-neglect-but-are-they-better-off-in-the-long-run-32686">We remove kids from abuse and neglect, but are they better off in the long run?</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/complex-trauma-how-abuse-and-neglect-can-have-life-long-effects-32329">Complex trauma: how abuse and neglect can have life-long effects</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/foster-parents-need-more-support-to-care-for-vulnerable-children-32680">Foster parents need more support to care for vulnerable children</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/empowering-indigenous-communities-to-prevent-child-abuse-and-neglect-32875">Empowering Indigenous communities to prevent child abuse and neglect</a></li>
</ul><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/32898/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Aron Shlonsky receives funding from a number of government contracts and council grants, but does not benefit financially or personally from any programs or services described in this article.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>The organisation Robyn Mildon works for receives funding from a number of government contracts and council grants, but she does not benefit financially or personally from any programs or services described in this article.</span></em></p>After a long period of expansion in the number of children living in out-of-home care, most modern child protection systems around the world have been labouring to prevent such placements. Instead, they’re…Aron Shlonsky, Professor of Evidence-Informed Practice, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, The University of MelbourneRobyn Mildon, Director , Parenting Research CentreLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/328752014-10-30T04:25:36Z2014-10-30T04:25:36ZEmpowering Indigenous communities to prevent child abuse and neglect<p>In <a href="http://www.pc.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/132358/rogs-2014-volumef-chapter15.pdf">some jurisdictions</a> of Australia, the rate of Indigenous children in foster, kinship and residential care on any one night has reached almost one in ten. This rate is almost ten times higher than non-Aboriginal children and has steadily increased over the past decade. Contrast this with rates of non-Indigenous children in out-of-home care, which <a href="http://www.aihw.gov.au/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=60129548164">have stabilised</a> in most jurisdictions. </p>
<p>For Aboriginal children and their families, <a href="https://www.ombo.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0012/3342/SR_Aboriginal-disadvantage-report.pdf">significant spending</a> on responses has yielded little, if any, benefit on the ground. This paradox is the result of long-standing mutual distrust between families and child protection services, a reliance on responses that are mobilised only after harm is suspected, and a failure to address the factors that drive abuse or neglect in Indigenous families. </p>
<h2>Mutual distrust</h2>
<p>The policies of removing children have had a profound and enduring effect on the emotional and social well-being of generations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. As <a href="http://www.unisa.edu.au/Research/Australian-Centre-for-Child-Protection/Latest/latest-container/Whats-new-at-the-Australian-Centre-for-Child-Protection/Aunty-Susie-joins-the-Centre-as-our-Inaugural-Ambassador/">Aunt Sue Blacklock</a>, Chair of Winangay Resources and the Australian Centre for Child Protection’s inaugural Ambassador for Children, explains:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>For many Aboriginal children, being removed from the family home also means loss and disconnection from their local community, from their culture and land. This sense of loss of identity and culture, dispossession and separation from local community is the same as those experienced by the Stolen Generations.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Current child protection methods marginalise the most disadvantaged and may make them scared to identify problems or ask for help. For many families, the fear and distrust of “the welfare” has significant impacts on parenting, safety for children and opportunities to receive help. </p>
<p>In recognition of this harm and suffering, Aboriginal community leaders developed the <a href="http://www.supportingcarers.snaicc.org.au/1.6.html">Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle</a> in the 1980s. The principle upholds the rights of the child’s family and community to have some control and influence over decisions about their children. It also prioritises options that should be explored when an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child is placed in care. </p>
<p>The principle has been adopted in legislation or policy in all Australian states and territories. However, <a href="http://gallery.mailchimp.com/61efdfe9e3c03ed2d6188fdb1/files/Uni_Sa_discussion_paper.pdf">recent reviews estimate</a> it has been fully applied in only 15% of child protection cases involving Aboriginal children. <a href="http://www.pdx.edu/ccf/sites/www.pdx.edu.ccf/files/Involving%20Familiesin%20DecisionMaking-4-12-10.pdf">Research has shown</a> that where families have greater involvement in decision making in child protection, there is greater trust and less adversarial relationships between families and child protection services. </p>
<h2>Delayed response</h2>
<p>A number of inquiries and policymakers have recommended earlier intervention and prevention support for Indigenous families. But there remains little assistance for Aboriginal children and families to get help before parenting problems reach crisis point. </p>
<p>In the Northern Territory (NT), around <a href="http://www.childprotectioninquiry.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/49780/CPS_Report_Volume_1.pdf">three-quarters of notifications</a> to child protection services were deemed to require support other than a child protection response. Many of these children do not receive such a response, and the concerns about their well-being may go unaddressed. Problems that could have benefited from early support worsen until they reach a threshold for statutory intervention. </p>
<p>Relying only on tertiary systems, which are designed to intervene once harm is suspected of occurring, is expensive, harmful and dehumanising for children and their families. Community members and policymakers liken this focus on responding to harm rather than preventing it as “the ambulance waiting at the bottom of the cliff”. </p>
<p>Governments have failed to implement recommendations for earlier intervention and prevention services, or have implemented them poorly by providing services that are not based on evidence of best practice. At times authorities have failed to pay attention to the workforce and training needs of staff delivering programs for families, or have ignored the needs and strengths of communities. </p>
<p>This has meant that significant investments have not yielded the anticipated results. It has also meant that children and families might never receive the programs and supports that could be of potential benefit for them.</p>
<h2>Towards innovative responses</h2>
<p>Innovation in child abuse prevention and child protection responses for Aboriginal children is growing. The evidence base to help inform what might prevent harm and reduce intergenerational trauma within Aboriginal families is also getting stronger. </p>
<p>The strategies with the most promise have been developed by and with Aboriginal organisations and individuals. They focus on: </p>
<ul>
<li>family and community responsibility for raising children</li>
<li>evidence-based approaches to early intervention and responding to child abuse and neglect</li>
<li>engaging families in service design and delivery</li>
<li>mobilising community and family resources for caring for children. </li>
</ul>
<p>Promising examples include the <a href="http://ccde.menzies.edu.au/letsstart">Let’s Start</a> program, which has been running in the Tiwi Islands (and other NT sites) for several years. This program has been well evaluated and focuses on improving parenting skills and promoting parent–child attachment for children with behavioural problems. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/sites/default/files/files/about-fahcsia/publication-articles/foi/Document%201.PDF">Family Group Conferencing</a> program has been trialled in Alice Springs. It brings together extended members of children’s families to share concerns about children, extend protective networks and link families to supports. It also makes plans for children’s protection and care. </p>
<p>For Aboriginal parents affected by poor social and emotional wellness, including mental health problems, the <a href="http://www.healthinfonet.ecu.edu.au/key-resources/programs-projects?pid=106">Family Wellbeing Program</a> has been used and evaluated in a number of settings and been shown to have positive outcomes for participants. It has a specific focus on empowerment and personal development of Indigenous people through sharing stories, discussing relationships and identifying goals for the future.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://winangay.com/resources/">Winangay Aboriginal Kinship Carer Assessment Tools</a> have been developed out of concern about the number of Aboriginal children in out-of-home care and the lack of support for many kinship carers. These assessment and support planning tools are undergoing a large-scale evaluation in Queensland.</p>
<p>These approaches represent a seismic shift in working with Aboriginal families and children – from a “power over” to a “power sharing” relationship, and hopefully to an empowering one. The approaches also include a clear focus on the professional development of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal workers to undertake this work in a culturally safe and evidence-based way. </p>
