Children in out-of-home care (OOHC) experience a number of adverse educational outcomes, including lower attainment and fewer years of schooling; and they are less likely than their peers to remain in education and training after 16 years of age. Children in OOHC are being left behind in educational settings. This is worrying as education can provide the gateway to future life opportunities and a way for them to escape the adverse circumstances which brought them into care. Agencies supporting children in OOHC aim to ameliorate these negative outcomes. The barriers to good educational outcomes for children in OOHC are well documented and include systemic factors over which a support agency has little control. In order to monitor the effectiveness of an agency in supporting children in OOHC, it is essential to monitor the elements of service provision that are influenced by agency inputs rather than systemic or institutional factors. This article will outline potential ways in which agencies can effectively monitor their impact on children's lives.

The issue of what is ‘effective’ in therapeutic interventions with children and young people who have experienced maltreatment has attracted increasing professional interest since the 1980s. Currently, these interventions are subject to evaluative processes that privilege data collected from the adult experts, who design and deliver them. Measurements of effectiveness are predominantly based on a positivist paradigm, as indicated by the number of studies that use standardised measures to capture therapeutic success. An important concern is the neglect of children and young people's voices in the discussion of therapeutic efficacy.

This article presents the findings of a review of the literature, which revealed the continued privileging of adult ‘expert’ voices and the under-representation of the contributions from children and young people. However, when children and young people were engaged as active participants in evaluation processes, they were shown to demonstrate a depth of insight, which requires a reappraisal of adults as the only source of expertise in the effectiveness debate. The view that children and young people can be knowledge generators as well as active agents in their own healing is reflected by this article's proposals for future research partnerships with children and young people and changes to practice and policy development.

This paper explores the ACT Government’s investment in a school based human services program. This program aims to improve educational and social outcomes for children and young people by creating effective working relationships between families, communities and their schools. It considers the contemporary challenges to achieving a quality service in a domain not normally inhabited by human services professionals. The main focus of the paper is an analysis of some of the factors which were considered in establishing a high quality service.

The paper draws attention to the importance of developing a conceptually sound program model, in particular one which demonstrates how evaluation can be integrated throughout the program cycle. It argues the importance of pursuing two key pathways to quality: the achievement of professional standards in program design, and the pursuit of the consumer voice in shaping and judging program performance.

The paper contends that program sustainability in this field of practice hinges on recognising who the consumers are, and achieving a range of outcomes which address their varied needs and priorities.

In the arena of social welfare it is not unusual for practitioners to endeavour to give a voice to the disadvantaged by working to empower clients; placing value on each individual member in a family; helping communities care for each other; advocating for the rights of children and women. No doubt this is all familiar rhetoric to most welfare and social workers. However, in the area of foster care a voice that has seldom been heard is the voice of the ‘children who care’. The natural children of foster carers are valuable members of the caring team and whilst many foster parents are aware of their own children's contribution in caring for foster children, foster care agencies and social workers/caseworkers have not formally acknowledged them or accorded to them the support they deserve. Better outcomes for children in foster care and for families who care will be achieved if practitioners consult with, support, and acknowledge the ‘children who care’.

In Australia the rate of local or ‘known’ child adoptions is very low. Figures from the US and the UK (England only) are presented to highlight this issue. Adoptions from State ‘care’ are especially low compared with these other countries. This article explores public and professional commentary that may have contributed to the decline in the use of adoptions in Australia. Given that adoption offers the most permanent alternative care arrangement, suggestions are then made as to how adoption might become a more frequently used route out of State care for some Australian children.

This article builds on research work undertaken by MacKillop Family Services on the experience of care leavers to explore the importance of the relational aspects of human service work. Recent legislative changes have focused on the availability of services and supports to young people transitioning from care. The authors suggest that it is time to refocus attention on the relationships between young people leaving care and human service workers. Such a discussion opens up models of practice that encourage flexible and participatory approaches.

