https://childrenaustralia.org.au Children Australia: Advancing Child, Youth & Family Services is an open-access journal publishing evidence, research and commentary by practitioners, researchers and policymakers and the children, young people and families they support. en-gb Sat, 21 Dec 24 12:05:41 +0000 Papir Journal Platform editor@childrenaustralia.org.au (Melissa Storey) webmaster@commonline.com.au (Webmaster) https://childrenaustralia.org.au/images/children_australia_og_branding.jpg https://childrenaustralia.org.au https://childrenaustralia.org.au/journal/article/3027 https://childrenaustralia.org.au/journal/article/3027 More than one in three females and almost one in five males will experience child sexual abuse in Australia. Despite a recognised need to strive for consistent, safe and effective services that respond to child sexual abuse, there are currently no agreed minimum practice standards to guide services and victim-survivors to make informed choices about responses they provide or receive. The aim of this program was to develop Minimum Practice Standards for Specialist and Community Support Services Responding to Child Sexual Abuse (the Standards) that were evidence informed and accepted by the sector, victim-survivors and government. The design of the Standards utilised an evidence-informed mixed-methods approach and included a literature review, multiple rounds of consultation and validation and final government endorsement. This included parallel streams of focus groups, expert advisory discussions, validation processes and surveys, and consolidation of written feedback. Consultation across the community support and specialist child sexual abuse sector included: those with a lived experience; key stakeholders from the community services sector; key stakeholders - government, peak bodies, advisory groups and other interested parties; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people; and academic, practice and policy experts. Through multiple cycles of iterative consultations, revisions and validation, the Standards achieved a high level of consistency and consensus on acceptability measures and received full government endorsement. The findings suggest that there will be challenges with implementing these Standards but this also reflects that change is needed across the community support and specialist child sexual abuse sector to ensure minimum standards of safe and effective care for victims and survivors of child sexual abuse. The Standards provide an important tool for critical service-, organisation- and systems-level change to occur. Fri, 20 Dec 24 00:00:00 +0000 https://childrenaustralia.org.au/journal/article/3025 https://childrenaustralia.org.au/journal/article/3025 In 2018, I penned an analysis of national and international approaches to cumulative harm in a child protection context, published in Children Australia, that identified an evolution acknowledging the impact of all harm to children as detrimental. Through analysis of the available policies informing child protection in Australia, it was clear there was a shift towards a more holistic understanding of harm and the impacts of long-term maltreatment. However, a nationwide, collaborative level of consistent practice that placed cumulative harm and reoccurring maltreatment on an equal footing with episodic maltreatment, particularly in relation to notification and reporting, had not yet been achieved. This begs the question, what has occurred to address this need, this gap, and promote the acknowledgement of cumulative harm since 2018? In this paper, I revisit this important topic, reviewing recent scholarly works, legislative developments across Australian jurisdictions and evidence from a decade of coronial inquests into child deaths that provide powerful messages of guidance on responding to cumulative harm. Sun, 15 Dec 24 00:00:00 +0000 https://childrenaustralia.org.au/journal/article/3035 https://childrenaustralia.org.au/journal/article/3035 Procedural justice and the impact of court and other decision-making processes on children and families in the child protection system Sun, 15 Dec 24 00:00:00 +0000 https://childrenaustralia.org.au/journal/article/3022 https://childrenaustralia.org.au/journal/article/3022 Children Australia: Building knowledge - Improving outcomes Fri, 20 Sep 24 00:00:00 +0000 https://childrenaustralia.org.au/journal/article/3021 https://childrenaustralia.org.au/journal/article/3021 Children Australia: Publisher's welcome Fri, 20 Sep 24 00:00:00 +0000 https://childrenaustralia.org.au/journal/article/3023 https://childrenaustralia.org.au/journal/article/3023 A shared vision for all Australian children and young people Fri, 20 Sep 24 00:00:00 +0000 https://childrenaustralia.org.au/journal/article/3019 https://childrenaustralia.org.au/journal/article/3019 Is child safety and wellbeing a national priority in Australia? Fri, 20 Sep 24 00:00:00 +0000 https://childrenaustralia.org.au/journal/article/3007 https://childrenaustralia.org.au/journal/article/3007 