bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Inter-Country Adoption Policy in Australia — The Abnegation of Responsibility?
Authors: Picton Cliff , Calder Rosemary
Published: March 2016

Recent revelations in the media about the status of some Taiwanese children adopted by Australians raised again the issue of safeguards, official policies and practice in inter-country adoption. For many of the people significantly engaged in urging a raising of standards, the present situation and future possibilities foreshadowed in official quarters leave little room for optimism. In spite of well documented arguments for a uniform code of practice, responsibilities remain divided, offering loopholes for those who believe they have a special case that puts them outside the laid down procedures for assessment and approval. This paper argues that governments in Australia (State and Commonwealth) must not be allowed to walk away from responsibilities in inter-country adoptions, responsibilities which are firmly established and recognised as appropriate in domestic adoptions.
Child Abuse and the Law: The Australian Reform Commission’s Approach
Authors: Seymour John
Published: March 2016

The Australian Law Reform Commission’s report, Child Welfare, was tabled in the Commonwealth Parliament in November 1981. Although the report deals with child welfare in the A.C.T., many of the issues which are addressed are the same as those being considered in other parts of Australia. The report covers a wide range of matters, including:

young offenders and methods of dealing with them;

children in need of care;

abused children;

the licensing of child care services;

children in employment; and

welfare services for children and families.

This article will focus on the Commission’s recommendations on the reform of the law relating to abused children and other children in need of care.
The School, Teachers and Child Abuse
Authors: Petrie Simon
Published: March 2016

Recent proposed changes to family welfare legislation in Queensland (Parliamentary White Paper, 1981) include consideration of the extension of the mandatory reporting of cases of suspected child abuse or neglect, to encompass occupational groups other than medical practitioners. At the present time, only medical practitioners are obliged to report cases of abuse or neglect, under Section 76K of the Health Act (1937–1979) and Amendment Act (1980), Division XI B - maltreatment of children.
A Home Based Behaviour Management Program and Children’s Dinner Time Behaviour Problems
Authors: Smith Gregory , Ford Dennis
Published: March 2016

Parents in two families were experiencing difficulties in the management of their children’s behaviour. One particular time of difficulty was at dinner. The specific interventions to decrease this dinnertime difficulty, and the general outline of a behavioural home based approach used with both families are described. Levels of appropriate behaviour increased markedly in both families.
Recruiting Foster Parents: Socio∽Economic Characteristics of Foster Parents of Intellectually Handicapped & Non∽Intellectually Handicapped Children in Queensland
Authors: Volard Jill
Published: March 2016

Although there have been a number of studies carried out over the years about various characteristics of foster parents, most of them have been undertaken in the U.S.A. and the United Kingdom. Very little research has been done in Australia about foster care in general, recruiting foster parents, or about foster parents of intellectually handicapped children. This lack of Australian research raises questions as to whether findings of studies in other countries can be generalised to all foster care situations. It cannot automatically be assumed, for example, that the Australian foster parent population is the same as abroad, and yet for years workers in Australia have tended to rely on overseas statistics as a basis for decisions on foster care.
“Behind Every Good Soldier…”
Authors: Palmer David
Published: March 2016

unexplored area in Australian research. Literature on the topic of military base-host community relations in specific is practically nonexistent, in Australia and elsewhere. Those case-studies which have been made (Barth, 1952; Hunter, 1952; Palmer, 1977) reveal that the military community represents a kind of foreign settlement in a civilian locality, that relations more often than not are uneasy and even exploitative in such matters as housing, and that the military style of life in general thwarts civil-military social integration.

The communal nature of the military organisation in its own right has been noted by Kilmartin (1974; 444):

“Military organisation may be thought of as communities in two senses: spatial and psychological. The latter means simply the affective bonds between members which occur as a result of common experiences, common goals and, in some cases, public antipathy or indifference ... The second sense in which military organisations are communal is in the form of more visible, spatial communities such as those residential communities on or near service bases and in barracks and training camps... These physical arrangements symbolize the relative impermeability of the (civil-military) boundaries — from either side.”

How the wives and families of servicemen experience service lifestyle, military communalism and isolation from civilian host comunities is the concern of this paper.
Families & Fiscal Policy
Authors: Smith Phillipa
Published: March 2016

This article examines some of the policies and assumptions behind the government’s fiscal policies and family support.

