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Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) services are critical points of intervention for children impacted by trauma. Intervention Mapping was utilised to develop an initiative for trauma-informed organisational change in ECEC. This paper describes how the research team understood the need and opportunity for the program using Intervention Mapping Step 1. This included: (i) convening a planning group, (ii) conducting needs assessment, (iii) describing the context for intervention, and (iv) establishing program goals. Benefits, challenges, and recommendations on using Intervention Mapping for program development in ECEC settings are discussed.

Purpose: This article examines the educational decision-making of hearing parents for their deaf children born during a period (1970-1990s) before the introduction of new-born hearing screening in New South Wales, where the study was conducted, and prior to the now near-universal adoption of cochlear implants in Australia. Design/methodology/approach: We present findings from an oral history study in which parents were invited to recall how they planned for the education of their deaf children. Findings: We propose that these oral histories shed light on how the concept, early intervention--a child development principle that became axiomatic from about the 1960s--significantly shaped the conduct of parents of deaf children, constituting both hope and burden, and intensifying a focus on early decision-making. They also illustrate ways in which parenting was shaped by two key structural shifts, one, being the increasing enrolment of deaf children in mainstream rather than separate classrooms and the other being the transformation of deafness itself by developments in hearing assistance technology. Originality/value: The paper contributes to a sociological/historical literature of "parenting for education" that almost entirely lacks deaf perspectives and a specialist literature of parental decision-making for deaf children that is almost entirely focussed on the post cochlear implant generation. The paper is distinctive in its treatment of the concept of "early intervention" as a historical phenomenon rather than a "common sense" truth, and proposes that parents of deaf children were at the leading edge of late-20th and early-21st century parenting intensification.

The role of early childhood education and care (ECEC) is to support the learning and development of children in collaboration with families. The notion of inclusion in ECEC provides children with a sense of agency in becoming a learner able to participate fully and actively in their community. This paper illustrates how ECEC assessment approaches risk labelling young children in 'deficit' terms. The paper through a case study critically reflects on the implementation of a new assessment tool in kindergartens in the south-eastern region of Melbourne, Australia (low-middle income). Interviews were conducted with managers about the new tool, and documents (checklists and observations) were collected from the teachers. Findings show that the children were positioned as vulnerable with the introduction of the new assessment tool, leading to a diagnosis of 'at risk' for many children and a subsequent referral to education consultants, and health professionals. We explore the tensions of labelling young children, 'at risk' against the notion of 'becoming' that frames the Early Years Learning Framework for Australia (Department of Education and Training 2019) and professional understandings of 'inclusion'. The work of Nancy Fraser on 'social justice' augments the examination of this tension.

School communities face challenges in responding effectively to the rising incidence of student self-harm. Evidence-informed guidelines may provide a platform for schools to provide better responses and improve the outcomes of students who engage in self-harm. This paper critically reviews policies published in English targeted for schools or education settings on effective early identification and intervention for children and adolescent self-harm. A grey literature search was conducted using "Start Page" web search engine with a documentary analysis approach applied to review polices that met criteria. The review identified 16 policies that aim to help school and education staff to identify and respond to student self-harm. The key themes include identification and risk assessment, intervention, roles and responsibilities, as well as addressing issues surrounding evidence-based psychological education and intervention. An evidence-informed policy that addresses multiple aspects of responding to and reducing student self-harm may be a vital foundation of a school's response to this growing public health issue. This paper outlines key points that will help inform the development of evidence-informed guidelines for schools to respond to student self-harm and presents an exemplar policy framework for use by schools.

International evidence indicates there may be little or no academic benefit for children who are retained, and the possibility of negative long term socio-emotional outcomes for these children. Drawing on data from the nationally representative Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (n = 4464), this paper provides an Australian perspective on the practice of grade retention, specifically investigating repeating the Kindergarten year. Our results indicated that nearly half of grade retention occurring by Year 6 occurs in the Kindergarten year, the main reasons being related to learning and behavioural difficulties. The analyses identified a number of child and family factors associated with grade retention, the strongest predictors being maternal mental health and parental receptive language concern, with school readiness, receptive language skills, and child hyperactivity also relevant factors. The paper considers implications for early intervention to support children's academic trajectories through school.

This paper presents current prevalence rates for bullying and victimisation across grades, genders and bullying types. It also explores mean differences in emotional intelligence (EI), aggression and resilience for bullies, victims and bully/victims. A series of one-way analyses were conducted with EI, aggression and resilience as the dependent variables to identify target areas for intervention and prevention. Early intervention is required to reduce the effect of bullying. Of the 704 primary school students who completed this study, 2.6% reported that they bullied others, 53.7% were victims and 35.9% bully/victims. Prevalence differences across bullying types are discussed. As expected, bully/victims displayed lower scores on EI and resilience and were quick to anger. The pattern of results for victims contradicted expectations. Further investigation on target areas for bullies is required in larger samples. Implications for the development of intervention and prevention programs are discussed.