<p>There is often talk of Aboriginal communities taking “ownership” of the most challenging issues. Aboriginal communities are very capable of identifying clear, workable solutions to the problems they face in caring for their children. But they must be given the support and resources to do so and to operate within a system that focuses on preventing harm.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This is the eighth part of The Conversation’s series on <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/child-protection-in-australia">Child Protection in Australia</a>. Click on the links below to read the other instalments:</em></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/abuse-and-neglect-australias-child-protection-crisis-32664">Abuse and neglect: Australia’s child protection ‘crisis’</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/infographic-a-snapshot-of-australias-child-protection-services-33090">Infographic: a snapshot of Australia’s child protection services</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/risky-business-how-protection-workers-decide-to-remove-children-from-their-parents-32679">Risky business: how protection workers decide to remove children from their parents</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/we-all-have-a-role-in-protecting-children-end-the-silence-on-abuse-31281">We all have a role in protecting children: end the silence on abuse</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/we-remove-kids-from-abuse-and-neglect-but-are-they-better-off-in-the-long-run-32686">We remove kids from abuse and neglect, but are they better off in the long run?</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/complex-trauma-how-abuse-and-neglect-can-have-life-long-effects-32329">Complex trauma: how abuse and neglect can have life-long effects</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/foster-parents-need-more-support-to-care-for-vulnerable-children-32680">Foster parents need more support to care for vulnerable children</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/child-protection-how-to-keep-vulnerable-kids-with-their-families-32898">Child protection: how to keep vulnerable kids with their families</a></li>
</ul><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/32875/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The Australian Centre for Child Protection receives research and training funding from a range of government, non-government and philanthropic bodies to examine alternative approaches to child protection for Aboriginal children and their families. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alwin Chong does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In some jurisdictions of Australia, the rate of Indigenous children in foster, kinship and residential care on any one night has reached almost one in ten. This rate is almost ten times higher than non-Aboriginal…Fiona Arney, Chair and Director, Australian Centre for Child Protection, University of South AustraliaAlwin Chong, Director Yaitya Purruna Indigenous Health, University of AdelaideLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/326802014-10-29T03:39:46Z2014-10-29T03:39:46ZFoster parents need more support to care for vulnerable children<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/62828/original/4zdrvqkj-1414381907.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C158%2C2942%2C2232&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Foster parents often receive inadequate emotional and financial support.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-132727163/stock-photo-mother-carrying-little-boy-in-the-park.html?src=pp-recommended-118307983-4yVQuloidxhV4mkE374I6w-8">prudkov/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When children are deemed at risk of abuse or neglect and are <a href="https://theconversation.com/risky-business-how-protection-workers-decide-to-remove-children-from-their-parents-32679">removed from the family home</a>, they are placed in out-of-home care, either with foster parents, relatives or in residential facilities. The latter is the least preferred model and is often seen as a last resort. </p>
<p>As the number of children in <a href="http://www.aihw.gov.au/publication-detail/?id=60129547965">out-of-home care increases</a>, it is concerning that the number of foster care families available to support them has not followed suit. Instead, every year, 14% of foster carers <a href="http://www.berrystreet.org.au/Assets/2583/1/ProfessionalisedFosterCareSystemfullpaper.pdf">cease their caring roles</a>. </p>
<p>Those who do take on foster care roles primarily do so because they want to make a difference to children. And they acknowledge the positive rewards that result, both for themselves and their own children. </p>
<p>But they often are not adequately supported – both financially and emotionally – to care for some of Australia’s most vulnerable children.</p>
<h2>Supporting existing carers</h2>
<p>Structural and demographic changes have had negative impacts on the potential pool of foster carers. Women’s increased participation in the workforce and an ageing population create demands for other care activities, such as elderly parents. The need for women to contribute to family finances, along with the increasing complexity of children’s needs, <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740913002351">has meant</a> women are less available and less able to stay at home to care for foster children.</p>
<p>Foster carers cease fostering due to a combination of factors, including life events such as moving or divorce. But the most common reason cited across research studies is a lack of confidence and professional support in managing children’s challenging behaviours. This can put immense stress and strain upon families. </p>
<p>Many children in care have complex needs and have been affected by trauma, which requires highly skilled responses. <a href="http://www.communityservices.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/5614/Child_Centred_practice.pdf">Recent research</a> has emphasised the importance of quality parenting in the early years to promote sound brain development and secure attachment formation. Children can sustain long-term damage if they remain in situations of abuse, or suffer <a href="https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/children-in-substitute-care-some-conceptual-considerations-and-research-implications(9a165b87-fd15-465b-a405-5e9158c481e7)/export.html">continual separations</a> and change through “foster care drift”.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/62840/original/9d4kns4m-1414383435.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/62840/original/9d4kns4m-1414383435.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62840/original/9d4kns4m-1414383435.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62840/original/9d4kns4m-1414383435.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62840/original/9d4kns4m-1414383435.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62840/original/9d4kns4m-1414383435.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62840/original/9d4kns4m-1414383435.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Australian foster carers receive a relatively small payment as a partial subsidy for the expenses they incur.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/canadianveggie/11630745183">Christopher Porter/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Many young people who leave the care system experience a <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-remove-kids-from-abuse-and-neglect-but-are-they-better-off-in-the-long-run-32686">range of poor outcomes</a> and ongoing disadvantage. This includes unemployment, homelessness, mental health issues and substance abuse. We need to ensure that children in care receive quality support that meets their needs. </p>
<p>Responding effectively to children in care requires comprehensive training and improved and ongoing support to carers to provide a more therapeutic environment. From the <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2206.2010.00722.x/full">available evidence</a> foster carers say they need: emotional support from professionals and peers; access to crisis support; respite from caring; respect and acknowledgement of the role; and adequate remuneration for medical and other costs.</p>
<h2>Attracting new carers</h2>
<p>A <a href="http://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3828&context=commpapers">recent study</a> by University of Wollongong marketing researcher <a href="http://ahsri.uow.edu.au/staff/index.html#melanie_randal">Melanie Randle</a> and colleagues explored why people do not consider fostering. Surprisingly, 40% of study participants said they didn’t know anything about foster care, and 22% said no one had ever asked them to. </p>
<p>For those who said they would consider fostering in future, the factors preventing them from becoming carers related to the extent and quality of communications between the agency and the individual. This suggests the benefit of clearly communicating information, such as what is involved in fostering, the types of people eligible to become foster carers, and the level of support offered by foster care agencies. </p>
<p>The same study also indicated that people who would consider fostering in the future were younger, more likely to have children of their own and more likely to be female. Although foster carers are likely to be couples in relationships, the female in the household was more likely to consider and initiate the foster caring. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/62841/original/2ckfymj7-1414383601.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/62841/original/2ckfymj7-1414383601.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62841/original/2ckfymj7-1414383601.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62841/original/2ckfymj7-1414383601.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62841/original/2ckfymj7-1414383601.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62841/original/2ckfymj7-1414383601.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62841/original/2ckfymj7-1414383601.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Many children in care have complex needs.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/95072945@N05/12779343884">Kelly Sikkema/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The study authors argue that improved and tailored marketing strategies may attract new carers. However, attracting carers is one part of the equation: keeping the ones we have is also critical. This will require the provision of adequate ongoing support and more appropriate compensation that reflects the skills required to care children with complex needs.</p>
