Dr Howard Bath was most recently the Northern Territory Children's Commissioner, first appointed in 2008 and re-appointed in 2012. Trained as a Clinical Psychologist, Howard has studied and worked in both Australia and the USA. He has worked as a youth worker, manager, Agency Director and clinician and was the inaugural Chair of the Child and Family Welfare Association of Australia, the peak body for service providers representing all states and territories. Howard has presented widely at conferences and training seminars and has authored numerous research reports and articles on topics including family preservation services, out-of-home care, behaviour management and child protection. Howard joined the Anglicare NT Board in April 2015 and now provides consultancy services through Allambi Care in NSW. He has been a longstanding supporter of the Children Australia journal and his generosity over the years in helping with a range of journal-related tasks, including being a former Editorial Consultant is very much appreciated.

This paper reports some results of a study of practitioners’ perspectives on performance assessment in the field of family support services. Existing empirical work on performance assessment emphasises the perspectives offunders and/or service users. However, practitioners are a key stakeholder in both service delivery and assessment, and consideration of how this group approaches and appropriates performance assessment can maximize its effectiveness, and ensure the incorporation of their practice-based knowledge about service delivery and outcomes. We find that family support workers are committed to understanding the effectiveness of their work, and use a variety of means to attempt to evaluate their own effectiveness. However, these means are rarely systematic, andare unlikely to provide data useful for measures of service economy and efficiency. This may be because their practice consists of processes to which conventional evaluation techniques are ill-suited. The challenge for providers of social services is to find ways to assess the caring work at the heart of their practice in ways which are ‘legible’ to all stakeholders, including government flinders.

Young people leaving state care have been found to experience deficits in all aspects of their life cycle. These include homelessness, poor educational and employment outcomes, involvement in juvenile crime and prostitution, mental and physical health problems, early parenthood and inadequate social support systems. These poor outcomes experienced by care leavers result from a range of factors relating to their pre-care abuse and neglect, poor quality and unstable care history and inadequate support for their successful transition to independence. Young people leaving state care in Victoria are currently lacking the ongoing and guaranteed support that would be expected of a good parent. Using relevant local and international literature and findings from a qualitative study involving 10 care leavers, this paper examines the factors that contribute to negative as well as positive outcomes for young people leaving state care. Some conclusions are drawn regarding policy and practice reforms that could lead to improved outcomes for care leavers.

Leaving statutory out-of-home care (OOHC) is a challenging time for many young people; however, certain groups have greater difficulty transitioning to independence. This includes young people with multiple and complex needs, such as those suffering from mental health problems and disabilities, as well as young people with borderline conditions or who disengage from services. The aim of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of the service issues pertaining to these vulnerable groups in South Australia, as well as to identify ways that policy and practice can be enhanced to better facilitate service engagement. Twenty-nine individual interviews and focus groups were conducted with people working in organisations who have knowledge of, or contact with, young people leaving care (N = 66). Thematic analysis was used to organise responses according to two overarching themes: (1) Issues with current leaving care services and preparation, and (2) Enhancing policy and practice. The principal challenges related to difficulties in matching the structure of formal services to a population with highly unstructured living arrangements, a history of problematic engagement with the care system, and difficulties arising due to service ineligibility issues. Potential improvements to the current system and program delivery are discussed.

The following two papers, which were provided to Children Australia by Meredith Kiraly. were given at a one-day Conference in London on 12 July 1994 entitled Residential Child Care: Into the Next Century. The Conference was convened by the National Children's Bureau of the United Kingdom.

This paper identifies a sizeable group of vulnerable children who suffer discrimination and under-achievement on a daily basis in Australia, with particular attention to NSW out-of-home care (OOHC) practices. The purpose of the paper is to highlight the gaps in services specifically relating to the education of children in OOHC, care leavers and young carers. The paper identifies the extent of the issue, the ways that OOHC children suffer discrimination and possible solutions. As OOHC children are not a specific equity group targeted for support by governments, their identity, numbers, problems and issues are not recorded or singled out for specialist support. The paper recognises that further research is required, but offers some ways forward giving examples of widening participation in education. However, it comes to the conclusion that OOHC children are not given a “Fair go”.