This scoping review was prompted by the introduction of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) in Australia, with a focus on young children with disabilities. The review began by investigating individualized outcomes measures used within Early Intervention (EI). The Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) was chosen as it is a widely used goal identification and outcome measurement tool. This paper explores how the COPM is used with young children with disabilities alongside other developmental assessments, what it contributes to the goal identification and outcome measurement process and the formulation of possible recommendations for early intervention (EI) services and the NDIS. This review highlighted that the COPM is currently used across several countries, with children aged birth-seven years with a range of disabilities. The COPM is being utilized to support the identification of functional goals and accurately track parent's satisfaction and their perception of their child's performance. This review indicated that the COPM builds in key elements of family-centered practice and would be a valuable tool to trial in the NDIS and to implement more broadly in early intervention internationally.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of an Australian health promoting schools (HPS) project to identify key features of the concept of resilience and how it can be used in a school setting to develop and strengthen protective factors in young people, as a mechanism for improving social functioning and reducing involvement in risk behaviours. Design/Methodology/Approach: Methods used in the "Resilient Children and Communities" project are described. Then a revue of the academic literature published on theoretical and empirical findings from the "Resilient Children and Communities" project is presented. Findings: The papers reviewed indicate there is a developing body of evidence to show that the "HPS" is an efficient and effective approach to building resilience amongst school children. Underpinned by Bronfenbrenner's broad ecological framework, benefits have been derived not only for students, but for the whole school community. Such benefits include not only building self-esteem and self-efficacy, peer relationships and relationships between students, teachers and parents, but also school connectedness and feelings of belonging. Practical Implications: The findings from this project provide a strong evidence base identifying the central role of "resilience" in the school culture. This role is cross-cultural and transnational and evidence that resilience can strengthen protective factors has clear implications for the African context, where communicable diseases and neglected tropical diseases pose intractable problems, typically in resource restricted environments. Originality/Value: These findings provide insight into the central role of the school setting in building resilience. Resilience, in turn, can help students survive and thrive under challenging and adverse conditions.

The provision of information is generally not a technical activity, but rather a contextualized social action. Previous research about informed-choice and decision-making for parents of children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing (POCDHH) has demonstrated this, highlighting the close relationship between contextual factors and the nature of information parents are provided with to support decision-making on behalf of their children. Such contextual factors involve human elements such as attitudes, values and beliefs of individuals involved in the transfer of information, as well as broader contextual factors such as changing information technology and changing markets. This paper reviews literature from a range of fields relating directly and indirectly to issues of informed decision-making for POCDHH. These studies provide an overview of issues such as current understandings of what type of information does (or does not) support decision-making, as well as highlighting the importance of considering how information is presented. Approaches used in other fields to address issues of reliability of information are also discussed. To complement this literature review, the article includes an auto-ethnographic component documenting my own attempts as a POCDHH to garner reliable information on behalf of my daughter within a discursive environment where the material often appeared inconsistent with best practice informed-choice and decision-making principles.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine a University's at risk program and ask is the intervention strategy working? The program seeks to assist at risk students who may be experiencing difficulties transitioning, for example from school into university. The program also seeks to identify problems and suggest remediation strategies before attrition. Design/methodology/approach: The effectiveness of the at risk programs is investigated across a population of at risk students from 2006 to 2010. Effectiveness is judged on the basis of outcomes in subsequent semesters where the University's preferred outcome is these students are not identified as at risk again. Findings: The authors have found that the program has some success in assisting students to improve their academic performance; though simply engaging in the process is not enough to ensure improvement. Other variables are at work. At risk students located in Melbourne appear to be far more likely to be at risk again than those in Singapore. Research limitations/implications: The at risk program is intended to be part of the University's total system of pastoral care. As such it is designed to assist struggling students to successfully complete their studies. With this in mind, this paper has investigated the influence of student engagement in the at risk program on future academic performance. Practical implications: This research assists Universities' implementation of pastoral care programs and notes the roles of student characteristics in "success" at University. Originality/value: To the authors' understanding no other research of this kind has been conducted. Much of the previous research focuses on attrition, students already lost to a program. This research focuses on those not yet lost to a program, but at risk. (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.)

This paper seeks to examine current policy reforms that situate education as a means of addressing social inclusion. Borrowing from the work of Popkewitz and Lindblad, the paper takes the form of a cross-disciplinary literature review that informs understanding of the relationship between educational governance and social inclusion/exclusion in policy research in Australia. To do so, the author examines the assumptions, omissions and contradictions in policy direction via two problematics--the engagement problematic and the early intervention and prevention problematic--to emphasise how policy discourse produces ways of thinking about inclusion/exclusion. The author argues that discourses of engagement and intervention and prevention reinscribe each other, acting as a palimpsest which produces notions of the "proper" family and "proper" participation. These notions of propriety ironically exclude particular types of individuals and families by situating them outside of possibilities for "success" in social and systemic participation. Therefore, the author seeks to examine the "systems of reason" that enable these discursively produced notions of propriety to become normalised. (Contains 1 note.)

Research consistently shows that addressing diverse families' needs early in life will reduce risks and increase protective factors surrounding the complexities of families' lives. For decades, prevention and early intervention has been described in many forms, from child centred and client centred to family centred and family focused, yet all have a common goal of intervening early to negate later crisis. This paper notes previous research on early intervention and prevention, and suggests that building partnerships and collaboration are important elements when working with families in complex situations. The next section of this paper provides a snapshot of Australian Government policy direction in relation to early years and outlines an innovative early intervention initiative implemented by the Department of Communities, Queensland State Government. Following this, the focus is on describing a prevention and intervention model, implemented by Lifeline Community Care Queensland Inc., which outlines the critical components of an early intervention initiative for families at risk. An evaluation framework attached to the early intervention and prevention initiative is introduced and the concluding statement points a way forward. (Contains 1 figure and 1 note.)