<h2>Time for change?</h2>
<p>Australian foster carers receive a relatively small payment as a partial subsidy for the expenses they incur in meeting the children’s needs. But in the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States, some carers are paid in recognition of the qualifications and skills required to care for children who have experienced trauma and have complex needs. </p>
<p>In Australia, the debate has so far been limited, although some carers engaged with for-profit services receive extra payments that recognise the skills and expertise required to care for traumatised, abused and neglected children. Maybe the time has come to acknowledge that the current model of foster care is no longer sustainable and to frame foster care as a professional career. </p>
<p>It may be a surprise that <a href="http://www.aihw.gov.au/publication-detail/?id=60129547965">most children are returned home</a> to their families after a period in care. Australia’s child protection system focuses on reunifying children with their birth parents, with most children and young people in care being placed in foster care or kinship placements. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/62844/original/jjgbdwxq-1414383811.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/62844/original/jjgbdwxq-1414383811.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62844/original/jjgbdwxq-1414383811.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62844/original/jjgbdwxq-1414383811.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62844/original/jjgbdwxq-1414383811.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62844/original/jjgbdwxq-1414383811.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62844/original/jjgbdwxq-1414383811.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Foster careers take on the role because they want to make a difference to children.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/57412095@N05/9041395093">A Yee/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There is also an emphasis on children in care having contact with their birth parents. The <a href="http://www.dss.gov.au/our-responsibilities/families-and-children/publications-articles/an-outline-of-national-standards-for-out-of-home-care-2011">National Standards for Out of Home Care</a> state that children need to maintain relationships with significant others, including birth parents, siblings or other family members, in order to maintain a sense of identify and sense of place in the world.</p>
<p>Clearly, the most effective method to deal with these issues in care and protection is to reduce the numbers of children in care. There is increased attention to implementing prevention and early intervention programs. These aim to better support parents in caring for children and to build supports around children to support their safety and well-being. </p>
<p>However, we must also invest in our foster carers to support those children who do enter care, to improve outcomes for those within and exiting the child protection system. </p>
<p><em>The author wishes to acknowledge Erin Barry, Communication Coordinator at Australian Catholic University’s Institute of Child Protection Studies, who helped prepare this article.</em></p>
<hr>
<p><em>This is the seventh part of The Conversation’s series on <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/child-protection-in-australia">Child Protection in Australia</a>. Click on the links below to read the other instalments:</em></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/abuse-and-neglect-australias-child-protection-crisis-32664">Abuse and neglect: Australia’s child protection ‘crisis’</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/infographic-a-snapshot-of-australias-child-protection-services-33090">Infographic: a snapshot of Australia’s child protection services</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/risky-business-how-protection-workers-decide-to-remove-children-from-their-parents-32679">Risky business: how protection workers decide to remove children from their parents</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/we-all-have-a-role-in-protecting-children-end-the-silence-on-abuse-31281">We all have a role in protecting children: end the silence on abuse</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/we-remove-kids-from-abuse-and-neglect-but-are-they-better-off-in-the-long-run-32686">We remove kids from abuse and neglect, but are they better off in the long run?</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/complex-trauma-how-abuse-and-neglect-can-have-life-long-effects-32329">Complex trauma: how abuse and neglect can have life-long effects</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/empowering-indigenous-communities-to-prevent-child-abuse-and-neglect-32875">Empowering Indigenous communities to prevent child abuse and neglect</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/child-protection-how-to-keep-vulnerable-kids-with-their-families-32898">Child protection: how to keep vulnerable kids with their families</a></li>
</ul><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/32680/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Morag McArthur receives funding from the ACT and Commonwealth government for research projects as well as funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p>When children are deemed at risk of abuse or neglect and are removed from the family home, they are placed in out-of-home care, either with foster parents, relatives or in residential facilities. The latter…Morag McArthur, Professor, Institute of Child Protection Studies, Australian Catholic UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/323292014-10-27T19:07:53Z2014-10-27T19:07:53ZComplex trauma: how abuse and neglect can have life-long effects<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/62708/original/pb35667h-1414129078.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">People with complex trauma appear like they are always anticipating or responding to a threat.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-167847770/stock-photo-man-in-depression.html?src=JkhDpHLNKoIE2FCbcQFYEw-1-46">file404/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Experiencing trauma has significant implications for mental health. We’ve known this for some time but particularly since the early 1970s after observing and studying the effects of war on American servicemen in Vietnam. More recently, research <a href="http://www.traumacenter.org/announcements/Developmental%20TraumaD_papers_Oct_09.pdf">has shown</a> that experiencing trauma early in childhood has a significant impact on the development of the brain and the way it works. </p>
<p>Trauma early in childhood can result from a range of things such as living in domestically violent situations, or being raised in situations where the parent’s needs – such as drug use or alcohol abuse – influence their ability to provide for their child’s needs. </p>
<p>Complex trauma may come in the form of neglect. Not responding to a baby or not having the skills to do so, for instance, means the baby’s developmental needs may not be met. </p>
<p>Complex trauma can also come in the form of abuse. An example is when a baby who cries to convey its needs or distress is physically assaulted, instead of given food or comfort. This can result in more crying and a cycle of crying and abuse may follow. </p>
<p>The repeated experience of trauma early in development has been termed <a href="http://www.traumacenter.org/products/pdf_files/preprint_dev_trauma_disorder.pdf">complex trauma</a>. </p>
<p>People react to threat or danger with a system comprised of biological, cognitive and behavioural responses. The biological responses involve a cascade of interdependent neurochemical changes in different parts of the brain and body. These, in turn, influence thinking and behaviour. </p>
<p>Normally, following the perception of threat or danger, the body’s neurochemistry returns back to normal. In <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/ptsd">post-traumatic stress disorder</a> (PTSD), the neurochemical responses outlive the original threat and inhibit the system’s ability to return to normal. </p>
<p>In people with complex trauma, <a href="http://www.lfcc.on.ca/mccain/perry.pdf">research suggests</a> that repeated exposure to traumatic events early in development not only inhibits the neural system’s ability to return to normal but changes the system to appear like one that is always anticipating or responding to trauma. </p>
<p>For this reason, people who have experienced complex trauma may display symptoms including poor concentration, poor attention and poor decision-making and judgement. They may also appear highly reactive and respond to threat even if it is not present. Their behaviour may be aggressive in response, or they may take flight or simply freeze.</p>
<p>In this way, complex trauma translates into a range of social, emotional, behavioural and interpersonal difficulties that can be life-long. The associated personal, social and economic costs are high. </p>
<p>Despite increased awareness in the area, complex trauma cannot be formally diagnosed. It is not a diagnostic category in the recently revised <a href="http://www.psychiatry.org/practice/dsm">Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders</a> (DSM-5). There are no clear estimates of its prevalence in the community.</p>
<p>When someone who has experienced this sort of trauma tries to find help, or when they get into trouble of some sort and are required to get help as a result, the effectiveness of treatment is likely to have a lot to do with the way psychologists or psychiatrists assess the person. </p>