yourtown's Expressive Therapies Intervention (YETI) is a trauma and attachment informed creative arts and play therapy intervention developed for young children with emotional and behavioural problems stemming from traumatic exposure. YETI aims to improve participants’ emotional and social wellbeing; behavioural adjustment; quality of attachment relationships and self-concept. The intervention is integrated within holistic family support programmes, chiefly a domestic and family violence refuge and a young parents programme. This paper describes YETI's therapeutic model and presents findings of a two-year outcome evaluation. The findings suggest that the intervention can achieve significant positive outcomes for preschool-aged children associated with healing from developmental trauma and attachment difficulties. Analysis of pre/post assessments of participants’ social, emotional and behavioural functioning using the Child Behaviour Checklist revealed significant improvements from intake to exit in children's internalising, externalising and total problems. There were also marked decreases in the proportion of children with symptoms in the clinical or borderline clinical ranges. Thematic analyses of parent/carer surveys and therapists’ end-of-therapy reports similarly indicate widespread improvements in social, emotional and behavioural functioning as well as improvements in children's self-confidence and self-esteem, and in the quality of the parent–child attachment relationship.

Looking After Children (LAC), a case management system for children in out-of-home care, has been the subject of pilot implementation in several Australian states. Barnardos Australia, in association with the University of NSW, implemented LAC in all of its out-of-home care programs as part of an Australian Research Council (ARC) research grant, in 1997–99.

This study looks at the factors affecting implementation of Looking After Children in Barnardos Australia out-of-home care programs during the initial twelve month period (1997–98). Information collected from interviews with eleven program managers, and examination of records containing LAC material on casework files, are used to explore factors which assisted or impeded LAC implementation. Similarities are highlighted between UK and Australian experiences of LAC implementation, and issues are raised of significance to agencies considering using LAC.

Communities have long been seen as of central importance to individuals and families, and as critical lever for change. In recent years, the emphasis on community as an organizing principle to address a range of social problems and developmental needs of children and families has been increasing. This paper explores the question of why community is important for children and families, what communities can provide for their well-being, and how they might be strengthened. It outlines some of the reasons behind the interest in community as a locus for policy and practice, explores the idea of ‘community capacity’ and how to build it, and distills the principal strategies used by contemporary efforts to build capacity in disadvantaged communities. Finally, it examines both the promise and the limitations of a community capacity framework as an orientation toward social change and as an approach for addressing the needs of disadvantaged children and families.

This rural pilot study examined the effectiveness of a brief parenting skills intervention delivered to parents/carers of children who had experienced moderate to severe child abuse. The participants were 35 parents/carers living in rural New South Wales, Australia, who were recruited through referrals to a rural community health service. Participants were assessed pre and post the brief parenting skills education program using a battery of standardised self-report measures. Participants were randomly assigned to an immediate intervention group or a 3-month waitlist control group. The intervention was a three session ‘1-2-3 Magic’ parenting program.

T-test analyses indicated that carers who received the intervention reported significant improvements in their mental health and discipline practices, and a significant reduction in child problem behaviour compared to the waitlist control group.

The results of the study suggest that a brief psycho-educational parenting group intervention may be effective for carers of abused children in the short-term.

Societal tolerance of violence perpetrated between family members is evident in the generally unchallenged views condoning parents’ physical assault of children in the name of ‘discipline’. The authors suggest that such views reflect society’s devaluation of children and a denial of children’s basic human rights. This paper addresses the following areas related to the sanctioned physical punishment of children: the ‘fuzzy’ distinction between physical punishment and physical abuse; the law; the power of words; the media’s role and impact; parental explanations and motives for using physical punishment; the effects of physical punishment on children; the alternatives to physical punishment; and the reason this issue is so important, both for children and for society.

Recruiting caregivers for children with an intellectual disability who require out-of-home respite or longer-term care is a problem which has challenged service providers for many years. This paper summarises findings of a recent evaluation of Shared Family Care, a foster care program in Victoria for children with intellectual disabilities/developmental delay. Current recruiting is not succeeding in meeting the demand for either respite, short term or long term care. Findings of the evaluation suggest that factors such as use of appropriate media, and running effective recruitment campaigns is only part of the answer. It is also important at every stage to address caregiver satisfaction with the job and employ strategies to find potential caregivers in the community.

Children placed in permanent care often display a range of challenging behaviours that can affect the quality of carer-child relationships. The current study examined the relationship between children's emotional and behavioural difficulties and the quality of carer-child relationships in permanent care (N = 46). Permanent carers of children ages 3 to 12 completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ; Goodman, 1999) and Child-Parent Relationship Scale (CPRS; Pianta, 1992). Results indicated that child emotional and behavioural difficulties were related to carer-child relationships. The SDQ scales Conduct Problems and Pro-Social Behaviour were the strongest predictors of relationship quality. The findings of the study suggest that fewer conduct problems and more pro-social behaviour is important for positive carer-child relationships.