Over the last 20 years, the authors have utilised Bronfenbrenner's ecological and bioecological models as a basis for their work investigating children's transition to school, including the place of mathematics learning in this transition. The later bioecological model gave increased emphasis to the role of the individual within contexts, the processes that characterised interactions within and across contexts (proximal processes), and the influence of time. This bioecological model outlined four elements--person, process, context and time--which, together, were described as influencing the development of individuals. While the mathematical learning of young children influences, and is influenced by, all four elements of the model, the critical role of proximal processes in this learning is highlighted in this paper. Our aim is to identify how the four elements of the bioecological model, particularly proximal processes, provide a framework to analyse the experiences of the adults--early childhood educators and parents--involved in an early childhood mathematics education intervention designed to promote engagement with mathematics in playful situations. Data are drawn from 35 early childhood educators and 37 parents over 2 consecutive years (2013, 2014) with generally different participants in each year.

Objectives: This paper describes the rationale for and development of an innovative mental health service for people aged over 65 years living in Northern and Eastern Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Conclusion: The Healthy Ageing Service (HAS) was established in July 2020 to provide care for people aged over 65 years experiencing mild-to-moderate mental health concerns. It embraces a prevention and early intervention model of care. It provides primary consultation and brief intervention, secondary consultation, and capacity building to the primary healthcare sector. This innovative service is a Commonwealth-funded partnership between two tertiary mental health service providers that incorporates the recommendations from two major Royal Commissions. It demonstrates a service that acts as a bridge between primary and specialist mental health care, thereby extending mental health services to target the 'missing middle' and is potentially a model for mental health service provision throughout Victoria and Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Harmful sexual behaviour (HSB) carried out by children and young people can include sexual abuse of younger children or adults, or sexual assault in dating or peer relationships. The aim of this paper is to capture the "practice wisdom" of practitioners and applied researchers about clusters of risk factors associated with HSB onset, as well as possibilities for earlier intervention. Participants included practitioners and applied researchers in the HSB field. Data was collected in 2020 through individual interviews with eight key expert informants, and two group interviews – the first with two applied researchers and the second with three practitioners. Data analysis revealed risk factor clusterings around five key childhood experiences: being sexually curious; having a sexual interest in children; living with childhood trauma; living with contextual violence; and using pornography. These clusters are discussed in relation to early intervention. PRACTICE IMPACT STATEMENT Harmful sexual behaviour (HSB) is preventable but the early intervention agenda is underdeveloped. In this paper, five risk clusters are identified: being sexually curious; having a sexual interest in children; living with childhood trauma; living with contextual violence; and using pornography. The identification of these risk clusters present opportunities for early intervention that could enhance the prevention agenda to address HSB in Australia and internationally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Secondary prevention efforts, which target risk and protective factors associated with harmful sexual behaviour (HSB) and seek to intervene early in the trajectory of HSB, are underdeveloped in Australia. This study explored design considerations for an online early intervention service for children and young people worried about their sexual thoughts and behaviours. A trauma-informed child right's framework underpinned the study, which involved 10 individual interviews with international experts in HSB, and one group interview (n = 3) with Australian practitioners. Analysis was carried out using thematic analysis. Results reflect design considerations in relation to: theoretical approaches; practice frameworks; service delivery components; and helpseeking challenges. Key tensions emerging from the results are discussed, including the need to move beyond binary constructions of victims and perpetrators. PRACTICE IMPACT STATEMENT: This paper has significant potential to influence practice in the field of harmful sexual behaviour prevention and response. The paper sets out the components of an early intervention online service for children and young people worried about their sexual thoughts and behaviours. The online service could be built and trialed for impact and efficacy in supporting children and young people not to sexually harm. It would be the first service of its kind in Australia and fill a gap in the current service delivery landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The provision and implementation of early intervention for psychosis services (early intervention services [EIS]) has received increasing attention over recent years. Maximizing engagement with EIS is of clinical and economic importance, and exploring the experiences of those who access EIS is vital. Although research has been conducted exploring the experiences of engaging with EIS from both a service user and carer/family member point of view, these data have not been systematically collated to generate new understanding. The primary aim of this study is to review, critically appraise and synthesize qualitative findings relating to the experiences of service users and/or carers and family members engaging with EIS. Methods: Four databases were systematically searched. Studies were analysed using an inductive thematic analysis approach, within a critical realist epistemological framework. Studies were critically appraised using the critical appraisal skills programme tool. Results: Fourteen papers were identified for inclusion. Three main themes were identified: the importance of a personal relationship with an EIS staff member, the impact of this relationship and consideration of life after EIS. The importance of a strong relationship with EIS staff was the most prominent theme throughout the papers reviewed. Conclusions: The quality of the therapeutic relationship with at least one EIS staff member was the single most important factor in determining whether the experience of accessing EIS was a positive or negative one. The majority of the studies reviewed were conducted in the United Kingdom or Australia. Therefore, more research across countries is needed to understand transferability of findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eating disorders (EDs) are serious, deadly disorders that emerge in adolescence and early adulthood. Further, reported incidences of EDs are increasing worldwide. As such, accessible, affordable, and effective early intervention and prevention efforts are critical. The Body Project is a well-established ED prevention program with demonstrated success at reducing ED symptom severity and the risk of onset of EDs in young females. However, it has not yet been formally evaluated in an Australian population, nor have the benefits of the treatment for young people of all genders been thoroughly investigated. This protocol paper outlines the design for a study which aims to investigate the outcomes and feasibility of the Body Project as a brief ED prevention program within an Australian youth mental health service: headspace Camperdown. This pragmatic trial will compare outcomes between a Body Project treatment group and a Treatment-as-usual control group. Primary outcomes include body image concerns, ED symptomatology and general psychological distress, measured pre- and post-treatment, and at one-month follow-up. All young people attending headspace Camperdown for care are eligible for participation in the trial. The Body Project program is comprised of four group-based 1.5 h sessions run over 4 consecutive weeks. Overall, a trial of the Body Project as an ED prevention program is warranted to investigate the outcomes of the intervention in this sample and will provide valuable information about the feasibility for widespread implementation of the treatment as part of a stepped-care approach to intervention for EDs at youth mental health service locations across Australia. ANZCTR Trial Registration Number: ACTRN12623000695606 (registered 29 June 2023). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The widening participation agenda and related concerns about student retention require a more systematic focus on supporting student success. This paper describes a process designed with the dual goals of supporting the short-term academic recovery of students at risk of non-continuation due to early difficulties with assessment and developing their ongoing capabilities for self-regulation around challenging assessment tasks. Commencing students who failed or marginally passed their first piece of university assessment were invited to participate in a two-stage process: independently completing a reflective workbook designed to help them understand the reasons for their assessment performance, followed by a structured consultation with their tutor to identify improvement goals and strategies. Students undertaking the academic recovery process achieved higher pass rates for the second assessment item and for the course overall than a comparative group of students who did not participate. Findings indicate that a self-regulation-based intervention can contribute to students' academic persistence and success. Importantly, students experienced the intervention as providing insight into their underperformance on assessment and developing their capacity for metalearning. (Contains 3 tables and 1 figure.)