The responsibility for dependent children has become lost in a ‘no mans land’ somewhere between the wages system, the government, and the family itself.

Of particular concern is the erosion of the real value of income, allowance and other support (eg. child care, refuges etc.) for poor families. Alongside the government’s oft quoted concern for the needy has been the actual fall in wellbeing of those most in need (eg. single parents, the unemployed, low income families) while other more traditional family notions have been supported (eg. dependent spouse rebate). In some instances this redistribution has occurred through active policies (eg. family allowances) while in other cases they have come about by ‘non policies’ (eg. failure to index allowances for single parents).
The Switchblade Mentality and your Child
Authors: Court John
Published: March 2016

I am sure you will forgive me if I do not deliver a formal lecture on an occasion like this. It would be easy to be heavy and serious with a theme such as the one chosen for this week, and the title “The Switchblade Mentality” scarcely leads you to expect an after dinner entertainment. I always feel mildly disappointed after speaking on topics like this when kind listeners come up and say “Thank you, I enjoyed that”.
Enuresis — A Case Study
Authors: Rainey Joy
Published: March 2016

This paper centre around a particular treatment procedure for a 6 years old boy with primary enuresis. According to Hudson (1980) the term “enuresi” mean “persistent wetting of the bed by children over the age of 3 or 4 years in the absence of any demonstrable organic pathology”. (P. 70).

Although there have been various ways of handling this over the centuries (mostly unsuccessful), according to many modern researchers, the bell and pad or enuresis alarm has the best record of success. Hudson claims “a continually demonstrated high success rate of approximately 75%” (p.18). He does emphasize, however, that these figures are for good quality equipment, used with professional supervision.
Immigrant Adolescents and Culture Conflict
Authors: Snyder Joan
Published: March 2016

In the research report Welfare of Migrants (1975), it was noted that all the ethnic groups surveyed were deeply concerned about the problem of “culture conflict”, which was seen as a generation gap in which cultural differences were significant in producing conflict. For the social worker the anxiety, tension and intra-psychic confusion, which this paper attempts to describe, indicates that it offers an important and challenging area for social work concern and involvement.
An Exercise in Influencing Child Abuse Policies and Programs in Victoria
Authors: Boss Peter
Published: March 2016

In this article it is intended to describe the activities of a pressure group which was formed with the explicit objective of influencing the course of events in Victoria in relation to the development of child abuse policies and programmes. In the course of this it will be necessary to present something of the recent history of these developments, the place of such policies in the wider policies relating to child welfare, the reasons why it was thought necessary to establish a pressure group and the directions of the pressurising activity. It is also argued that pressure group activity is a necessary and legitimate part of social work activity and can be undertaken whilst recognising the limitations of such an approach in a liberal-welfare, or to give it a shorter name — a conservative economy. This part of the article will be dealt with first.
Developments in Practice
Authors: Stamm Isabel
Published: March 2016

‘How do we understand that which we seek to act upon?’ Theory puts things which we see or know or hypothesise about into a system in order to make sense of what otherwise would be inscrutable in order to spot gaps and biases, and also to challenge the illusion that we know answers which we do not yet have. Some people become very uneasy by the fact of multiple points of view or the absence of complete agreement. They choose one point of view and they seek to destroy or denigrate all others. Or they may repudiate all concepts and use only intuition, common sense it's called. I suppose that the middle ground might be meriting our attention. I don't think that in our complex field of human relations and services to parents and children that it is very easy to simplify. You remember the comment There's a solution to all human problems. It's neat, and it's obvious and it's wrong'.
A Primary Prevention Programme for Migrant Children in a Queensland High School
Authors: Barker M. , Smith K.
Published: March 2016

“To reveal one's own emotional state to someone outside of the family, such as a social worker, or psychiatrist, is foreign to the usual repertoire of responses of Asians when in need of psychological support.” This assertion, made by two Asian-American mental health workers, is supported by the authors, based upon their social work experience with Indo-Chinese refugees in Queensland.
Mind That Child: A Critical Analysis of Child Safety Legislation in Australia
Authors: Bryce Quentin
Published: March 2016

Every year, but particularly in this International Year of the Child, many words have been spoken about children — their needs, their health and their happiness; and of the responsibility all must assume of seeing to it that young lives are nurtured.

The purpose of this paper is to examine an issue which pertains to the very survival of the child — safety legislation.