<p>If someone presents to a mental health setting for help and is accurately diagnosed as having <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/adhd">attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder</a> (ADHD), the treatment options are pretty clear. </p>
<p>But if that person has experienced complex trauma and the assessment does not recognise this, then simply treating for ADHD may well not be effective. The person’s ability to comply with treatment or medication may be limited, and other important characteristics such as associated developmental and mental health concerns may be present but overlooked. </p>
<p>Assessing people who seek support must involve global assessment of their development, history and functioning across different situations. </p>
<p>It is not surprising that children who have experienced complex trauma often grow up in families that have difficulties. These may be families that are emotionally volatile because they’re struggling with poverty, or where parents have substance use or mental health concerns. Or mum and dad may be <a href="http://books.google.com.au/books/about/Treating_Traumatic_Stress_in_Children_an.html?id=Fs6hDqAcgvQC">poorly equipped</a> to parent as a result of their own experiences as children. </p>
<p>These things contribute to the likelihood that the family will break down and the youngsters will find themselves in an alternative home environment. This may be with other members of their family, such as grandparents, uncles or aunts. But it may also mean that the youngsters are placed in out-of-home care that does not involve their family: either a foster care or residential care arrangement. </p>
<p>When a child or young person’s behaviour is particularly difficult to deal with, as it often is when young people have experienced complex trauma, multiple placements in foster care and residential care can follow, breaking down in quick succession. </p>
<p>If you believe a child you know is being maltreated, either neglected or abused, it is important that you contact the child protection authorities in your state. It is likely that you will be asked to make a report about the child. This can be done anonymously.</p>
<p>If you believe that a child is in immediate danger for whatever reason, call the police immediately. </p>
<p>A significant amount of effort has gone into designing effective models of care that can respond to the effects of early trauma. <a href="http://www.berrystreet.org.au/Assets/606/1/TakeTwo_Evaluation_Report_3.pdf">Evidence suggests</a> that, for children and young people who have experienced complex trauma, effective treatment does not occur in isolation from day-to-day living. It <a href="http://childtrauma.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/DobsonPerry_GilBook_2010.pdf">appears</a> that the day-to-day experiences that children and young people who have experienced complex trauma have with other people contribute significantly to their repair, recovery and ongoing development.</p>
<p>It is clear that the best time to do something about a problem is before it begins. Effective prevention programs have been developed and provided to parents who are known to be at increased risk of not being able to provide the best care for their children. Commonly, these programs teach parents skills in parenting, as well as skills in managing their own emotions and in providing a safe home environment. </p>
<p>If they are to be effective, <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19160053">programs</a> that teach parents skills to better parent their children and provide their children with a good start in life need to be considered from a public health perspective. We’ve acted on other public health warnings such as nutrition, exercise, wearing seatbelts and smoking tobacco. We now need a public health agenda to prevent complex trauma. </p>
<hr>
<p><em>This is the sixth part of The Conversation’s series on <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/child-protection-in-australia">Child Protection in Australia</a>. Click on the links below to read the other instalments:</em></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/abuse-and-neglect-australias-child-protection-crisis-32664">Abuse and neglect: Australia’s child protection ‘crisis’</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/infographic-a-snapshot-of-australias-child-protection-services-33090">Infographic: a snapshot of Australia’s child protection services</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/risky-business-how-protection-workers-decide-to-remove-children-from-their-parents-32679">Risky business: how protection workers decide to remove children from their parents</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/we-all-have-a-role-in-protecting-children-end-the-silence-on-abuse-31281">We all have a role in protecting children: end the silence on abuse</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/we-remove-kids-from-abuse-and-neglect-but-are-they-better-off-in-the-long-run-32686">We remove kids from abuse and neglect, but are they better off in the long run?</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/foster-parents-need-more-support-to-care-for-vulnerable-children-32680">Foster parents need more support to care for vulnerable children</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/empowering-indigenous-communities-to-prevent-child-abuse-and-neglect-32875">Empowering Indigenous communities to prevent child abuse and neglect</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/child-protection-how-to-keep-vulnerable-kids-with-their-families-32898">Child protection: how to keep vulnerable kids with their families</a></li>
</ul><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/32329/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John McAloon does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Experiencing trauma has significant implications for mental health. We’ve known this for some time but particularly since the early 1970s after observing and studying the effects of war on American servicemen…John McAloon, Senior Lecturer, Graduate School of Health, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/326862014-10-26T19:09:36Z2014-10-26T19:09:36ZWe remove kids from abuse and neglect, but are they better off in the long run?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/62691/original/dxw79ch5-1414114448.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">People who have been in care are more likely to have children at an early age and are at greater risk of having their own child taken into care.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-12774499/stock-photo-young-mother-looking-out-from-the-window-with-her-baby.html?src=3IxeUPi_U5aXPfrULQ-E6A-2-48">Mika Heittola/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Most people reasonably assume there is evidence of good long-term outcomes for children who come into contact with child protection systems. Why else would we intervene in the lives of children and their families, and spend many billions of dollars, if not to ensure children are better off when we assist them?</p>
<p>Unfortunately, we don’t know. </p>
<p>Not all children who have contact with the child protection system end up in short- or long-term care. In 2013, there were 135,000 children <a href="http://www.aihw.gov.au/publication-detail/?id=60129547965">receiving some form</a> of child protection service in Australia. 50,000 of these were “in care”. Let’s focus on the latter group. </p>
<p>Not only do we need to understand the long-term outcomes for these children, we need to know how their families and communities fare. Indigenous children, for instance, do not live in isolation – their outcomes are intrinsically related to the outcomes for their families and communities. </p>
<p>There are no better examples of this link than the evidence seared into our national consciousness from various Australian Senate reports: </p>
<ul>
<li>the appalling outcomes for children, parents, families and communities of the <a href="https://www.humanrights.gov.au/sites/default/files/content/pdf/social_justice/bringing_them_home_report.pdf">removal of Aboriginal children</a> (the Stolen Generation);</li>
<li>the generally abysmal outcomes for the 500,000 children who were <a href="http://www.aph.gov.au/%7E/media/wopapub/senate/committee/clac_ctte/completed_inquiries/2004_07/inst_care/report/report_pdf.ashx">placed in care</a> in Australia (Forgotten Australians);</li>
<li>the plight of so many <a href="http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Community_Affairs/Completed_inquiries/1999-02/child_migrat/report/index">child migrants</a> who came alone to our shores;</li>
<li>the outcomes of the historic <a href="http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Community_Affairs/Completed_inquiries/2010-13/commcontribformerforcedadoption/report/index">forced adoption</a> of children; and</li>
<li>the emerging findings of the current Royal Commission about the traumatic experiences of so many children placed in care.</li>
</ul>
<p>The problems identified in these reports testify to terrible outcomes of what were, by all accounts, well-intentioned policies aimed at protecting children. These reports amplify the calls for reforms by care leavers, families, communities and care providers and inform what Griffith University Professor of Social Work C<a href="http://www98.griffith.edu.au/dspace/bitstream/handle/10072/22434/52246_1.pdf?sequence=1">laire Tilbury</a> calls “the global search for improving outcomes” for children in care. </p>