The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse and the more recent Malka Leifer trial have both highlighted concerns about manifestations of child sexual abuse within the Australian Jewish community. Yet, to date, there has been no examination of how Australian Jewish organisations have responded to these concerns and, particularly, whether the child safe standards introduced at state and/or national level have been actively operationalised within their core policies and practices. This paper presents the findings of an exploratory desktop audit of the child safe policies of 10 de-identified Victorian Jewish organisations. Our findings suggest that they are, at least in principle, adhering to the 11 mandatory Child Safe Standards in Victoria and, in several cases, are also providing a specific religious and cultural rationale for prioritising child safety measures. Nevertheless, more research is required to ascertain whether the public policy statements (i.e. their intent) are being matched by action. Keywords: child safe standards, child sexual abuse, Jewish community, royal commission. Fri, 20 Sep 24 00:00:00 +0000 https://childrenaustralia.org.au/journal/article/3016 https://childrenaustralia.org.au/journal/article/3016 This paper takes a critical practice lens to examine the challenge of selecting a fit-for-purpose tool to assess children and young people who have displayed harmful sexual behaviours (HSB). When assessing risk and complex behavioural or mental health concerns, we often turn to structured tools or protocols to guide and inform our thinking and decision making. The area of understanding risk in HSB is no different. However, practitioners and front-line workers often find themselves feeling ill prepared to make thorough assessments of wellbeing and risk of future harm related to a child or young person who has displayed HSB. Blending practice-based wisdom and evidence-based literature, six key elements have been identified to help guide practitioners to select the right fit-for-purpose tool to support assessment of children and young people who have displayed HSB. These elements aim to provide guidance to practitioners to inform decision making about tool selection, ensuring that chosen tools are fit for purpose. Keywords: assessing risk, child sexual abuse, harmful sexual behaviours, tools to assess risk of harm. Fri, 20 Sep 24 00:00:00 +0000 https://childrenaustralia.org.au/journal/article/3011 https://childrenaustralia.org.au/journal/article/3011 Numerous studies have emphasised the importance of parents' knowledge of children's learning and their input in early childhood education. Over the past 15 years, the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) has been central to Australian early years education, generating extensive scholarly literature on its concepts and applications. However, there remains a notable gap in research utilising the EYLF to investigate parents' perspectives on children's learning. The present study addressed this gap by examining how preschool parents perceived children's learning in early childhood education, drawing on the foundational concepts of 'being', 'belonging' and 'becoming' from the Framework. A sample of 48 preschool parents participated in the study, responding to a 12-item questionnaire designed to investigate three main questions: How do children learn? What are the priorities in children's learning? What are the influences on children's learning? Findings from the study indicated that parents prioritised nurturing their children's sense of being, while also recognising the importance of belonging and becoming, aligning with the fundamental aspirations for children's learning outlined in the EYLF. Moreover, parents perceived early childhood settings, particularly the roles of teachers and children's peers, as essential for fostering a wide range of learning experiences, reflecting contemporary early childhood discourses. These results shed light on how professional and unprofessional boundaries that are defined between early childhood educators and parents need to be renavigated, emphasising the importance of parenting knowledge in shaping children's educational experiences and highlighting the necessity of collaborative efforts and equal positions between parents and educators to optimise children's learning and development. Fri, 20 Sep 24 00:00:00 +0000 https://childrenaustralia.org.au/journal/article/3012 https://childrenaustralia.org.au/journal/article/3012 Research engagement and impact: The Australian Child Maltreatment Study and pathways to evidence-based policy and practice Fri, 20 Sep 24 00:00:00 +0000 https://childrenaustralia.org.au/journal/article/3028 https://childrenaustralia.org.au/journal/article/3028 Tribute for Dr Joe Tucci Fri, 20 Sep 24 00:00:00 +0000 https://childrenaustralia.org.au/journal/article/3029 https://childrenaustralia.org.au/journal/article/3029 Remembering Dr Frank Ainsworth Fri, 20 Sep 24 00:00:00 +0000