Therapy service delivery models to non-Indigenous and Indigenous people living in outer regional, remote, and very remote areas of Australia have typically involved irregular outreach from larger regional towns and capital cities. New South Wales (NSW) is the most populous Australian state with 7.23 million people of whom 4.58 million live in the capital city, Sydney. With the state of NSW covering 801,600 square kilometres, the experience of NSW residents with a disability provides a useful overview of the challenges involved in accessing therapy services in rural and remote areas of Australia. NSW government policy advocates for early intervention and person-centred therapy services (New South Wales Government, 2002, 2006, 2007). While in keeping with best-practice principles, these policy goals must be translated on the ground in rural and remote areas. Innovation is required, and collaboration between rural and remote therapists, people with a disability and their carers, and researchers could provide opportunities to develop, implement, and evaluate collaborative new service delivery models that meet local needs across the disability sector. (Contains 1 note.)

Since 2005, "Better Beginnings", an early intervention, statewide family literacy programme developed by The State Library of Western Australia, has provided thousands of families with strategies and resources to promote and support book-sharing from birth. This paper reports on the key findings of an independent longitudinal evaluation of the programme's impact on parents/carers approximately one year after they were introduced to the "Better Beginnings" programme. Parents/carers were asked about their book sharing practices, beliefs about the importance of sharing books, and library membership and participation in related library activities. Responses from the participants strongly indicated that the programme was well received and had a significantly positive impact on the child, other family members and the participants. The evaluation also raised a number of issues, which have implications for further development of the programme.

Conceptualizations of the home have changed, particularly in respect to children's rearing and development. An increased awareness of early intervention in meeting a child's learning needs has filtered down into the organization of space in homes. Maximizing learning opportunities by creating "literacy nooks", which involves carving out interactive domains in the home, has become a way of asserting parental agency in their children's development. The Parents' Networks project is an Australian Research Council (ARC) funded project that focuses on how specific locales, such as commercial retail outlets, playgroups, libraries, health services and home spaces, have become networks of information sourcing and learning. This paper refers to a sub-project derived from this larger study that focuses specifically on the home space. We suggest that within the home space, parents construct learning environments for preschool children based on concepts of "good" parenting. Four case studies of family homes in the US town of Greystone (pseudonym) are presented, exploring how space is arranged to produce an environment conducive to learning and development. In this article, we locate interview and observational data within space theory to posit how learning is mobilized within and across home environments. (Contains 1 note and 4 figures.)

We believe that the Australian early childhood sector is not performing well. The incidence of poor outcomes for children is increasing, and we believe that current service delivery is not capable of addressing this. We argue that, as a sector, there is an abundance of evidence of the kinds of programs and initiatives that could address our national concerns, and review some of that evidence. We also point out that there is considerable knowledge in Australia, based on Australian programmes and experience, that can be used to build a different early childhood sector with the potential to significantly impact on growing disadvantage. We conclude with the principles or themes around which such initiatives should be developed and a call to advocate for the development of such services. Appropriate services supporting all of our young children, their families and their communities, have the potential to make a huge impact on our society, and we can no longer hide from our responsibilities and avoid providing such services.