<p>Australia is active in establishing high-quality <a href="http://www.dss.gov.au/our-responsibilities/families-and-children/publications-articles/protecting-children-is-everyones-business">standards and practices</a> for children who are not able to be cared for in their birth families. Despite the attention to this important issue, and volumes of work attesting to the importance of measuring performance and outcomes of children in care, problems remain obvious. A recent Uniting Care <a href="http://www.acwa.asn.au/downloads/UnitingCare_CYPF_position_paper_a_strong_future_for_young_people_leaving_OOHC.pdf">report</a> states: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Young people leaving care or who have left care are over-represented in the statistics on homelessness, early school leaving and contact with the criminal justice system. They are also more likely to have children at an early age and are at greater risk of having their own child taken into care.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>A <a href="https://www3.aifs.gov.au/cfca/sites/default/files/publication-documents/rb3.pdf">2007 review</a> of the studies on outcomes for children and young people in care across <a href="https://theconversation.com/infographic-a-snapshot-of-australias-child-protection-services-33090">Australian jurisdictions</a> show children in care are more likely to have “negative outcomes” compared with children not in care. These reports echo international observations and are represented in the United Kingdom’s <a href="http://www.nspcc.org.uk/Inform/resourcesforprofessionals/lookedafterchildren/introduction_wda88884.html">Looking after Children Project</a> report:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Generally children in care continue to have poorer outcomes than the wider population – particularly in relation to educational achievement, homelessness and mental health.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Children in care have already experienced disadvantages and traumas that leave them vulnerable. Removal from parents and families is often traumatic. Unarguably, some report <a href="http://www.barnardos.org.au/media/49947/13_fernandez_faf_longitudinal_study_09.pdf">doing well</a> in care. Others report a <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2206.2006.00430.x/abstract">litany of problems</a> that serve only to increase their original vulnerability. </p>
<p>There’s no doubt we need to develop evidence-based policies and practices to reduce the number of children brought into care and provide the best outcomes for children who are in care. So why do we have such limited evidence of children’s long-term outcomes in care?</p>
<p>Undoubtedly there are many reasons. It may be because, as a community, we accept we have an obligation to rescue children who have been harmed or are at risk of harm and we don’t need evidence to justify this other than the guarantee of immediate safety. In other words, immediate safety is the primary outcome measure. </p>
<p>Additionally, the call for evidence of outcomes in relation to a lot of community service interventions is quite recent. </p>
<p>Finally, research in these areas has not been a priority. It is costly and difficult and <a href="http://www.community.nsw.gov.au/docswr/_assets/main/documents/oohc_methodology.pdf">longitudinal studies</a> that take a look at longer-term outcomes are notoriously tough to justify, plan and conduct. </p>
<p>Internationally there are many examples of research focused on outcomes for <a href="http://www.bettercarenetwork.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=31227&flag=report">children in care</a> that demonstrate care can increase their original vulnerability. </p>
<p>Australia is at the forefront of research focused on children in care and the outcomes of that care. A large and exciting longitudinal study on children in care has been underway since 2011 in New South Wales; its <a href="http://www.aifs.gov.au/institute/pubs/fm2014/fm94/fm94.pdf">first report</a> is imminent. And there is an <a href="http://www.aifs.gov.au/beyond18">innovative five-year research project</a> underway in Victoria on young people’s outcomes after they leave care. </p>
<p>These represent vitally important and timely projects, and incorporate what are called “multiple data sources”: they include information from children, young people, their families and other carers. It’s imperative that we listen to the voices of all of those who have experienced state care.</p>
<p>Additionally, other organisations such as <a href="http://www.create.org.au/create-report-card-2013">CREATE</a>, which is dedicated to supporting the highest standards for children in care, continue to be active in monitoring quality and outcomes. </p>
<p>While we know a lot in this area, we don’t have sufficient evidence to show that children who are abused or neglected and their families are better off when we intervene to protect them. But watch this space. </p>
<hr>
<p><em>This is the fifth part of The Conversation’s series on <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/child-protection-in-australia">Child Protection in Australia</a>. Click on the links below to read the other instalments:</em></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/abuse-and-neglect-australias-child-protection-crisis-32664">Abuse and neglect: Australia’s child protection ‘crisis’</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/infographic-a-snapshot-of-australias-child-protection-services-33090">Infographic: a snapshot of Australia’s child protection services</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/risky-business-how-protection-workers-decide-to-remove-children-from-their-parents-32679">Risky business: how protection workers decide to remove children from their parents</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/we-remove-kids-from-abuse-and-neglect-but-are-they-better-off-in-the-long-run-32686">We remove kids from abuse and neglect, but are they better off in the long run?</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/complex-trauma-how-abuse-and-neglect-can-have-life-long-effects-32329">Complex trauma: how abuse and neglect can have life-long effects</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/foster-parents-need-more-support-to-care-for-vulnerable-children-32680">Foster parents need more support to care for vulnerable children</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/empowering-indigenous-communities-to-prevent-child-abuse-and-neglect-32875">Empowering Indigenous communities to prevent child abuse and neglect</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/child-protection-how-to-keep-vulnerable-kids-with-their-families-32898">Child protection: how to keep vulnerable kids with their families</a></li>
</ul><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/32686/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Maria Harries does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Most people reasonably assume there is evidence of good long-term outcomes for children who come into contact with child protection systems. Why else would we intervene in the lives of children and their…Maria Harries, Senior Honorary Research Fellow, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/312812014-10-23T19:16:32Z2014-10-23T19:16:32ZWe all have a role in protecting children: end the silence on abuse<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/60234/original/vkmsxbrw-1411955808.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Child protection is everyone's responsibility</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The recent string of major child sexual assault scandals, in Australia and other countries, can create a feeling of disgust and an urge to look away from an ugly reality. Yet we must confront and take collective responsibility for child protection by acknowledging that it happens every day and that we have to talk about it. Societal silence on child sexual abuse protects perpetrators and enables abuse to continue. </p>
<p>Child sexual assault is a lot more common than we may think. The <a href="http://www.aifs.gov.au/cfca/pubs/factsheets/a144254/index.html">Australian Institute of Family Studies reported in 2013</a> that as many as one in six boys and one in three girls has experienced sexual abuse.</p>
<p>Most recently, the media reported sexual exploitation on a mass scale of an estimated <a href="https://theconversation.com/complicity-and-conspiracy-in-rotherham-should-teach-us-how-to-handle-future-cases-30979">1,400 children in Rotherdam</a>, UK, between 1997 and 2013, and the failure of social services and the police to intervene appropriately. The <a href="http://www.rotherham.gov.uk/downloads/file/1407/independent_inquiry_cse_in_rotherham">Rotherdam report</a> is full of examples of how children were groomed for eventual abuse in public view, receiving inappropriate gifts and attention from men.</p>
<h2>Web of deceit depends on secrecy</h2>
<p>Research shows offenders typically plan their sexual abuse of children with care. They may <a href="http://www.casac.org.au/site%20docs/Grooming.pdf">“groom”</a> children by offering presents and compliments. The offender often establishes a trusting relationship with the family and friends of the child, tricking and manipulating them to reduce the likelihood of them discovering the abuse.</p>
<p>The result of this web of deceit is to divide and isolate the child from siblings, friends and especially non-offending parents. In this way abusers protect themselves, ensure ongoing access to the child and secure power over the child and others in the child’s life. </p>
<p>Secrecy is fundamental to the success of these grooming techniques and has powerful effects on the child. Because the rule against breaking the silence is reinforced in families as well as socially and culturally, children and adult survivors often report that they feel guilt, shame and fear when telling their stories. Self-blame, fear of retribution, a sense of powerlessness, mistrust of self and others, over-responsibility and protection of others are common effects of being trained to be silent and sexually available. </p>
<p>Once the societal silence is broken, we must change the language we use, which currently promotes secrecy and shaming. The language and concepts that come to mind around child sexual abuse are not helpful. There is an assumption that the victimiser is a sick weirdo and the victim is damaged goods. </p>
<p>But because it is so common, we regularly interact with both perpetrators and victims of child sexual abuse in our daily lives. Indeed, they may be people we like and admire. </p>
<p>The frequency of this problem suggests that sexual offenders are not all paedophiles, evil or “sick” but ordinary family members and friends. It also tells us that many victims of sexual abuse manage to deal with the effects of abuse, live productive lives and contribute to the well-being of our communities.</p>
