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This article uses a comprehensive database about children in adversity collected over the 16-year period from 1990 to 2005 in the state of Western Australia. The focus of this interrogation is the effect of major changes in responses to information about children brought to the attention of the Western Australian statutory authority in a 10-year period during this 16 years. The initiative for these changes was termed New Directions, and its associated policy and practice changes were aimed at differentiating information expressing concerns about children and families from allegations of child maltreatment. They emphasized the provision of supportive and empowering services to families experiencing difficulties - a form of differential response to children in adversity. The article covers the period leading up to the policy and practice change and the 10 years during which these changes were implemented. It examines some effects of the new policy and comments on whether the changes resulted in missed opportunities to protect children from harm, which in turn, might have led to higher rates of re-reporting. The authors present an overall picture of the nature of the information accepted by the statutory authority and how the interpretation of that information might have affected subsequent outcomes for children. In doing so, it shows that the policy and consequential practice changes associated with a differential response mechanism had long lasting positive effects that, despite dire warnings, did not compromise the protection of the small group of children identified as requiring protective interventions., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

As the number of infants entering Out-of-Home Care at birth internationally continues to rise, Hospital-based healthcare workers (HBHCWs) are increasingly likely to become involved in ethically, morally, and legally complex child protection processes. This scoping review aimed to identify and synthesize qualitative literature pertaining to the perspectives of HBHCWs with experiences of involvement in child protection processes occurring in the perinatal period. JBI Methodology for Scoping Reviews guided this review. Databases Ovid MEDLINE, CINAHL Plus, PsycINFO, ProQuest, Web of Science, SCOPUS, and Informit were searched between March 1 and April 30, 2023. Eighteen sources were identified as meeting the criteria for inclusion following screening by two independent reviewers. Data extracted from the included sources are presented in narrative and tabular formats. Involvement in child protection processes is an inherently conflictual experience for HBHCWs and gives rise to internal, interpersonal, and interorganizational tensions. Involvement can have an enduring impact on the HBHCWs, particularly when an infant is removed from hospital by child protection authorities. Appropriate peer, managerial, and organizational level responses are essential to ameliorate risk to HBHCWs themselves and subsequently their practice with women, infants, and families. HBHCWs can provide valuable insight into the challenges of delivering healthcare at the interface of child protection. Future research should focus on building understanding of experiences across disciplines to ensure that interventions designed to prepare and support HBHCWs are effective and evidence-based. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This studyofmanagement informationprovidesdataonall reports, investigations andfindings of maltreatment of children inWestern Australia from their birth in 1990 or 1991 until their eighteenth birthday. It provides prevalence rates of children being reported, investigated and found to have beenmaltreated. A study of more recent cohorts shows trends in recent years. A key finding is that over 13 per cent of all children born in 1990 and 1991 were reported before reaching the age of eighteen, although 71 per cent of them were not found to have beenmaltreated. International data suggest this rate of one in eight children being reportedmay be equalled or exceeded in countrieswith anAnglo-American forensic child protection system. Therewas also a disturbing increase in reports of Aboriginals andTorres Strait Islanders in recent cohortswithanestimatethatalmosthalfof thoseborn in 2004 had been reported before their fifth birthday. These findings add further evidence to the need for socialwork to address and severely limit investigative approaches. In this way, social workers will provide support rather than continuing practices involving high rates of surveillance and a focus on parental blame. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective prevention of child abuse depends on an understanding of factors associated with the abuse. Increased risk of child sexual abuse has been associated with parental substance use and adverse socio-economic factors such as living in poverty and parental unemployment. This study investigated overcrowding as a potential socio-economic risk factor in child sexual abuse taking into account other socio-economic, child and parental factors. This study used de-identified linked data from health and child protection data collections for the cohort of children born in Western Australia from 1990 to 2009 (n = 524,478). Cox regression was used to estimate adjusted and unadjusted hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals for time to first sexual abuse allegation and first substantiated allegation, relative to the level of overcrowding and controlling for other risk factors. Higher levels of household overcrowding were associated with a 23%–46% increase in the risk of child sexual abuse allegations. Only the highest level of overcrowding was associated with a 40% increased risk of substantiated sexual abuse. The findings suggest that overcrowded living conditions are associated with an increased risk of sexual abuse for some children. This factor needs to be considered alongside other risk factors when assessing and improving child safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]