This year in Australia about a million children will be hurt and some thousands will die as a result of accident. What can be done to stop this epidemic? Does the law have a role to play?
Removing Legal Discrimination Against Children Born Outside Marriage
Authors: Bailey Rebecca J.
Published: March 2016

The First Principle of the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of the Child (1959) states that “The child shall enjoy all the rights set forth in this Declaration. All children, without any exception whatsoever, shall be entitled to these rights, without distinction or discrimination on account of … birth or other status, whether of himself or of his family”. Such a general expression of the desirability of equal rights for all children can be of little practical significance in the absence of positive laws to give substance to its spirit. The Declaration itself recognizes this in its Preamble, which calls upon “… national Governments to recognize these rights and strive for their observance by legislation and other measures”.
Children's Rights in Sweden: Where to Draw the Line?
Authors: Bainsby Wendy
Published: March 2016

* Every child has the right to divorce his parents

* When parents are divorced, no arrangement may be made for their child's custody without his consent

* Parents or guardians may not take decisions concerning a child of seven or older without discussing it with him first.

These three extracts come from Eight Theses of a Child's Rights (appended), compiled by a Swedish Professor of Law. A government committee considering children's rights is expected to recommend some of them for enactment into Swedish law.
Some Impending Legal Problems for Social Workers
Authors: Bates Frank
Published: March 2016

Many areas of the law with which social workers are required to deal are particularly dynamic and, in order to meet the challenges they present, it is necessary to look ahead. Developments in the United States often provide a useful means of predicting developments in Australia. The paper examines three areas, proceedings, social security law, and mental health – where change is becoming, or likely to become, apparent, in the first topic, there has been a marked change in both the issues with which the courts have had to deal and the methodology which they have adopted to attempt to resolve them. In social security law, decisions of the Administrative Tribunal have illustrated anomalies and deficiencies in the legislation, and social workers in their daily practice may notice others. All of that might well lead to a necessary review of the legislation. In the area of mental health legislation, a draft bill in Victoria contains a number of disquieting features which should cause social workers, as well as lawyers, concern. The paper concludes by noting that the legal relationship between social workers and the law has never been more subject to scrutiny in a wide variety of situations, and mutual respect between the two disciplines must continue to increase.
Child Protection or Family Support — Directions in Family Welfare for the 80's
Authors: Swain Phillip A.
Published: March 2016

Child Protection and Family Support. These are two aspects of our work in family and children's services that have been much discussed over recent years. Can you protect a child whilst at the same time purport to support the family? Should the two functions be organisationally and structurally separated? Are they really just parts of the continuum of care and commitment which we all share in families and children? These and other similar questions have been frequently repeated during the first half of the 80's as we all searched for ways to meet the obvious deficiencies in the networks of families and children's services that had been established. But as we look to the remainder of the 80's there a number of critical issues which are well indentified but which we have yet to really come to grips with.
Child Protection Policy in Victoria Part 1
Authors: Hiskey Elizabeth
Published: March 2016

The development of an explicit, formally enunciated, child protection policy in Victoria is only a recent occurence. This paper will trace the development of this policy from the sixties of this century until the present time. [Tierney (1963) made a comprehensive analysis of the development of child welfare policy and administration in Victoria up to the sixties.] Although historically, and currently, the Health Commission (formerly the Department of Health) has influenced the development of child protection policy, this analysis focuses particularly on the policies and practices of the Community Welfare Services Department as well as the relevant legislation. No attempt is made to analyse the policies and legislation administered by other relevant departments such as the Health Commission, Education Department, Law Department and the Police and Emergency Services Department. The policies of the Community Welfare Services Department are considered to be of greater relevance because of its role in administering the relevant welfare legislation, and the increasingly important role it has assumed in the supervision and co-ordination of various agencies involved in child protection.
Developments in Work-Related Child Care
Authors: Evans Joan
Published: March 2016

The child care centre at the Eden Park Industrial Estate, North Ryde, is currently the only centre established by a developer and in receipt of federal funding under the Children's Services Program.