This paper provides a snapshot of early work undertaken to develop a trauma-informed complex case management and therapeutic practice model for kinship and foster care within a family and community services agency. The approach taken has initially involved supporting case workers and carers and working towards organisational cultural change. The shift in focus described arose from a concern that stability and healing goals were not well supported within the existing programmatic framework and practice approaches. Purposeful integration of theory with practice has been central to the change process. There is a clear rationale that working from a strong evidence base can create better outcomes for children and young people in out-of-home care. The paper reflects on work in progress. Action taken to date has educated the workforce around trauma-informed responses, developed clear protocols and a set of practice tools. This has embedded a strong foundation for further development as resources become available.

The murder of a child’s mother in the context of domestic violence is a traumatic experience which results in multiple stresses affecting the child’s emotional, behavioural and educational functioning. In effect, children lose both parents – their mother as victim and their father in jail or also dead from a murder-suicide – as well as their home, neighbourhood and school as they are relocated, either with extended family members or placed into foster care. In addition, extended family members must cope with their own grief and anger as they attempt to parent these troubled children. Evidence from the papers reviewed indicate that there are no guidelines for determining who is best placed for caring for the children and for providing the safety and stability necessary for recovery, nor for ensuring the provision of therapeutic support for child survivors and their families. There is also evidence to indicate that, left untreated, effects can become long-lasting and carry on into adulthood. Policy implications are considered with a focus on multi-agency family-centred advocacy approaches.

The focus of this qualitative study was on separated mother’s (N = 36) lived experiences of mothering in the context of post separation family violence and the Australian family law system. Thematic analysis of interviews was guided by a theoretical framework, this being the Three Planets Model. Analysis of the data resulted in two themes relating to mothering being identified. Firstly, that women demonstrated a mode of protecting rather than parenting indicating that mothering was often undertaken in isolation and fear, within an adversarial family law system, and in the presence of a perpetrator of family violence. The second theme related to the aftermath of separation and the long dark shadow cast by family violence. After having left a controlling and violent relationship, separated mothers reported that there was no opportunity to recover, nor to healthily extricate themselves from family violence, which resulted in cumulative harm not only for their wellbeing but also for their children.

A filicide death, meaning the killing of a child by their parent or equivalent guardian, is a tragic event. Sadly, a UK study suggests Australia has the fourth highest rate of filicide among similar developed nations. Since Australian research studies on the incidence of filicide, or indeed on any other aspect of the problem, are limited, it is impossible to know if this finding is correct or not. However, in the last several years more research on filicide has emerged in Australia and by reviewing the recent research in detail, this article develops an integrated analysis of Australian filicide research and contributes to the knowledge bank on Australian filicide that can be used by professionals undertaking practice and research in intervention and prevention. Analysis of the studies shows one child dies at the hands of a parent every fortnight and that this number has not changed for many years. The analysis identifies the profiles of victims and perpetrators. The constellation of circumstances and stressors associated with each of the parental perpetrator groups is discussed, including the perpetrators’ contact with, and mostly unsuccessful use of, services. Based on the analysis, a way forward to prevention is proposed.

The selection of foster parents with qualities necessary to undertake care of other people's children is a difficult task. Little research has been done in identifying what the associated qualities are. This paper reports the first stage of a research study examining these qualities from the perspective of foster parents themselves and experienced family care workers. From a qualitative exercise involving 10 foster parents and 2 family care workers over 50 nominated qualities were elicited covering motivation; personal attributes; knowledge and skills with children and competencies emanating from experience. Arising from this exercise a model was constructed which identifies stages in foster parenting. This could enable differential educational strategies based on a competency approach to be developed in order to achieve a better level of quality control.

This paper describes the development by Parkerville Children's Home, WA, of a therapeutic residential programme, based on current research and clinical experience, relating to the impact of traumatic experience. It describes the theoretical framework, its incorporation into an intervention plan and the process of implementation. A case study is used to illustrate the process of assessment and implementation.

This article outlines some of the findings of a study of ten women who experienced sibling incest as children. Using qualitative research methods, this study explores the nature of the sibling incest relationship, how the incest occurred, the family environment, the effects suffered and the participants’ experience of intervention. For the majority of women, the effects of unwanted sibling incest were similar to the effects of parent-child incest. The participants provided important perspectives on both intervention and prevention strategies that would assist with the problem of sibling incest.

This study aims to link the perspective of those who have experienced sibling incest with some implications for professional practice.