Response to: ‘<i>New Directions</i> in child protection and family support in Western Australia: a policy initiative to re‐focus child welfare practice’

McCallum, Sharon; Eades, Di

doi:10.1046/j.1365-2206.2001.00207.x

Cited by 10 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 5 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Relatedly, many participants said that child safety officials seemed preoccupied with "winning the case" and "building evidence" to justify their actions. This is consistent with the "science of risk," which has been adopted by child protection agencies, whereby risk is considered to be quantifiable and thus capable of being "proven" (see McCallum & Eades, 2001;Stanley, 2007).…”

Section: Child Protection Authoritiesmentioning

confidence: 63%

Mothers, Domestic Violence, and Child Protection

Douglas

Walsh

2010

Violence Against Women

110

125

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This article explores the relationship between understandings of domestic violence and the child protection response drawing on material gathered in focus groups with workers who support mothers dealing with both domestic violence and child protection issues. The interviewees expressed concern that the dynamics of domestic violence are often misunderstood and inappropriately responded to by child protection workers. This article critically examines the interviewees' concerns and concludes that to properly protect children, it is crucial that child protection workers have a clear understanding of the dynamics of and issues related to domestic violence.

show abstract

Section: Child Protection Authoritiesmentioning

confidence: 63%

Mothers, Domestic Violence, and Child Protection

Douglas

Walsh

2010

Violence Against Women

110

125

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…No information was provided on the experiences of protagonists or statistical analysis of factors associated with re‐referrals. As McCallum & Eades (2001) argue, this severely limits the conclusions that can be drawn from the study.…”

Section: British Evidence On Referrals and Re‐referrals To Social Sermentioning

confidence: 99%

Patterns of re‐referral to social services: a study of 400 closed cases

Forrester

2006

Child & Family Social Work

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The last 10 years have seen considerable government focus on effective initial assessment processes in the UK. This has been given added impetus by research that found that more than 97% of referrals are closed without allocation for long‐term work. Yet there is little research on referrals that are closed and no British study of patterns of re‐referral for such children. The current study looks at 400 consecutive referrals to three local authority Social Services Departments in London that were closed rather than being allocated for long‐term work. It investigates how many children were re‐referred in the 27 months after closure and identifies factors statistically associated with re‐referrals. The study found that a third of closed cases were re‐referred (36.5%), with most re‐referrals happening relatively rapidly. A small proportion of families accounted for most re‐referrals: 8.5% of families had 52% of subsequent referrals. There was very wide variation between local authorities in the number of referrals and re‐referrals received. Other factors associated with increased likelihood of a re‐referral were: previous referrals, neglect, parental capacity issues (particularly drug misuse) and parent/child relationship problems. The implications of the findings for practitioners, policy‐makers and researchers are discussed.

show abstract

“…These cases are not counted as notifications. The alternative classification is Child Maltreatment Allegation (CMA), and these cases become notifications that are subject to investigation (Parton & Mathews 2001; see also McCallum & Eades 2001). In New South Wales this approach is not in place.…”

Section: An Inter‐state Comparisonmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mandatory reporting of child abuse and neglect: does it really make a difference?

Ainsworth

2002

Child & Family Social Work

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Mandatory reporting of child abuse and neglect has its origins in the USA, where model statutes for laws designed to introduce this process were first drafted in the early 1960s. Indeed, every state and the District of Columbia passed a child abuse reporting law between 1963 and 1967. Some 10 years later, in 1977, New South Wales was the first Australian state to pass comparable legislation. Mandatory reporting of suspected cases of child abuse and neglect is now in place in all Australian states and territories, with the exception of Western Australia. The question considered in this paper is: ‘What evidence is there that children are abused and neglected less in jurisdictions where mandatory reporting exists by comparison with jurisdictions where it does not exist?’ This question is examined by way of a comparison between two states, New South Wales and Western Australia. This paper also raises questions about the cost of mandatory reporting and the extent to which it diverts financial resources away from support services for families. There is also a question about the new New South Wales child protection legislation that extends mandatory reporting and possible negative consequences for ordinary families. The final question is about the role assigned to health care and education professionals under this legislation.

show abstract

Response to: ‘New Directions in child protection and family support in Western Australia: a policy initiative to re‐focus child welfare practice’

Cited by 10 publications

References 5 publications

Mothers, Domestic Violence, and Child Protection

Mothers, Domestic Violence, and Child Protection

Patterns of re‐referral to social services: a study of 400 closed cases

Mandatory reporting of child abuse and neglect: does it really make a difference?

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About