Aims: Schools have emerged as a key site for prevention and early intervention strategies for antisocial behaviour. This paper examines teacher perspectives of the scope within their day-to-day practice for the implementation of monitoring and management of student risk status for substance misuse. Methods: Teacher perspectives of early intervention for young secondary school students aged 12-14 are examined. Case studies are presented of five non-metropolitan Australian schools located in a low socioeconomic area. Findings: The study identifies a diverse range of early intervention practice in school settings; reports that teachers are pragmatic in their identification of students at risk, and use an under-theorised construct of engagement to manage risk. A number of tensions centring on the perceived purpose of school emerge when early intervention policy is operationalised in the classroom. Conclusion: The student wellbeing policy currently in use in Victorian schools needs to be refined. These revisions should provide schools with a clear and understandable early intervention framework that allows local translation. Any further policy development should be based on teacher understandings and capacity for early intervention. (Contains 3 tables.)

In the last 10 years, the problem of school exclusion in England has reached a crisis point. Figures on permanent exclusions from primary, secondary and special schools in England show that for 1996/97, 12 700 children were excluded. Among these, 12% were pupils permanently excluded from primary schools. When the present Labour Government came to office, it made tackling these interlinked problems, i.e. poverty, poor skills and high crime, a priority because of the great human costs to individuals and society, and because of the impact on public finances and the health of the economy. Therefore, the government launched in 1997 the Social Exclusion Unit as one the first governmental actions targeting the phenomenon of school and social exclusion. As part of these initiatives, this paper focuses on the prevention of exclusion from primary school and the first year of secondary school at Key Stages 1 and 2 (4-11 years old) due to emotional and behavioural problems either at home or at school. The study aims to establish whether a new intensive, multidisciplinary intervention for pupils excluded from primary school because of disruptive/antisocial behaviour helps reduce the number of excluded days and the reoccurrence of emotional and behavioural difficulties when compared with routine care. (Contains 5 tables and 2 figures.)

Children with hearing loss and their families are now presenting for early intervention support and guidance at increasingly younger ages. At present there is a paucity of research that informs teachers about early language development in the child with hearing loss. Di-EL First Words (Di-EL) is a diary technique through which parents record their child's first 100 single words, in collaboration with teachers. This paper demonstrates, through case studies, how data from a child's diary can be used to monitor and investigate rate of lexical acquisition, lexical content and the emergence of word combinations in three children with profound hearing loss. This information is important if teachers are to know if, when, and how to promote early language development in children with hearing loss. (Contains 5 tables, 4 figures, and 1 footnote.)

This article overviews prevention and early intervention approaches focusing specifically on their relevance to the health of children and young people in Australia. Australian public health has a sound track record although concealed within the aggregate profile are a number of sub-populations with poorer health indicators. Recognition of this has increased efforts to improve the health of children and young people especially in exploring the impact of social environments within the communities where children are raised. This paper examines emerging research in this area drawing out key lessons and learning from Australian experience in the field of early intervention and prevention in community settings.

The purpose of this survey investigation was to gain insight into the different home literacy practices of preschool children in some disadvantaged areas across the state of Victoria, Australia. Findings indicate that parents read to their children regularly from a young age, found libraries easy to access and use, and have children who enjoy books and paper and pencil activities. However, more than half of them found there was not enough information available to support them in their child's literacy development. It is argued here that such information should be made available as a matter of some urgency and be distributed through libraries. (Contains 3 tables.)

This paper describes a process of assisting parents of young children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to identify and prioritise their goals for their children's early intervention. A modified version of the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (M-COPM) was used to facilitate this process. Twenty-two child-parent dyads involved in a home-based early intervention program participated in this study. Parents were able to identify and prioritise three to six early intervention goals for their children. Consistent with the core impairments of ASD, identified goals related to the domains of communication, behaviour, play and social interaction. The M-COPM was found to be a useful tool for enabling parents to identify goals for their children, when used and understood from a strong client and family-centred philosophical perspective. Pre- and post-intervention parent ratings of goal performance and satisfaction are presented to demonstrate the use of the M-COPM as an outcome measure. Implications for practitioners in early childhood and special education settings, and areas for further research, are also discussed. (Contains 2 figures and 1 table.)

Purpose: This article examines the educational decision-making of hearing parents for their deaf children born during a period (1970–1990s) before the introduction of new-born hearing screening in New South Wales, where the study was conducted, and prior to the now near-universal adoption of cochlear implants in Australia. Design/methodology/approach: We present findings from an oral history study in which parents were invited to recall how they planned for the education of their deaf children. Findings: We propose that these oral histories shed light on how the concept, early intervention – a child development principle that became axiomatic from about the 1960s – significantly shaped the conduct of parents of deaf children, constituting both hope and burden, and intensifying a focus on early decision-making. They also illustrate ways in which parenting was shaped by two key structural shifts, one, being the increasing enrolment of deaf children in mainstream rather than separate classrooms and the other being the transformation of deafness itself by developments in hearing assistance technology. Originality/value: The paper contributes to a sociological/historical literature of "parenting for education" that almost entirely lacks deaf perspectives and a specialist literature of parental decision-making for deaf children that is almost entirely focussed on the post cochlear implant generation. The paper is distinctive in its treatment of the concept of "early intervention" as a historical phenomenon rather than a "common sense" truth, and proposes that parents of deaf children were at the leading edge of late-20th and early-21st century parenting intensification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reviews the different models of early intervention, including educational, sociological, family-focused, and ecological models, and discusses their differing outcomes. Asserts that, as Australia moves toward economic rationalism, it is important for those in the field of early intervention to be clear about what they want to achieve to justify to a skeptical world their chosen intervention approach. (EV)