The success of the Eden Park centre, which has been incorporated as an integral part of the design of the industrial complex, has caused the centre to be the focus of the growing interest in the concept of work-related child care by such groups as commercial concerns, unions, local government and other public authorities.
PRIMULINA VERSICOLOR AND P. ALUTACEA SPP. NOV. (GESNERIACEAE), TWO NEW SPECIES WITH YELLOW FLOWERS FROM NORTHERN GUANGDONG, CHINA
Authors: Pan Bo , Wang Bing-Mou , He Jin-Yan , Wen Fang
Published: March 2016

Two new Primulina species with yellow flowers, Primulina versicolor F.Wen, B.Pan & B.M.Wang and P. alutacea F.Wen, B.Pan & B.M.Wang (Gesneriaceae), from Guangdong, China are described and illustrated.
LECTOTYPIFICATION OF THE CRITICALLY ENDANGERED SUBSHRUB PHYLLANTHUS TALBOTII (PHYLLANTHACEAE)
Authors: Singh R. Kr. , Garg A.
Published: March 2016

The critically endangered Phyllanthus talbotii Sedgw. (Phyllanthaceae) is endemic to the northern part of the Western Ghats in Goa and Karnataka, India. The species was described in 1921 from collections made in 1883, 1918 and 1919, and then rediscovered in 1969. We report here a new locality, Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary, South Goa district, Goa. The species is lectotypified and a detailed description is provided, including distribution, IUCN threat status, conservation measures and nomenclatural notes.
A NEW SPECIES OF DIPLYCOSIA (ERICACEAE) FROM SOUTH KALIMANTAN, INDONESIA
Authors: Wilkie P. , Argent G. C. G.
Published: March 2016

A new species, Diplycosia kalimantanensis P.Wilkie & Argent (Ericaceae), collected on an expedition to Gunung Besar in the Meratus mountains, South Kalimantan, is described and illustrated, and a conservation assessment provided.
LECTOTYPIFICATION OF VIBURNUM BECCARII (ADOXACEAE)
Authors: Ranjan Vinay , Srivastava S. C.
Published: March 2016

A lectotype of Viburnum beccarii Gamble (Adoxaceae) is proposed with an image of the material selected.
Children in History
Authors: Goddard Chris
Published: March 2016

Writing about the French Revolution, Edmund Burke suggested that the state that cannot change will not survive. As I write this, at the end of 1989, it is evident that for many people the world is changing at a great pace, and that some states may not survive. There can be no doubt that 1989 will appear in history books as a year to be remembered, a year to be weighed alongside 1789, 1914, 1939 and so on. There is a sense that we are living through a momentous time in history. For those of us too young to remember 1939 or 1945, let alone 1914, this is the first experience of enormous upheaval. The map of Europe, East and West, appears to be changing every day.

With the established order, in Eastern Europe at least, disintegrating so rapidly, writing anything is a risky business, particularly for a journal such as Australian Child and Family Welfare where lead times are long and labour is voluntary. Much of what is written at the end of 1989 may appear irrelevant at best, in 1990.
Australian Schooling — The Present Moment — Nineteen Ninety
Authors: Blackburn Jean
Published: March 2016

Governments in Australia, as in most comparable countries, are now committed to the development of a better educated population and to new ways of managing public school systems. These new ways of managing combine strengthened central policy direction with devolved responsibility for the operation of schools. The commitment to a better educated population is for the most part economically motivated, resting on the assumption that this is a key element in raised productivity. It also, however, necessarily has a strong social justice component as it seeks to widen educational success beyond those social groups in which it traditionally has been high. Newly developing directions in the operation of public school systems clearly reflect pressures to ensure value for taxpayers' money. But they also have important educational justifications which cannot be overlooked.
The Behavioural and Social Functioning of Children Exposed to Domestic Violence: A Pilot Study
Authors: Bookless-Pratz Clara , Mertin Peter
Published: March 2016

It is now established that there is a relationship between domestic violence and emotional and behavioural disorders in children, with research suggesting that childhood exposure to domestic violence can adversely affect both present mental health as well as adult life. The private setting and nature of such violence makes accurate estimations of the extent of the problem difficult. Such figures that have emerged however, indicate that domestic violence is occurring on a chronic repetitive basis. Elbow states that the violent family is characterized by rigid sex roles, the use of violence to control others, poor communication patterns, isolation both within and outside the family, and the inability to accept responsibility for actions. It is also suggested that the dysfuctional patterns of the violent marriage impair the ability of the parents to meet the developmental and emotional needs of their children.
Child Sexual Abuse: Past and Current Myths
Authors: Goddard Christopher R.
Published: March 2016

