Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dzt6s Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-17T09:02:30.439Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

When is Enough Enough? The Burgeoning Cost of Child Protection Services

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 May 2014

Frank Ainsworth  and
Patricia Hansen
Frank Ainsworth*
Affiliation:
School of Social Work and Community Welfare, James Cook University, Townsville campus, Queensland 4811, Australia
Patricia Hansen
Affiliation:
Hansen Legal, Parramatta, NSW 2150 andAustralian Catholic University, Sydney, NSW 2135, Australia
*
address for correspondence: Dr Frank Ainsworth, PhD, Senior Principal Research Fellow (Adjunct), School of Social Work and Community Welfare, James Cook University, Townsville campus, Queensland 4811. E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates that at 31 December 2011 there were 5,098,694 children and young people in Australia under the age of 18 years, while for the period 1 July 2011 to 30 June 2012, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare's report on child protection indicates that there were 48,420 substantiated cases of child abuse and neglect in Australia. The likelihood is that almost 95 (94.96) per cent of Australian children and young people were not abused or neglected in that period; and this is a cause for national celebration. These figures are good reason to praise the parents and caregivers of the 5,050,274 children who were not abused or neglected. We argue that there is a need for an emphasis in the political debate about child protection that focuses on children who are not abused, in order for the issue of child abuse and neglect to be placed in proper perspective. The lack of perspective in the current dialogue simply results in an unending demand for more resources for detection-focused services. Instead, there has to be increased emphasis on preventative services for vulnerable families who fail to meet community child-rearing standards. These exacting standards of parenting can only be achieved through parent education and the provision of intensive and extensive family support services, combined with sensitive monitoring of at-risk families. Accordingly, this article is written in a dissenting voice.

Keywords

child abuse and neglectdetectionpreventioncost
Type
Special Section: Moving beyond protection: Inclusiveness and families
Information
Children Australia , Volume 39 , Issue 2 , June 2014 , pp. 93 - 98
Copyright
Copyright © The Authors 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Australian Capital Territory (ACT). (2013). Care and protection system report no. 01/2013. Canberra: Auditor-General's Office.Google Scholar
Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) (2012a). The economic costs of child abuse and neglect. Child Family Community Australia fact sheet 9. Melbourne: AIFS. Retrieved from http://www.aifs.gov.au/cfca/pubs/factsheets/09/index.html (accessed 12 December 2013).Google Scholar
Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) (2012b). Child deaths from abuse and neglect. Child Family Community Australia. Melbourne.Google Scholar
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). (2013). Child protection Australia 2011–12. Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.Google Scholar
Child Death and Serious Injury Review Committee (CDSIRC). (2011). Annual report 2010–11. Adelaide: Government of South Australia.Google Scholar
Child Death Case Review Committee (QLD CDCRC). (2011). Annual report 2010–11. Brisbane. Sydney: NSW Ombudsman Office.Google Scholar
Child Death Review Committee (Vic CDRC). (2011). Annual report of inquiries into the deaths of children known to child protection. Melbourne: Office of the Child Safety Commissioner.Google Scholar
Child Death Review Committee (WA CDRC). (2008). Annual report 2007–08. Perth: Government of Western Australia.Google Scholar
Commission for Children and Young People and the Children's Guardian (CCYPCG). (2011). Annual report: Deaths of children and young people Queensland 2010–11. Brisbane. Sydney: NSW Ombudsman Office.Google Scholar
Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). (2006). Child death review. Hobart. Sydney: NSW Ombudsman Office.Google Scholar
Douglas, E. M., & McCarthy, S. C. (2011). Child maltreatment fatalities: Predicting rates and the efficacy of child welfare policy. Journal of Policy Practice, 10 (2), 128–143.Google Scholar
Hansen, P., & Ainsworth, F. (2013). Australian child protection services: A game without end. International Journal of Social Welfare, 22 (1), 104–110.Google Scholar
Mouzos, J., & Rushforth, C. (2003). Family homicide in Australia. Trends and Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice no. 255. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology.Google Scholar
Northern Territory Child Deaths Review and Prevention Committee. (2011). Annual report 2010–11. Darwin: Office of the Children's Commissioner.Google Scholar
NSW Child Death Review Team. (2011). Annual report 2010. Sydney: NSW Commission for Children and Young People.Google Scholar
NSW Ombudsman. (2011). Report of reviewable deaths in 2008 and 2009. Volume 1. Child Deaths. Sydney.Google Scholar
NSW Ombudsman. (2013). Report of reviewable deaths in 2010–2011. Sydney: NSW Ombudsman Office.Google Scholar
Productivity Commission. (2013). Report on Government Services. Child protection and out-of-home care services. Fact sheet. Canberra.Google Scholar
Queensland Child Protection Commission of Inquiry. (2012). The Carmody Inquiry. Brisbane.Google Scholar
Social Policy Research Centre. (2010). Brighter futures early intervention. Report 3/10. University of New South Wales. Sydney: NSW Ombudsman Office.Google Scholar
Taylor, P., Moore, P., Tucci, J., Goddard, C., & De Bortoli, L. (2008). The cost of child abuse in Australia. Melbourne: Australian Childhood Foundation.Google Scholar
Victorian Minister for Community Services. (2013). Out-of-home care to get third funding boost. Media release, 3 May.Google Scholar
Wood, J. (2008). Report of the Special Commission of Inquiry into Child Protection Services in New South Wales. Sydney: Office of the Premier and Cabinet.Google Scholar