This article discusses the problems which confronted the Family Division of the Children’s Court, Victoria, in the management of cases in which there were mental health issues. Mental health issues were one of the major reasons for protective concerns in one in four cases presented to the Court during this study. They were cases which were often difficult to decide both because magistrates did not have knowledge about mental health problems and because there was a lack of expert information to assist them. Contributions by specialist mental health practitioners to the assessment of child protection applications were negligible and this meant the mental health problems were not identified for the Court. A more cooperative system which allows mental health professionals to work closely with the child protection service would be of greater assistance to the Court.

Although many researchers have demonstrated that music videos contain high levels of sexual connotation, none have specifically investigated music videos accessible to young children. This study analysed 405 individual music videos broadcast on Australian free-to-air television in time periods classified PG/G to identify the types and frequency of sexualised display. Results showed that these music videos contained relatively high levels of sexualised content, with particular genres and artists displaying higher levels of sexualised material. The findings indicate a need for a review of the current Australian classification system.

Grandparents play an important role in families, contributing to the maintenance of intergenerational relationships. Recent literature has identified increased incidence of grandparents raising their grandchildren, often after family breakdown. Less evident is the literature highlighting Australian grandparents’ experiences of reduced or lost contact with their grandchildren. Lost contact can result from many factors including family disputes, separation or divorce of adult children, or children being taken into State care. The primary aim of the Honours research project reported here, a component of a larger project, was to explore the lived experiences of Queensland grandparents who had reduced, lost or denied contact with their grandchildren after contact with child protection services. In recent years, almost 8000 Queensland children have reportedly been living in out-of-home care arrangements annually. In this qualitative study, in-depth interviews were conducted with a sample of seven (7) grandparents. An emerging key theme was that grandchildren were very important to grandparents, but that grandparents struggled to maintain contact with their grandchildren after families came to the attention of child protection authorities. These findings can help inform social work practice with families for the wellbeing of both grandparents and grandchildren.

This article cites the international research evidence that supports family centred group care practice. A working definition, the key assumption and an orientation to group care and family work compatible with family centred group care practice is then articulated. This is followed by a set of practice guidelines and identification of the key characteristics of family centred group care agencies.

On 1st July 2015, Out of Home Care (OOHC) services in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) joined together to form the ACT Together consortium and aimed to improve outcomes for children and young people who are unable to live with their birth families. Within the consortium, the Therapeutic Services Team (TST) steers the evolution of trauma-informed therapeutic practice, a key focus of which is the establishment of therapeutic care. Current research indicates that a holistic therapeutic approach has the greatest impact in supporting a young person to overcome adverse childhood experiences. This leads to the necessity of a therapeutic care system providing input across the whole domain of OOHC, including trauma-informed therapeutic carers. A common issue met by the TST is the lack of clarity regarding the difference between therapeutic intervention and therapy. This paper defines the concepts of therapy and therapeutic care, discusses how this forms a continuum which flows throughout the whole OOHC system and reflects on what support carers require to make the shift to becoming therapeutic carers, including outlining their role in underpinning better outcomes for the children and young people who pass through their doors.

The process of reviewing deaths of children who had formerly been known to a child protection agency is emotive, and its value is often contested. This paper is written with the frontline practitioner in mind, and grapples with the complexities of how inquiries can make a difference in the world of all relevant stakeholders. It is contended that a goal of individual and systemic learning can be achieved if inquiries take place in a healthy, collaborative learning culture, if they are embedded in a multi-sectoral systemic framework, and if a reflective analysis is undertaken. Such inquiries would prioritise an understanding of the individual, organisational and systemic factors that influence thinking, feeling and doing. When constructed and experienced as opportunities for individual and collective learning, inquiries have the potential to add value to the whole service system and the practice of frontline workers, along with meeting the need for public accountability.