This paper presents encouraging results concerning speech perception, speech production, and language evaluation for an initial group of five children implanted with cochlear implants under the age of three years at the Children's Cochlear Implant Centre in Sydney, Australia. Preoperative assessment procedures and postoperative management are outlined. (Author/JDD)

Young people with severe and complex depression experience substantial social connectedness difficulties. The aim of this qualitative study was to evaluate the role of social connectedness in a novel group therapy (Relate) for youth living with severe and complex depression from clinicians' perspectives. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 clinicians practicing at Orygen's Youth Mood Clinic in Melbourne. Eight of the 11 clinicians were female, with the sample aged 30–42 years (M = 34 years, SD = 3.6 years) and having an average 4.5 years clinical experience at Orygen. Four key themes were identified by codebook thematic analysis. The first theme pertained to clients' difficulties with social engagement, which impacted their attendance of Relate, but were addressed by the intervention. In the second theme, clinicians identified Relate as providing a safe space. In the third theme, clinicians identified opportunities for positive relational experiences. In the fourth theme, clinicians observed social and clinical improvements in Relate clients, but marked recovery did not always occur after attending. Findings provide initial support for the continuation of Relate. Recommendations for future iterations of Relate include refining the intake criteria for referring clients to Relate and potentially lengthening the program's duration. What is already known about this topic: Group interpersonal therapy is an effective intervention for depression and interpersonal functioning in young people. Few studies have evaluated treatments for young people with severe and complex depression and high suicide risk. Few studies have evaluated group programs within early intervention services. What this paper adds: A relationally-focussed group therapy could improve social connectedness and interpersonal functioning for youth living with severe and complex depression. The Relate group emphasises a safe environment for sharing and social risk-taking, providing opportunities for positive relational experiences with similar others which might be particularly useful for youth with complex social difficulties. Identified issues with engagement suggest clients could benefit from an explicit rationale for how their participation in the group benefits their depression treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many fields of medicine have benefitted from the formation of clinical trials networks, whereby researchers come together on a large scale to identify high-priority questions and implement coordinated clinical trials. Clinical trials networks in the field of mental health, however, have been rare and largely absent from the Australian context. Here, we present an overview of the newly formed Growing Minds Australia Clinical Trials Network, which represents the first comprehensive clinical trials network in child and youth mental health in Australia. The 60 principal members of the Growing Minds Australia Clinical Trials Network represent teams across 19 diverse areas related to specific forms of psychopathology (e.g. internalising, externalising, neurodevelopmental disorders, early psychosis, substance use), specific research methods and processes (e.g. health economics, eHealth, implementation science) and specialised areas of practice (e.g. school-based systems, parenting interventions, Indigenous mental health, refugee families). Core functions of the Growing Minds Australia Clinical Trials Network include collaborative trial protocol development; peer review, prioritisation and endorsement of proposed trials; training; development of clinical guidelines; and consumer representation. The research by the clinical trials network will encompass the populations typically accessing youth mental health services, while placing a key emphasis on the early periods of life, and the role of parents and caregivers as critical partners in the co-design of research and the delivery of intervention and prevention strategies. The structures and processes built into the network are designed to coordinate collaboration between diverse stakeholders and ensure that provisions for translation are integrated into research from the outset. In this paper, we examine the potential for a dedicated clinical trials network to initiate fundamental improvement in child and youth mental health systems, and discuss the unique and complex challenges associated with establishing such an initiative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Governments across Australia are struggling to address escalating child protection notifications, a marked increase in the number of children in State care, a decrease in the number of foster carers and chronic workforce shortages in child welfare services. This paper explores the reform process that culminated in the proclamation of the Victorian Children, Youth and Families Act, 2005 and represents an aspect of the response in Victoria to these wider issues. It explores the history of the reform from the perspective of key actors from government, non-government sectors and academics who participated in the process. The paper explores the “ingredients of social policy reform” and how the change process was managed in Victoria. It does not seek to evaluate the reform but rather to understand the complex processes through which a propitious moment for reform was both seized and constructed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prevalence of challenging behaviours in children impacts upon families, educational settings, and within the broader society of Australia. Challenging behaviours develop early in an individual's life and can lead to more serious problems including substance abuse and delinquency in adolescence and adulthood. Given the high incidence of challenging behaviours in children, the need for prevention and early intervention strategies to target the onset and development of this phenomenon is paramount. Further, research in prevention needs to focus on how approaches to early intervention and prevention operate within a cross-cultural context. The Early Impact (EI) program is an early intervention and prevention program designed to reduce the incidence of conduct problems in children. It provides a framework for regular classroom teachers to equip them in working with children presenting challenging behaviours in the school setting. Further, the EI program serves to promote stronger partnerships between schools and families to best address the diverse needs of this population of children and ameliorate the stresses for school personnel and families associated with working with children at-risk of challenging behaviour. This paper explores the psychosocial variables that influence the child's trajectory towards dysfunction. It also provides a description of the EI program design including its philosophical framework that has been informed by current advances in the psychology literature which underpins the various EI program components. Finally, the paper emphasises the significance of comprehensive interventions programs for children and families at-risk that focus on both school and home settings and that are easily implemented in, and cost-effective to, community populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose Child and family health (CAFH) services in Australia initially provide at least one nurse-home-visit following the birth of a child. Planning and referral then commences for the on-going provision of appropriate services to families. Unfortunately, services in rural and regional communities in Australia can be fragmented and poorly resourced. Little is known about CAFH nurses’ experiences of working with families in these communities. The purpose of this paper is to examine the way CAFH nurses work within a universal health service model that may be compromised by isolation, discontinuity and fragmentation.Design/methodology/approach Focus groups with 26 CAFH nurses from five rural, two regional and one urban community in New South Wales (NSW), Australia were conducted. A secondary, thematic analysis of the qualitative data were undertaken to reflect on change and continuity in the field of universal CAFH services. Analysis was driven by two key research questions: How do CAFH nurses experience their role in universal home-based CAFH services within rural and regional areas of Australia and, what unique factors are present in rural and regional areas that impact on their CAFH nursing role?Findings The experience of the CAFH nurses as presented by these data revealed a role that was family centred and concerned for the welfare of the family, yet compromised by the need to meet the disproportionately complex needs of families in the absence of a strong network of services. The opportunity to present the findings provides insight into the way in which families engage with available services in isolated communities. CAFH nurses in the study attempted to maintain service integrity by adapting to the unique context of their work.Originality/value It is important to understand the mechanisms through which CAFH nurses operate to work effectively with families referred to their service. This paper describes the way in which CAFH nurses work with families not meeting the threshold for more intensive and targeted home-visiting service delivery in rural and regional communities of NSW, Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Schools have emerged as a key site for prevention and early intervention strategies for antisocial behaviour. This paper examines teacher perspectives of the scope within their day-to-day practice for the implementation of monitoring and management of student risk status for substance misuse. Methods: Teacher perspectives of early intervention for young secondary school students aged 12-14 are examined. Case studies are presented of five non-metropolitan Australian schools located in a low socioeconomic area. Findings: The study identifies a diverse range of early intervention practice in school settings; reports that teachers are pragmatic in their identification of students at risk, and use an under-theorised construct of engagement to manage risk. A number of tensions centring on the perceived purpose of school emerge when early intervention policy is operationalised in the classroom. Conclusion: The student wellbeing policy currently in use in Victorian schools needs to be refined. These revisions should provide schools with a clear and understandable early intervention framework that allows local translation. Any further policy development should be based on teacher understandings and capacity for early intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In July 2013, the Australian State of Queensland established the first fixated threat assessment service outside Europe to specifically assess and manage lone, fixated persons. The Queensland Fixated Threat Assessment Centre (QFTAC) is a collaboration between the Intelligence, Counter-Terrorism and Major Events Command of the Queensland Police Service and Queensland Health’s Forensic Mental Health Service. It has been modelled on the original Fixated Threat Assessment Centre (FTAC) which has been operating in the United Kingdom since 2006, with modifications to reflect local needs and differing mental health and legal practices. This paper describes the background to the development of these services, the rationale for their expansion to the Asia Pacific region, and outcome data for QFTAC’s first 12 months of operations. These findings support the efficacy of proactive FTAC-style approaches to managing the threat posed by fixated individuals to public figures and the wider community. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Youth mental health has become an important focus of health service reform in Australia, through Federal government funded initiatives such as headspace National Youth Mental Health Foundation. Underpinning the success of such initiatives is the availability of an appropriately skilled health workforce. This paper describes some of the major health workforce needs of the headspace initiative, and presents current data on the availability of key workforce components - youth workers, social workers, psychologists, mental health nurses, general practitioners and psychiatrists. Workforce shortages in many of these fields are evident and impact on the successful implementation of headspace, and other mental health service reforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Governments in Australia have increasingly outsourced human-services provision to the non-government sector. As an innovative outsourcing model, the Facilitating Partner model is used by the Commonwealth Government as part of its Communities for Children program. Unique features of the model include the manner in which non-government organisations are chosen as Facilitating Partners and the quasi-governmental role required of them. This paper explores the implementation of the model and the facilitators and barriers to changes in service-delivery and coordination. It is based on findings from 97 in-depth interviews conducted in ten sites as part of the National Evaluation of Communities for Children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Access to early childhood services is widely considered to be an important means of supporting vulnerable children and families. Yet the evidence that access to such services automatically makes a difference for vulnerable families is mixed at best. The growing presence of for-profit early childhood services may have an impact on the sector's capacity to provide the enhanced education and care to those most likely to benefit. What are the current and future possibilities for early childhood services to benefit vulnerable children and families? What resources are required to build the capacity of early childhood settings in supporting vulnerable families, and are these likely to differ between for-profit and not-for-profit settings? This paper will explore these questions using a Benevolent Society project, Partnerships in Early Childhood, funded through the Commonwealth's Stronger Families and Communities Strategy, Invest to Grow, as an illustrative case study. Researchers from the Social Policy Research Centre evaluated the first three years of the project, which involves a number of not-for-profit early education and care providers. The paper describes the implementation of PIEC as an attempt to improve the quality of early education and care services to vulnerable children, and lessons that can be drawn for the future of similar interventions. We conclude that time, support for staff and partnerships between different organisations appear to be critical for the success of these interventions, and that the capacity of for-profit