Violence and assault within the home have always occurred in the shadows. Throwing light on the problems has never been easy, with the players in the tragedies disappearing and the action ceasing as soon as they were illuminated. For health and welfare workers now faced with large numbers of child sexual abuse victims the fact that the problem of child sexual abuse remained hidden for so long is difficult to comprehend. The evidence does not indicate a large increase in child sexual abuse, so the uncomfortable reality must be that the victims suffered in silence or their cries for help remained unheard or unheeded. As Hewitt so graphically proposes, the problem has always been:

“… characterised by silence and shame on the part of the victim, and disbelief and ignorance on the part of the community.”
Reflections on Entitlement to a Child in Australian Women's Journals 1947–1987
Authors: Harper Juliet
Published: March 2016

In the Macquarie Dictionary, a family is defined as “parents and their children, whether dwelling together or not”. To be a couple with no children puts one outside of this category when family is defined in that way. Indeed, it is only recently that the term “single parent family” has been coined and accepted as an alternative type of family structure. Prior to the seventies the reference was to the “single mother and her child” and earlier still, “unmarried mothers” and “illegitimate children” — “fillius nullis”, child of nobody, until the Children's Equality of Status Act in 1977.

Society still appears to hold the nuclear family as the ideal2 that is a male and a female, preferably married with one or more children. A couple remain a couple and are not considered a family until such time as they have a child. For those who wish to have a child but are unable to have one, this constitutes a painful situation, but one towards which society feels compassion and in the view of the author, supports the notion that couples are entitled to a child.
Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Children: Present and Future Services & Policy
Authors: Butler Brian
Published: March 2016

This paper will address the overall approach of the present government to the provision of Aboriginal children's services in the context of the social indicators about Aboriginal children within Aboriginal society and non-Aboriginal society. It will then outline the proper and appropriate frameworks for the development of services for Aboriginal children.
Bullying at School: It's hard not to feel helpless
Authors: Slee Phillip T.
Published: March 2016

A sample of 422 students (212 males; 210 females) ranging in age from 5-15 years completed an interview regarding their experiences of victimisation at school. Conservatively, 6% were bullied ‘once a week or more’, while 91% of the sample had witnessed incidents of bullying at school. Nearly one fifth of the sample felt powerless to stop bullying. The findings also indicated a relationship between victimisation and external locus of control suggesting that one outcome of victimisation is a feeling of powerlessness or helplessness. The findings were discussed in terms of the mental health outcomes for victims of bullying.
Schoolchildren's Perception of Their Rights: A Pilot Study
Authors: Turner J. Neville
Published: March 2016

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child was ratified by Australia in December 1990. The Convention contains 55 articles, 41 of which are substantive, the others being procedural.

The Convention has been analysed in legal and other literature in Australia. Its ratification was actively promoted by the National Children's Bureau of Australia and other bodies. Its implementation is the primary responsibility of the Federal and State governments. Periodic reports are required to be made to a Committee of the United Nations established for this purpose. It is foreseen that non-government organisations in each ratifying country will be invited to comment on the performance of their country. This surely means that the NCHA has a role in monitoring the implementation of the Convention.
Not just a job: A study of the needs of residential child care workers in Melbourne, Australia
Authors: Murphy John
Published: March 2016

While it is universally accepted that residential child care workers have a key role to play in the quality of services for children in care, the working conditions of many staff are poor and do not reflect the importance of their work. Very little research has been undertaken which focuses on the needs of residential child care staff. The following study examined the factors affecting the job satisfaction of residential child care workers in Melbourne, Australia.
Continuing to abuse children for a living: Protecting children from abuse by professionals again, Part Three
Authors: Goddard Chris
Published: March 2016

A number of people have contacted me about the interview published tn the last two issues of Children Australia (Goddard 1993a; 1993b). The mother's courage and persistence have clearly impressed many readers. In the latest development, the Victorian Ombudsman has reported on the case (Annual Report, 1992-1993, The Ombudsman Victoria, pp 40-42). I quote at length from his report:
The child protection case conference: Juggling rights, risks and responsibilities
Authors: Scott Dorothy , Lindsay Jo , Jackson Alun
Published: March 2016