The present study aimed to identify themes emerging from an inclusive therapeutic recreational camp experience for children with disabilities who attended a 10-day summer camp. Concept mapping was used to analyse the experience of 42 participants. Results emerged with seven themes: Personal Growth; Nurturing Relationships; Non-judgmental Environment and Attitude; Traditional/Classic Camp Fun; Beneficial and Unique Opportunities; Learning/Thinking with Structures and Rules; and Independence and Recognition. Results suggested that children with disabilities experienced positive personal growth and learned new skills from an integrated, therapeutic camp. These children benefited from the social and psychological aspects of the camp experience, as well as the learned skillset and behaviours. Clinical implications and future research directions are also discussed.

Where family violence is a significant feature of an infant/child's world, a healthy emotional developmental path may not be fully realised. The need to survive becomes the key organising principal through which all relationship dynamics are then filtered. An environment of violence can impede the important ingredients of consistency, stability, nurturing and security necessary for the healthy emotional development of the individual and their relationship with their immediate external world. When working with children and families where there is, or has been, ongoing violence, second only to addressing immediate as well as ongoing concerns about safety, is the importance of creating therapeutic opportunities to begin to develop or rebuild strong and healthy attachments.

Child protection work is one of the most difficult and complex areas of human services practice. Working within a trauma-laden environment often means that practitioner susceptibility to trauma-related mental health issues is an occupational hazard. However, many practitioners are reluctant to seek support when they start to experience symptoms of traumatic stress. This paper considers current literature relating to child protection workers’ exposure to work-related traumatic material, resulting traumatic stress symptomology and organisational responses to practitioner distress. Results from a recent doctoral study that explores the experiences of child protection practitioners based in Queensland will be presented. Findings from the study were derived from qualitative in-depth, semi-structured interviews. The study findings indicate that the organisational culture within statutory child protection agencies creates an environment where practitioners are labelled as incompetent or not suitable for child protection work when they disclose experiencing symptoms of traumatic stress. The experience of bullying and retribution by supervisors and colleagues and the fear of rejection by the workgroup were also found to be significant barriers for workers seeking support.

This article reviews developments in the NSW child protection system which aim to reduce the number of children in state care. The first development was changes to the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1988 made in 2016 that created a permanency hierarchy for children who have been removed and not restored to parental or extended family care. Under Section 10A of the Act, guardianship and adoption becomes the priority if restoration is not possible, although Aboriginal children are exempt from adoption to some extent. The more recent development, during 2017, is the purchase by the Department of Family and Community Services (FaCS) of a license for two US models, namely Multi-Systemic Therapy for Child Abuse and Neglect (MST-CAN®) and Functional Family Therapy through Child Welfare (FFT-CW®). US studies have shown that these models reduce the number of children being taken into care. Related to this effort is the recognition by FaCS that the cost of out-of-home care (OOHC) is increasingly unmanageable given the 16,843 children in care in NSW. Added to this is the knowledge, confirmed by the Minister, that for many children in OOHC the outcomes are dismal. Finally, the article turns to the issue of poverty and seeks to address the established correlation (not causality) between poverty and child abuse and neglect. This remains the key issue that underscores child abuse and neglect that has to be addressed if a significant reduction in the number of children taken into state care is to be achieved.

This paper sets the context for a review of family preservation and family reunification research by briefly noting the national and international crisis that currently surrounds foster care. It then presents the recent family preservation and family reunification research from the US and Australia. Some of this material is drawn from the book by Maluccio, Ainsworth and Thoburn (2000), ‘Child welfare outcome research in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia’. The decision to focus on the US material stems from the fact that these terms originated there in the 1980s and this is where the major research studies are to be found The final comments focus on the re-emphasis on permanency planning and adoption, at least in New South Wales (NSW), and the implications of this for family preservation and reunification services.

Research findings from a study of 500 cases carried out as part of a doctoral thesis will be outline. They demonstrate the clear connection between those families whose children are notified in relation to all kinds of child abuse (including sexual abuse) and poverty, unemployment and family disruption. The multi-factorial nature of the influences which create this connection are examined. The long held belief that child sexual abuse is not related to class or poverty is challenged by these findings, pointing to the need to reconceptualise this, as well as all types of child abuse, if prevention is to be an achievable goal.