services to provide these resources deserves attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Personality disorders have received limited recognition as a public health priority, despite the publication of treatment guidelines and reviews showing effective treatments are available. Inclusive approaches to understanding and servicing personality disorder are required that integrate different service providers. This viewpoint paper identifies pertinent issues surrounding early intervention, treatment needs, consumer and carer experiences, and the need for accurate and representative data collection in personality disorder as starting points in mental health care reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Issue Addressed: Dental caries is highly prevalent in very young Australian and New Zealand children. Health professionals other than registered dental professionals can help prevent early childhood caries, promoting oral health to assist families establish preventative oral health habits at a child's early age. This review identifies oral health promotion (OHP) delivered by nondental health professionals in Australia and New Zealand involving very young children. Methods: Databases (MEDLINE, CINAHL, Embase, Emcare, Web of Science, Scopus, ProQuest, Google Scholar, TROVE) and digital libraries were searched between 2001 and 2021 for eligible studies and grey literature. Studies with a focus on preventative oral health strategies in a primary health care context were included. Results: The review identified 76 studies. Seven met the inclusion criteria, and were conducted in Australia across metropolitan, rural, and remote settings. Studies that successfully engaged nondental health professionals to promote oral health to families reported a positive change in oral health practices among very young children. Delivering OHP during a child's early life stage positively influenced their oral health outcomes. Conclusions: Integration of dental and primary health care increased access to oral health care and advanced positive oral health outcomes for children. With adequate training, resources, and support mechanisms, nondental health professionals can deliver oral health strategies that facilitate behaviour change in parents to improve children's oral health. So What? Health promotion generates enabling conditions that support and empower families to improve and maintain their oral health. Nondental health professionals can play a crucial role promoting oral health for very young children and improving equitable access to preventative oral health care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Young people living in regional and rural areas of Australia are at an increased risk of suicide and have unique barriers and facilitators to seeking mental health support. As such, specific mental health and suicide prevention programmes that are tailored to young people within their communities are required. Despite this, peer-reviewed literature on such interventions is scant. In this commentary, we outline an existing rural place-based programme; Live4Life, created in 2009 in the Macedon Ranges, Victoria, and now running in nine Australian regional communities. We demonstrate that Live4Life shows promise in building the capacity of whole communities to support young people to recognise and seek help for mental health concerns. As such, we argue the need for further evaluation comparing Live4Life communities with matched control communities to assess the long-term impact of the programme and to support the upscaling of Live4Life across Australian regional and rural communities. What is already known about this topic: Young people face the highest burden of mental ill-health in Australia, with adolescent mental health challenges having long-lasting impacts on functioning and quality of life. Regional and rural Australians are particularly at risk, experiencing increased suicide rates and additional barriers to accessing mental health services. Place-based approaches to suicide prevention, which engage local communities have been identified as a need for regional and rural communities. What this topic adds: We outline the community-led programme Live4Life, which aims to increase community knowledge of youth mental health and encourage help-seeking behaviour in young people. We discuss the existing evidence demonstrating the potential impact of the Live4Life model on the communities in which it is implemented. We offer suggestions for future research evaluating the efficacy of the programme by comparing communities with Live4Life implemented to matched control communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Australia is piloting a stand-alone early intervention programme for psychosis, based on the Early Psychosis Prevention and Intervention Centre (EPPIC) model that was developed within mainstream Victorian State Government psychiatric services. The Australian early intervention programme is located in primary care, and badged as ' headspace Early Psychosis Youth Services'. There are currently six metropolitan early intervention services with two further services planned for the 2023 Financial Year. We discuss key findings from an external evaluation of the first six services, released by the Australian Government Department of Health under a Freedom of Information request. Conclusions: headspace Early Psychosis Youth Services received high ratings for patient satisfaction and engagement, which was associated with symptomatic improvement and functional recovery. However, governance was complicated, costs were relatively high, and caseload targets were not met. The cost for an additional year of good quality life was estimated at AUD 318,954, which exceeds the usual thresholds for defining a 'good buy'. Integrated models should be investigated, as they seem in principle to offer efficiencies and improved continuity of care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The rate of transition to psychotic disorder in ultra high risk (UHR) patients has declined in recent cohorts. The reasons for this are unclear, but may include a lead-time bias, earlier intervention, a change in clinical characteristics of cohorts, and treatment changes.Aims: In this paper we examined the two possibilities related to reduction in duration of symptoms prior to clinic entry, i.e., lead-time bias and earlier intervention.Method: The sample consisted of all UHR research participants seen at the PACE clinic, Melbourne between 1993 and 2006 (N=416), followed for a mean of 7.5years (the 'PACE 400' cohort). Duration of symptoms was analysed by four baseline year time periods. Analysis of transition rate by duration of symptoms was restricted to more homogenous sub-samples (pre-1998 and pre-2001) in order to minimize confounding effects of change in patient characteristics or treatments. These cohorts were divided into those with a short and long duration of symptoms using a cut-point approach.Results: Duration of symptoms prior to entry did not reduce significantly between 1993 and 2006 (p=0.10). The group with a short duration of symptoms showed lower transition rates and did not catch up in transition rate compared to the long duration of symptoms group.Discussion: These data suggest that, while earlier intervention or lead-time bias do not fully account for the declining transition rate in UHR cohorts, it appears that earlier intervention may have exerted a stronger influence on this decline than length of follow-up period (lead-time bias). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]