<h2>Antidote is casting light in dark places</h2>
<p>Fortunately, it does not necessarily take much to stop child sexual abuse. Because this type of exploitation thrives on silence and secrecy, the antidote is bringing the issue to light.</p>
<p>We need to create an atmosphere that encourages people to question confusing or uncertain behaviours and practices in order to take action before children are harmed. This means being willing to take the risk of potentially looking paranoid when questioning an adult’s behaviour toward a child. </p>
<p>We also need to reexamine our policy approach to child sexual abuse. The current dominant model prioritises individualised, one-on-one counselling services. Other responses to people who have experienced childhood sexual abuse, such as community development, preventative approaches and collective social action, are restricted to the margins of practice. </p>
<p>Some services, such as the <a href="http://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=197665226911140;res=IELHEA">West Street Centre</a>, a government-funded, community-based organisation in Wollongong, New South Wales, offer an alternative. The centre links individual talk-based therapy and group work to collaborative and community efforts to tackle issues of abuse and violence. Survivors of child sexual abuse join with others to challenge secrecy and speak up about their experience. Listening by other community members is emphasised. </p>
<p>In this way, survivors of sexual abuse begin to pioneer a new way for their families and communities. When children hear adults talking openly about sexual abuse, they learn from example and follow.</p>
<p>Child protection cannot be a job that is relegated to an authority, be it the police, social services, or a school. Child protection is everyone’s responsibility. </p>
<p>Children will be protected when everyday citizens take personal responsibility for child protection. This will start when people are willing to have hard conversations, change the assumptions about child sexual abuse victims and perpetrators, and have the courage to act when they have concerns about the children in their communities. We all need to look at this issue, not look away.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This is the fourth part of The Conversation’s series on <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/child-protection-in-australia">Child Protection in Australia</a>. Click on the links below to read the other instalments:</em></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/abuse-and-neglect-australias-child-protection-crisis-32664">Abuse and neglect: Australia’s child protection ‘crisis’</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/infographic-a-snapshot-of-australias-child-protection-services-33090">Infographic: a snapshot of Australia’s child protection services</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/risky-business-how-protection-workers-decide-to-remove-children-from-their-parents-32679">Risky business: how protection workers decide to remove children from their parents</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/we-remove-kids-from-abuse-and-neglect-but-are-they-better-off-in-the-long-run-32686">We remove kids from abuse and neglect, but are they better off in the long run?</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/complex-trauma-how-abuse-and-neglect-can-have-life-long-effects-32329">Complex trauma: how abuse and neglect can have life-long effects</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/foster-parents-need-more-support-to-care-for-vulnerable-children-32680">Foster parents need more support to care for vulnerable children</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/empowering-indigenous-communities-to-prevent-child-abuse-and-neglect-32875">Empowering Indigenous communities to prevent child abuse and neglect</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/child-protection-how-to-keep-vulnerable-kids-with-their-families-32898">Child protection: how to keep vulnerable kids with their families</a></li>
</ul><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/31281/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lynne Keevers based this piece on research funded by Australian Research Council Industry Linkage Grant KLP 0562569.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amy Conley Wright does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The recent string of major child sexual assault scandals, in Australia and other countries, can create a feeling of disgust and an urge to look away from an ugly reality. Yet we must confront and take…Amy Conley Wright, Senior Lecturer in Social Work & Member of Early Start Research Institute, University of WollongongLynne Keevers, Senior Lecturer in Social Work, University of WollongongLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/326642014-10-22T19:20:20Z2014-10-22T19:20:20ZAbuse and neglect: Australia’s child protection ‘crisis’<p>The tragic death of four-year old Chloe Valentine in South Australia has raised concerns that the state’s child protection system is in crisis. Following a history of abuse and neglect, Chloe’s mother and her partner repeatedly put Chloe on a 50-kilogram motorbike and filmed her crashing into objects. She later died of her injuries. </p>
<p>During the first two weeks of evidence in the <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-09-30/chloe-valentine-inquest-told-families-sa-short-resources/5778180">inquest into her death</a>, we heard Chloe was the subject of more than 20 notifications to child protection. It also identified that resources constrained SA Child Protection Services’ capacity to investigate allegations during that period. One witness <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-09-30/chloe-valentine-inquest-told-families-sa-short-resources/5778180">estimated</a> under-resourcing meant he “ordered no action on up to 30 similar notifications per week”. </p>
<p>The issue of resourcing constraints is by no means unique to South Australia. In 2013, a Victorian whistleblower <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-06-22/child-protection-staff-not-coping-with-workload-batty-death/5541774">argued</a> that increased awareness of the risks of domestic violence to children had seen reports from police and courts increase from approximately ten per week to 15 per day. The experienced practitioner reportedly said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Whilst it’s a good thing that the community and other services are reporting more to us, we just don’t have the capacity to respond to the demand and we’re not coping.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In New South Wales, the Ombudsman <a href="http://www.ombo.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/15691/Review-of-the-NSW-child-protection-system-Are-things-improving-SRP-April-2014.pdf">reported</a> that child protection officers were conducting face-to-face assessments for only 28% of reports where a child was alleged to be “at risk of significant harm”. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.pc.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/132358/rogs-2014-volumef-chapter15.pdf">Nationally</a>, only 36% of investigations were completed within 30 days and a further 26% were still not completed after 90 days. </p>
<p>How did this situation arise? Are Australian child protection services being starved of vital resources? Or is the incidence of child maltreatment increasing at an alarming rate? </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/62432/original/my6c9d77-1413937151.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/62432/original/my6c9d77-1413937151.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62432/original/my6c9d77-1413937151.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62432/original/my6c9d77-1413937151.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62432/original/my6c9d77-1413937151.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=598&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62432/original/my6c9d77-1413937151.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=598&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62432/original/my6c9d77-1413937151.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=598&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The remit of child protection now includes physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, neglect and exposure to domestic violence.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-217436452/stock-photo-young-girl-walking-dragging-fingers-along-chain-link-fence-during-sunset-or-sunrise.html?src=m-JjLIW3OIbRTIGUc3WWlA-1-100">Damon Shaff/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The rise in demand for child protection services can be traced, at least in part, to a global shift in the breadth and scope of what constitutes child abuse and neglect. </p>
<p>Modern child protection services originated in the 1960s in response to Henry Kempe and colleagues’ seminal paper <a href="http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=4&ved=0CDgQFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kempe.org%2Fdownload%2FThe_Battered_Child_Syndrome_sm.pdf&ei=oFU8VKb_J4j58AWmgYLwBg&usg=AFQjCNH7152Fip2vH_4oATpUKdV87klW3w&bvm=bv.77161500,d.dGc">The Battered-Child Syndrome</a>. Child protection services were established to respond to serious physical abuse, such as multiple fractures and bleeding on the brain. </p>
<p>The problem was considered to be small in scope and the established response was one of detection by professional reporters, investigation and child removal.</p>
<p>A combination of advances in research, changes in social values, and breaking of taboos has resulted in an expansion over time in the types of maltreatment acknowledged and a decrease in the threshold for what constitutes abuse or neglect. </p>
<p>The remit of child protection now includes physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, neglect and exposure to domestic violence. The threshold for what constitutes maltreatment includes outcomes such as bruising, developmental delay and psychological harm.</p>
