Screening of people working with children and young people: Issues paper

Over the past 10 years there has been a developing awareness of the need for organisations to look further at how best to ensure the wellbeing of children and young people with whom they work. The ACT Children Services Council has requested a review of international and national literature on issues surrounding the screening of people working with children and young people. This paper reviews the issues related to employment screening, presenting information about alternative models, legislative schemes and frameworks, and a range of practice issues involved in this strategy. It presents a brief survey of the legislative approaches being adopted by each of the Australian States and Territories. It also discusses the limitations to screening and briefly reviews alternative strategies for safeguarding children and young people

Evaluation framework: Australian Government Disaster Assistance Package

This document outlines a framework to guide the evaluation of “all hazards” disaster recovery assistance provided by the Australian Government. The Australian Catholic University (ACU) has been commissioned to develop this framework by the Department of Families and Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaCSIA), on behalf of the Australian Government Disaster Recovery Committee (AGDRC). The aim of the framework is to provide whole-of-government and “all hazards” perspectives for the evaluation of the disaster recovery programs of Australian government departments and agencies, and in this context to promote consistent evaluation processes and where practicable common instruments and approaches

Evaluation of the Schools as Communities program in the ACT

This evaluation of the ACT Schools as Communities program was commissioned by the ACT Office for Children, Youth and Family Support in March 2005. The Program was introduced in February 2001 with the program goal of improving educational and social outcomes for children and young people at risk by creating strong and effective working relationships between families, communities and their schools

The experiences and effects of family homelessness for children: A literature review

This report examines the experience and effects of family homelessness for children. It is important to acknowledge that many children in Australia also become homeless outside of their family unit, usually as a result of a breakdown in family relationships. The plight of these children is extremely serious and worthy of examination. However, as this literature review was completed to inform the Institute of Child Protection Studies’ project, on children and parents’ experiences of homelessness in the ACT, the literature review was narrowed to an examination of the issues confronted by children within families experiencing homelessness..

Institute of Child Protection Studies Research Update

ICPS aims to enhance the well-being of children, young people and families through quality research, evaluation, training and community education. The Research Update aims to keep stakeholders informed about the projects we are undertaking. The December 2015 update provides information on the following current research projects: Managing Ethical Studies on Sensitive Issues (MESSI): Involving children in social research kContact: Keeping contact between parents and children in care Developing an understanding of how children understand and experience safety in institutions Safe and Sounds: The safety of young people in residential care Child Protection Practitioner Study ‘Growing our Spirit’: Improving the evidence base for community-developed assessments of kinship carers of Aboriginal children Evaluation of the Youth Hope Program Building Capacity in Family Support Service: Provision of evaluative support services to FaC service provider

Supporting quality contact visits for children in out-of-home care

The ICPS Research to Practice Series links the findings of research undertaken by ICPS, to the development of policy and practice in the area of child, youth and family welfare.  Issue 10 discusses the ways in which children in out-of-home care, parents and foster carers can be supported to participate in contact visits. This issue is based on a literature review on supervised contact between children in out-of-home care and their parents, and draws upon the broader ICPS study; kContact: Keeping Contact between Parents and Children in Care.&nbsp

Supporting refugee families in Australia

This Research to Practice issue explores the challenges experienced by refugee families resettling in Australia; the informal and formal supports they access and barriers to these supports; the characteristics of supportive services and implications for policy and practice.  It was based on a study which aimed to provide in-depth and contextualised data about how services may better support refugee parents to care for their children; and included interviews with families with a refugee background; and a national online survey of Commonwealth funded service providers supporting refugee families. By developing a better understanding of the social supports, resources and connections required by refugee children and their parents to support positive parenting and family relationships, this project contributes to the development of more responsive and integrated social policy and service delivery. This study was undertaken by the Institute of Child Protection Studies, Australian Catholic University; and the Australian Centre for Child Protection, University of South Australia; on behalf of the Department of Social Services.&nbsp

Reunification of intrafamilial child sex abusers

There is consensus held across cultures and continents that child sexual abuse is a social and moral problem and a violation of the human rights of a child. Subsequently a controversial issue for agencies working in context of child protection is the issue of family reunification. This chapter will explore the reunification of adult sex offenders and their families (biological children) and the reunification of adult sex offenders where vulnerable children reside (partner’s children as relevant). This will be explored in context of child protection in Australia, the professional agency responsible for making determinations about reunification of sex offenders to the family home. Research examining the prevalence of child sexual abuse, rates of recidivism and the impact of sexual abuse will be explored. Theoretical notions of attachment will be used to inform considerations for reunification

A new paradigm: Bringing a historical and sociopolitical trauma lens to the training for welfare practitioners working with Aboriginal families

This article argues that child protection agencies must provide mandatory training about the Aboriginal experience within the welfare state and the resultant trauma that exists in Australian Indigenous communities. This article highlights the areas of curriculum to be included in training for welfare practitioners working with Aboriginal families in the New South Wales child protection system. The training content explores the Stolen Generations’ trauma experiences of child loss and examines the dichotomy between past child welfare laws and present child protection laws and intergenerational racism. Another key component of the training comprises information about the impacts of trauma on brain development