This pilot study of child protection case conferences in a region of Melbourne highlights the dynamics of inter-organisational and inter–professional interaction. Data from direct observation of a small number of case conferences and focussed interviews with participants before and after each case conference, in addition to an interviewer administered questionnaire with professionals from agencies regularly participating in case conferences was analysed using manual and computerised methods. The findings relate to: parental attendance; interagency and interprofessional dynamics: case assessment focus; and worker anxiety about conflict. The management of conflict, the tension between the different purposes of case conferences, and the importance of the quality of leadership in case conferences, are discussed.
Sources of stress in Australian families and characteristics of stress resilient children
Authors: Slee Phillip T.
Published: March 2016

In the present study 647 families with a kindergarten aged child along with their teachers were surveyed and a sub-group of parents were interviewed with a view to understanding the types of potentially stressful events the child had experienced along with their kindergarten adjustment. Commonly experienced personal events included birth of a brother/sister, hospitalisation and death of some-one they knew. Social and economic events commonly encountered included moving home and unemployment of a parent. In all, 25.3% of children were rated by teachers as ‘poorly’ or ‘very poorly’ adjusted at kindergarten. Stress resilient compared with stress affected children were adjudged by teachers to (1) be better able to tolerate frustration, (ii) to show leadership abilities and (iii) to enjoy better peer relations. One outcome of this study has been the development of a video/discussion package entitled ‘stressed out and growing up’. Developed in consultation with parents, teachers and health educators the package provides a resource for examining the effects of stress on children and adolescents
Children's and adults' attitudes towards parents smacking their children
Authors: Duke Rosalie
Published: March 2016

Australian children's interests groups are campaigning for legislation to prohibit adults from using physical punishment with children. In this study, 100 South Australian children, early childhood university students and parents were questioned about their personal experiences of physical punishment in childhood. All three groups had strong negative recollections of being smacked. All of the adult subjects agreed that physical violence is damaging to children's psychological development and they knew that smacking is banned in South Australian state schools and pre-schools. Nevertheless a significant number (79%) used physical punishment for disciplining their own children. Furthermore, 80% of parents and early childhood education students opposed State legislation to ban hand-smacking and only 50% approved legislation to ban adults from hitting children with an implement. Although the university students had been taught and used positive child management techniques in schools and pre-schools, 65% said that they would smack their own children for ‘naughty’ behaviour. The study suggests that early learning (even learning of a negative nature) can take precedence over professionally gained knowledge and professional practice. Advocacy groups would be advised to press for community education encouraging the use of alternative child management techniques before introducing changes to legislation.
One way of responding to family violence: ‘Putting on a PARKAS’
Authors: Bunston Wendy
Published: March 2016

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.
Helping children who have experienced family violence: A discussion of the issues raised by the PARKAS program
Authors: Hewitt Lesley
Published: March 2016

This paper looks at some of the difficulties that practitioners face when developing intervention programs for children who have experienced abuse or family violence. It argues that different intervention strategies have developed in Australia, the USA and Britain for children who have been physically abused and for children who have been sexually abused or who have experienced family violence, and that these strategies reflect the different ways in which these problems were identified rather than being based on rigorous evaluative methodologies that identify what is actually effective in intervening in children's lives.
Sexuality education for children and pre-schoolers in the information age
Authors: Goldman Juliette D G
Published: March 2016

All children have the right to have sexuality education in order to enhance their self-understanding, their developing maturity and their self-concept. In the past, parents and some schools have provided this, usually as formal school programs. However, many children receive sexuality education informally from other sources such as peers, television, magazines and books. The technology available in the information age provides yet another source. The Internet has a growing number of sites specifically for sexuality education for children and pre-schoolers. Here, a selection of relevant sites is identified and presented for their developmental appropriateness. The opportunities these promote are almost limitless for children's enhanced personal understanding and knowledge-base upon which further development will occur in their teenage years and beyond.
The importance of parents in the lives of children in the care system
Authors: Thomson Jane , Thorpe Ros
Published: March 2016

Research to date has found that natural parents may be an important source of identity and support for children in and young people leaving out-of-home care. There has, however, been limited research on natural parents themselves, both internationally and in Australia.