<p>This broadening of the scope of child protection services has been gradual, and occurred without a fundamental reappraisal of the assumptions on which child protection services were established. </p>
<p>The failure to fundamentally rethink the approach to child protection would be analogous to the health sector having continued to rely on intrusive and expensive hospital treatment as its primary response to smoking – despite the accumulating discoveries of smoking-related diseases. </p>
<p>The result: a system ill-designed to respond to the nature and scope of the contemporary problem of child maltreatment. </p>
<p>In 2012–13, there were 272,980 <a href="http://www.aihw.gov.au/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=60129548164">notifications</a> to Australian child protection services – more than six times the number of <a href="http://www.aifs.gov.au/institute/pubs/fpl/fpl13.html">notifications recorded</a> in 1989-90 when national data collection commenced. </p>
<p>The most commonly verified types of maltreatment are emotional abuse (largely attributable to exposure to domestic violence) and neglect, which <a href="http://www.aihw.gov.au/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=60129548164">combined comprise</a> 66% of all substantiations. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/62431/original/8b6hc556-1413936892.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/62431/original/8b6hc556-1413936892.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62431/original/8b6hc556-1413936892.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62431/original/8b6hc556-1413936892.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62431/original/8b6hc556-1413936892.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62431/original/8b6hc556-1413936892.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62431/original/8b6hc556-1413936892.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Governments need to focus on preventing abuse and neglect rather than just responding to it.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-168498266/stock-photo-lonely-boy.html?src=pp-photo-204635131-2TKdOecDiJ67xaWgKSq9hg-7">Twin Design/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Has the incidence of child maltreatment increased at a rate so rapid that child protection services cannot keep up? The truth is we don’t know. Australia, unlike the United States and the United Kingdom, has not conducted a national community-based child maltreatment prevalence or incidence study. </p>
<p>The absence of such a study represents a critical evidence gap. Without it we have no reliable way of evaluating the extent to which maltreatment reported to authorities reflect the actual incidence of the problem nor can we evaluate the effectiveness of policy and practice reforms in reducing child maltreatment. </p>
<p>Are child protection services under-resourced to respond to the growing population of children in need of protection? This is the wrong question. We should instead be asking whether we are making the best possible investment to protect our nation’s most vulnerable children, now and into the future.</p>
<p>Statutory child protection services are the remit of one department within state and territory governments. However, the mandate of these services is to respond to a problem only after it has occurred. </p>
<p>Australian governments need to embrace the lessons learnt in the reduction and treatment of preventable disease. The protection of children requires substantial new investment in prevention. The strategies for prevention need to be broad and integrated, and must include: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>Strategies to reduce the major causes of maltreatment, particularly domestic violence and substance misuse </p></li>
<li><p>Population-based programs that increase parenting capacity and reduce family isolation </p></li>
<li><p>Targeted programs to provide intensive support to families with complex problems before they escalate and children require child protection intervention. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>Critical to the success of any prevention efforts is the need to draw on international evidence and to ensure that any new investments are based on those interventions that have already proven to be successful. </p>
<p>Australian child protection services are in crisis and struggling to cope with unsustainable demand. However, the solution to reducing demand lies outside of these embattled agencies. If we fail to fundamentally rethink our approach to protecting children, it is the child victims of abuse and neglect who will ultimately pay the price. </p>
<hr>
<p><em>This is the first part of The Conversation’s series on <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/child-protection-in-australia">Child Protection in Australia</a>. Click on the links below to read the other instalments:</em> </p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/abuse-and-neglect-australias-child-protection-crisis-32664">Abuse and neglect: Australia’s child protection ‘crisis’</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/infographic-a-snapshot-of-australias-child-protection-services-33090">Infographic: a snapshot of Australia’s child protection services</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/risky-business-how-protection-workers-decide-to-remove-children-from-their-parents-32679">Risky business: how protection workers decide to remove children from their parents</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/we-all-have-a-role-in-protecting-children-end-the-silence-on-abuse-31281">We all have a role in protecting children: end the silence on abuse</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/we-remove-kids-from-abuse-and-neglect-but-are-they-better-off-in-the-long-run-32686">We remove kids from abuse and neglect, but are they better off in the long run?</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/complex-trauma-how-abuse-and-neglect-can-have-life-long-effects-32329">Complex trauma: how abuse and neglect can have life-long effects</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/foster-parents-need-more-support-to-care-for-vulnerable-children-32680">Foster parents need more support to care for vulnerable children</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/empowering-indigenous-communities-to-prevent-child-abuse-and-neglect-32875">Empowering Indigenous communities to prevent child abuse and neglect</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/child-protection-how-to-keep-vulnerable-kids-with-their-families-32898">Child protection: how to keep vulnerable kids with their families</a></li>
</ul><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/32664/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Associate Professor Leah Bromfield is an employee of the Australian Centre for Child Protection, University of South Australia. The Centre’s research is funded by state, territory and Commonwealth Governments, non-government agencies, philanthropy and the Australian Research Council. A/Prof Bromfield is currently seconded part-time to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. The ideas put forward in this article are expanded upon in the paper Contemporary issues in child protection intake, referral and family support (Bromfield, Arney & Higgins, 2014). </span></em></p>The tragic death of four-year old Chloe Valentine in South Australia has raised concerns that the state’s child protection system is in crisis. Following a history of abuse and neglect, Chloe’s mother…Leah Bromfield, Associate Professor and Deputy Director, Australian Centre Child Protection, University of South AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/326792014-10-22T19:20:14Z2014-10-22T19:20:14ZRisky business: how protection workers decide to remove children from their parents<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/62481/original/sqs8253x-1413954415.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Decisions are difficult and prone to error when risk and protective factors appear to be fairly equal.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-134553326/stock-photo-sad-boy.html?src=oDlXvMGzlxpQeBwcRZ-m0A-2-37">atikinka/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Imagine you’re a child protection worker who has received a notification from a teacher voicing concerns about a child in her class. The case involves a five-year-old boy named Toby. </p>
<p>Toby’s mum has had a long history of alcohol abuse but has managed this well for the past few years. But she has recently been seen in an intoxicated state when collecting Toby from school. Toby has had a great first year at school but has failed to attend school several days each week over the past month. </p>
<p>The starting point for child protection workers to respond to a report of suspected maltreatment is to estimate an overall level of risk. Many jurisdictions across the world use computerised <a href="http://nccdglobal.org/assessment/sdm-structured-decision-making-systems/child-welfare">structured decision-making tools</a> that estimate risk based on the presence or absence of specific <a href="https://www.childwelfare.gov/can/factors/contribute.cfm">risk factors</a> and <a href="https://www.childwelfare.gov/can/factors/protective.cfm">protective factors</a>. </p>
<p>Decision-making is most straightforward when risk factors clearly outweigh protective factors or vice versa. One such example may be a case where a child shows signs of neglect, rarely attends school and lives with substance-misusing parents who are in a domestically violent relationship. </p>
<p>Decisions are much more difficult and prone to error when risk and protective factors appear to be fairly equal: a child lives with a mother who has a significant history of substance abuse who is believed to have relapsed, but is attending school regularly and achieving well. </p>
<p>Importantly, decisions about child protection do not only depend on the presence or absence of risk and protective factors. It seems to matter which state or territory the family is living in, and whether the child is Indigenous. In 2012-13, <a href="http://www.aihw.gov.au/publication-detail/?id=60129547965">135,000 children</a> were involved with the child protection system, as either the subject of investigation, having a current care or protection order, and/or living in out-of-home care. </p>
