Despite the claims of statutory child protection authorities to be ‘child-centred’, the language used to record responses to child abuse and neglect allegations still focuses heavily upon parental actions. In most Australian states, child protection records perpetuate an emphasis on how harm was caused and by whom. This paper illustrates that parental blame – theoretically a concept of the past – is alive and well within child protection recording systems, and raises the implications of this for the development of policy frameworks and service delivery. It is argued that recent moves by some states towards differential responses actually perpetuate a focus on the parent to the detriment of a focus on the child’s needs. A better way of conceptualising the outcomes of child protection assessments – focusing on a child’s protective needs – is suggested.

Burnside is an agency of the Uniting Church and has a role to facilitate the development of children and families most in need through quality services, research and advocacy. This article describes a home visiting model which was developed and approved for implementation as a three year pilot by Burnside on the Central Coast in NSW, beginning in 1997. The model is described and presented as a format that may be useful to stimulate similar program proposals elsewhere. The model uses paid professionals within the context of a ‘Family Centre’ with a volunteer network to offer ongoing home visiting support to first-time parents facing social and geographical isolation and who have few supports and resources to meet their needs. Importantly, the model relies on close collaboration with Child Health services and a partnership with other community agencies and the local community itself. The model accommodates current debate about the need to break cycles of abuse through positive preventative family support to strengthen families and communities.

This article (the first of a series of three) reviews the research and literature on the connections between non-biological care (adoption, permanent care, foster care and residential care) and mental health and relates this to the policy context in Victoria.

The implications of the over-representation of children who have experienced non-biological care in a mental health setting are explored.

Some families need to place their disabled child in long term out of home care, due to a high care burden. Foster family care is increasingly the only option available. While published research is sparse, there is evidence that rostered staff models of care are more appropriate for some children, and the potential gains from family care are overstated. Questions are raised about foster care successes overseas and locally, particularly as care options are restricted to in home support or alternative family models. Rostered staff models can promote a child’s involvement with the birth family, and should be developed further. Planners need to foster diversity, which allows flexibility and promises new knowledge.

This is an edited version of the keynote address given by Dr Dorothy Scott at the 6th Australasian Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect – Dialogue, Dreaming, Decisions – which was held in Adelaide on 20–23 October 1997.

Recent government decisions to close schools with small enrolments appear not to have taken into consideration the implications such a move might have for children’s out-of-classroom activities. Drawing on relevant literature, and accounts from teachers who have taught, or are teaching in small and large primary schools, this paper questions the prevailing belief that ‘bigger is better’ by pointing to some of the unique characteristics of small school playgrounds which provide children with opportunities and experiences not available in larger schools.

Many welfare authorities have developed detailed systems for the management of their initial response to child abuse reports. But what happens then? Less attention has been given to frameworks for the management of cases subject to on-going statutory intervention. The Queensland framework is unique in Australia – its methodology ensures an on-going client-focused response which integrates ‘bestpractice’ standards, accountability and dynamic planning and review until the child’s needs have been met.

During 1997 researchers at the University of South Australia conducted qualitative and quantitative research with 663 students from a diverse range of secondary schools in the Adelaide metropolitan area. The research focussed on how 13 to 15 year old adolescents view and handle conflict with their peers and conflict with adults at school, such as teachers and counsellors. This paper reports on Phase 1 of the research, and on comments gathered from adolescents in Focus Groups about their experiences of conflict. Comments about the high level of aggression and violence in some secondary schools would indicate that broader, community-centred approaches may be needed before conflict management strategies, such as peer mediation, can work.

This paper addresses the issue of cooperation and the building of effective partnerships within the network of agencies that aim to strengthen and support families. It argues that an important step in building such partnerships is an awareness of what each agency does. This paper therefore sets out the context in which family support services are currently operating in NSW, the particular strengths of family support services and the contribution of such services to families and to planners. Constraints on family support services are also explored, particularly those that relate to the lack of recognition of the role of family support services and lack of resources available in NSW. There is an analysis of options regarding changes to work practices by family support services to deal with the lack of resources.

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.

This article is an overview of the experiences of non-offending fathers of children who have been sexually assaulted. It looks at the relevant literature and draws on the author’s work in a rural Centre Against Sexual Assault to highlight aspects of these men’s emotional reactions following trauma to their child.

The effectiveness of current support services for families who have a child with a progressive life-threatening illness seems to be a frequently overlooked issue. This paper, which is based on the findings of a recently conducted study, attempts to elucidate the critical issues in supporting this unique group of families. The study examined the perceptions of families regarding the value and effectiveness of the social supports available in the community for families caring for a child with a life-threatening illness in Victoria. Attention has been drawn to perceived gaps in support for these families. Also considered is the effectiveness of supports available for bereaved families who have lost children with life-threatening illnesses. The study was based on information provided by families who had been involved with a family support agency known as Very Special Kids.

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.

Child abuse and neglect is a complex problem that requires a sophisticated treatment response. Utilising comprehensive research literature, the Abused Child Trust has developed a model for intervening with families in which maltreatment is a major concern. The intervention program operates on a multidisciplinary model, and incorporates counselling, specialised educational support, and health care. The service at Contact House is presented in detail, to serve as a stimulus for discussion as to the appropriate level of service required by at-risk families.

Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is currently the diagnosis of choice for children displaying a range of attentional and hyperactive-impulsive behaviours. Diagnostic criteria are set out in the DSM-IV, but considerable overlap with a number of other disorders continues to pose diagnostic problems. A further potential difficulty is that the diagnostic criteria describe, but do not explain, behaviour, increasing the risk for misdiagnosis. A group of children in a respite care program previously diagnosed with ADHD and medicated by paediatricians, serve to illustrate these issues.