This paper provides a justification for a research focus on parents, documents what is known from research to date, highlights current issues for parents and their children in out-of-home care, and concludes by identifying future research priorities in the area. The paper calls for recognition of the need to maintain positive links between natural family members in order to ensure best practice outcomes for children and young people in care.
Caring for children who care: Acknowledging the importance of the natural children of foster parents
Authors: Tadros Lynette
Published: March 2016

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’.
The importance of fathers in building stronger families
Authors: Fleming Joe
Published: March 2016

Fathers and father figures in child welfare and child development have often been neglected as a focus of interest and research, yet they are often recognised as being a key to the functioning of the family. In addition to this concept, parenting beliefs and practices inevitably influence those of child development and child rearing. By beginning to unravel the differences between role and gender and looking at the diverse dimensions of fatherhood, it is contended that there is no definitive discourse regarding fatherhood in the same way as it is suggested about motherhood.

Whoever these men are, and whichever ethnic group or culture that they may originate from, it is argued that they have often been ignored or avoided in child welfare work. It is hoped that by identifying some of the key concepts in this overlooked area, intervention can be planned to engage fathers more constructively.
Child protection practice with families affected by parental substance use
Authors: Hallgrimsdottir Erla , Healy Karen , Foulds Henrietta
Published: March 2016

This paper reports on a study of child protection practice in a non-government child protection organisation in inner Sydney. The purpose of the study was to explore workers ‘perceptions of critical issues in child protection and family support work in families affected by parental substance use. The findings raise issues about prevalence of substance use issues in child protection work, the risks posed to workers in this domain of practice, and the importance of improved co-operation amongst agencies involved with these families affected by parental substance use. Future research directions for improving child protection and family support practice with families affected by parental substance use are considered.
“Do you mean, we're not the only ones?”…: Disruption - powerlessness and empowerment
Authors: O'Neill Cas
Published: March 2016

A study of the meaning of adoption and permanent placement disruption for parents and social workers confirmed that the experience is extremely stressful over a long period of time.

Powerful themes evident through the process of the study were the influence on the placement of stress in the parents’ backgrounds; the maintenance of the family boundary; triangulation of relationships; the nature and quality of interactions between parents and social workers; relinquishment of a placed child; the immobilisation of possible support; and research as intervention.
Children in three contexts: Family, education and social development
Authors: Sarantakos Sotirios
Published: March 2016

This paper explores the relationship between family environment and behaviour of primary school children living in three family contexts. It uses data from studies including children of married heterosexual couples, cohabiting heterosexual couples and homosexual couples, and examines the extent to which these children differ with regard to scholastic achievement and aspects of social development. It shows that in the majority of cases, the most successful are children of married couples, followed by children of cohabiting couples and finally by children of homosexual couples.
Kids Help Line: A unique counselling service for children
Authors: Kau Max , Carlyon Trevor , Pearson John
Published: March 2016

Brother Paul Smith returned to Australia from Britain in 1990 committed to establishing a national telephone counselling service for children that would be preventive.

As a De La Salle Brother, Paul Smith had worked with young people in a number of community and institutional settings. At the time of his visit to Britain he was in his tenth year as Director of Boystown, a residential facility for young males placed in care as the result of child protection concerns or offending behaviour. His frustration with Government bureaucracies and their inability to support preventive programs was well known in Queensland.

The study tour of Britain included time at Childline, a telephone counselling service for children established in 1986. Childline counselled 57,342 children in 1990 with more than 30% of their calls relating to physical or sexual abuse. Childline is 80% funded by donations and covenants, and markets itself to children in need of help and protection. The service is supported by a referral system and a client-call data base as well as a sophisticated supervision system for its volunteer counsellors.

Brother Paul returned home impressed with the potential of a service such as Childline, but determined to both broaden its access by children and to support the counselling with state-of-the-art technology.
The South Australian Children’s Interest Bureau: Some Comments on its role with reference to implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child at the local level
Authors: Castell-McGregor Sally
Published: March 2016

This story begins with a letter. It is a bureaucratic letter and rather boring. But it has significance. It comes from the Department Of Immigration, Local Government and Ethnic Affairs. It may or may not surprise you to learn that this letter was sent to a twelve-year old girl, a British citizen, who was visiting her father, an Australian citizen, in Australia. The girl’s step-mother approached the Bureau and requested assistance to explain Immigration Department procedures to them and to ask for assistance in keeping the child in the country. The Immigration Department had threatened to take the child into custody unless a $50 visa extension fee was paid forthwith. If not paid, the child was threatened with deportation. This situation had arisen because the family had originally been given conflicting information about the date the visa expired. So how did we, a local institution, respond to this crisis and protect the child’s interests? First, the response had to be immediate as custody and deportation were imminent.