<p>Victoria and Western Australia had the lowest rates of children on care and protections orders (8.6 and 8.7 per 1000 children respectively). Northern Territory and Tasmania had the highest (17.6 and 13 per 1000 children respectively). </p>
<p>The figures were similar for children living in out-of-home care: Victoria and Western Australia had the equal-lowest and Northern Territory had the highest (7.5 and 16.4 per 1000 children respectively). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were <a href="http://www.aihw.gov.au/publication-detail/?id=60129547965">eight times</a> more likely to be involved with child protection services.</p>
<p>What we don’t know is whether jurisdictions that have lower rates of children being removed from their families are failing to identify children who are at risk of harm (known as false negative errors) or whether jurisdictions that have higher rates are incorrectly identifying children to be at risk when they aren’t (false positive errors). Or it might be that the figures reflect real differences in child protection concerns. </p>
<p>What we do know is that the threshold for determining that a child is at risk is related to a range of state-based factors such as the legal definition of “harm” and procedures for assessing risk. Where it is relatively difficult to argue a child is at risk of “harm”, false negatives will be more likely. And if procedures such as structured decision-making tools are risk-aversive, as suggested in the recent <a href="http://www.childprotectioninquiry.qld.gov.au">inquiry into the Queensland Child Protection system</a>, false positives will be more likely.</p>
<p>So, what can be done to ensure the right decision is made for Toby, irrespective of his ethnicity or where he lives?</p>
<p>Errors can be reduced by <a href="http://global.oup.com/academic/product/evaluation-of-parenting-capacity-in-child-protection-9780195333602;jsessionid=4B8DD10E593E94A9D15F476AF719BB36?cc=au&lang=en&">obtaining more information</a> about the family situation. Finding out more about Toby’s social and emotional development and his mother’s current well-being will increase our understanding of the family. </p>
<p>Perhaps his mother experienced a traumatic event and started drinking again. But will her drinking escalate to a point where she is not able to care for Toby? Or will she engage with services and prevent a brief lapse becoming a full relapse to alcohol abuse? Knowing for certain that the mother did not relapse to alcohol abuse would be significant in this case.</p>
<p>An assessment must be more than the simple identification of risk and protective factors; it also requires a prospective assessment. It must identify the critical problems in the family that can be translated into goals for change. Parents should be clear about the goals and feel supported in their attempt to reach them. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/62482/original/t7f4gfgm-1413954655.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/62482/original/t7f4gfgm-1413954655.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62482/original/t7f4gfgm-1413954655.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62482/original/t7f4gfgm-1413954655.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62482/original/t7f4gfgm-1413954655.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62482/original/t7f4gfgm-1413954655.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62482/original/t7f4gfgm-1413954655.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Parents feel empowered when their goals are clear and change is acknowledged.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-172500242/stock-photo-mother-and-son-reading-on-a-colored-book-sitting-on-bed.html?src=_nvpL0IPFGAQZtCicedIbw-1-9">Catalin Petolea/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Keeping families involved with the child protection system simply to “keep a check on them” is counterproductive for families and governments. Parents will be empowered when the goalposts are clear and don’t shift, and when they believe that achieving a goal will be genuinely acknowledged as a meaningful achievement by the child protection system.</p>
<p>This raises the question of how long an assessment of parental capacity to change should continue. In the United Kingdom, the Children Act 1989 was <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2014/6/section/14/enacted">recently amended</a> to specify a 26-week limit for finalising applications for care or supervision orders. </p>
<p>Is this long enough? Arguably, yes, but only if there has been an active assessment process that offers the parents the opportunity to make change with the assistance of appropriate levels of family support. This should not mean that the parents have necessarily reached a point where child protection can withdraw, but they have shown capacity to change that justifies ongoing support. </p>
<p>The comprehensive and prospective assessment of a parent’s capacity to provide a safe and nurturing family environment should lead to increased consistency in decision-making across jurisdictions. </p>
<p>Finally, comprehensive assessments require adequate resourcing. A <a href="http://www.ombo.nsw.gov.au/news-and-publications/publications/reports/child-protection/review-of-the-nsw-child-protection-system-are-things%0A-improving-special-report-to-parliament-april-2014">recent report</a> from the New South Wales Ombudsman found that the capacity of community services to respond to children at risk of significant harm was inadequate. We may have a clear idea what “best practice” involves, but ultimately we need skilled people in jobs to do the work.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This is the second part of our series on <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/child-protection-in-australia">Child Protection in Australia</a>. Click on the links below to read the other instalments:</em> </p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/abuse-and-neglect-australias-child-protection-crisis-32664">Abuse and neglect: Australia’s child protection ‘crisis’</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/infographic-a-snapshot-of-australias-child-protection-services-33090">Infographic: a snapshot of Australia’s child protection services</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/we-all-have-a-role-in-protecting-children-end-the-silence-on-abuse-31281">We all have a role in protecting children: end the silence on abuse</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/we-remove-kids-from-abuse-and-neglect-but-are-they-better-off-in-the-long-run-32686">We remove kids from abuse and neglect, but are they better off in the long run?</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/complex-trauma-how-abuse-and-neglect-can-have-life-long-effects-32329">Complex trauma: how abuse and neglect can have life-long effects</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/foster-parents-need-more-support-to-care-for-vulnerable-children-32680">Foster parents need more support to care for vulnerable children</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/empowering-indigenous-communities-to-prevent-child-abuse-and-neglect-32875">Empowering Indigenous communities to prevent child abuse and neglect</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/child-protection-how-to-keep-vulnerable-kids-with-their-families-32898">Child protection: how to keep vulnerable kids with their families</a></li>
</ul><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/32679/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Harnett is a co-developer of the Parents Under Pressure program (<a href="http://www.pupprogram.net.au">www.pupprogram.net.au</a>). Paul Harnett has developed the Capacity 2 Change model of assessment in child protection. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sharon Dawe is co developer of the Parents Under Pressure program. Training in PuP is provided by Griffith University. </span></em></p>Imagine you’re a child protection worker who has received a notification from a teacher voicing concerns about a child in her class. The case involves a five-year-old boy named Toby. Toby’s mum has had…Paul H Harnett, Senior Lecturer, Clinical Psychology, The University of QueenslandSharon Dawe, Professor of Clinical Psychology, Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/330902014-10-22T19:20:06Z2014-10-22T19:20:06ZInfographic: a snapshot of Australia’s child protection services<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/64434/original/nrcpvdsb-1415838684.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Click for full graphic. </span> </figcaption></figure><figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/62490/original/fptz63xb-1413956668.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/62490/original/fptz63xb-1413956668.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=6625&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62490/original/fptz63xb-1413956668.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=6625&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62490/original/fptz63xb-1413956668.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=6625&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62490/original/fptz63xb-1413956668.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=8326&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62490/original/fptz63xb-1413956668.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=8326&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62490/original/fptz63xb-1413956668.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=8326&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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</figure><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/33090/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
Emil Jeyaratnam, Data + Interactives Editor, The ConversationLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.