The only way out for the family was to pay the $50 visa renewal fee even though it was not responsible for the initial confusion.

An exhaustive series of negotiations ensued with Immigration Department officials, the SA Attorney General’s Department, a constitutional lawyer and the Legal Services Commission to clarify the information at hand, to ascertain the validity of the Immigration Department’s proposed action and to put a case for the child to stay. The Bureau also facilitated contact between the family and the Immigration Department in Canberra and last, but not least, provided emotional and practical support for a family in distress.
The Child Support Scheme: Failures of the first decade
Authors: Hyams Ross
Published: March 2016

This article focuses upon the first ten years of implementation of the Australian Child Support Scheme. It investigates the philosophy and social ideology which underpin the Scheme and questions whether the objectives of the Scheme are being achieved. The central thesis is that the ideology of the Scheme needs to be fundamentally altered in order to properly cater for financial support of children of separated families.

The article suggests that the amendments put forward by the recent Joint Select Committee investigation into the Child Support Scheme will not ameliorate the deficiencies in the Scheme as they do not go to the pivotal core of what a child support scheme is created to do. The article describes how the ideologies inherent in the Scheme might be altered in order to create a system of child support which would cater for all system users.
You had to be there to believe it
Authors: Goddard Chris
Published: March 2016

There are events and there are events that are reported in the media. How the media decide to report an event is reflected upon in this paper. Using case examples, the paper stresses that media coverage may describe but one part of an event, leaving other stories untold.
Foster care research in the US and Australia: An update
Authors: Ainsworth Frank
Published: March 2016

This article reviews recent reform, research and trends in foster care (family foster care, kinship care and group care) in the US. In presenting this data attention is drawn to the lack of comparable Australian materials. Practitioners are also cautioned against embracing US initiatives too eagerly as the time lag in the transfer of information means that these developments may have been modified by research findings by the time they come to notice in Australia.
Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder among children in respite care: Room for doubt
Authors: Mertin Peter
Published: March 2016

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.
Different youth, different voices: Perspectives from young lesbian wimmin
Authors: Burnett Lynn
Published: March 2016

This paper presents and examines issues pertaining to young lesbian wimmin in an Australian setting, with particular emphasis on the ‘coming-out’ process. Stereotypes as presented by Western culture are examined. Society’s honouring of the masculine at the expense of the feminine and the effect this has on young lesbian wimmin, and the development of non-heterosexual adolescents in general, is also discussed. Specific examples of episodes from a research project using memory-work methodology are used to highlight the experience many young lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people encounter as they come to terms with their sexuality in a heterosexual culture.
Child sexual assault and non-offending fathers
Authors: Stott Sarah J.
Published: March 2016

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.
Consumer groups in child protection: Enhancing the accountability of the system
Authors: Mendes Philip
Published: March 2016

The theme of this paper is the central role of consumer groups in promoting greater accountability in child protection systems. In recent years, numerous Australian authors have drawn attention to the failings of our State child protection systems. Particular concern has been expressed about the potential ‘systems abuse’ of children in care, and the failure of statutory systems to engage or adequately consider the perspectives of biological parents. One of the principal reasons for these deficits appears to be the absence of formal consultation mechanisms with consumers of protection services. This paper considers the recent rise of consumer groups of both young people in protection and care, and their parents/caregivers, in relation to the above concerns, with particular reference to Victoria. Attention is drawn to both the strengths and weaknesses of the better known groups such as the Australian Association of Young People in Care and their State affiliates, and the Parent Inquiry into Child Protection. The author believes that the role of consumer groups as a ‘watchdog’ will become even more important with the intended privatization of some State child protection systems.
Program evaluation for child and family services: What can be done?
Authors: Ainsworth Frank
Published: March 2016

This article is about program evaluation for child and family services. It sets out to offer some basic frameworks for thinking about program evaluation and about the issue of program effectiveness. A rationale for the emphasis on effectiveness is identified and then linked to three areas of possible measurement. These areas, changes in user/client condition, quality of services provided and user/client satisfaction, are then considered in more detail. Finally, it is argued that service users/clients will gain from program evaluation exercises. The evaluation of services contributes potentially to an improvement in the effectiveness of child and family services so service users/clients obtain benefit from such evaluations.