Search

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures are integrated into child protection and out-of-home care (OOHC) systems via the connection element of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle (ATSICPP). This article focuses on cultural connection in Australian child protection and OOHC systems over time, from its inception to its contemporary use to improve health and wellbeing and ameliorate cultural disconnection. An expanded understanding of cultural connection in Australian OOHC systems is articulated where cultural connection is theorised as a process of culturally connecting, while a critical position concerning the risk of cultural disconnection in OOHC is held. Indigenous cultures are fundamental to individual and community health and wellbeing. However, cultural connection in Australian OOHC systems risks becoming a site of bureaucratic policy compliance to ameliorate the effects of cultural disconnection produced by disproportionate First Nations child removals. This article illuminates this critical position while theorising how culturally connecting can be better understood in OOHC. IMPLICATIONS Cultural connection for First Nations children and young people is important for health and wellbeing, but is poorly understood in child protection and out-of-home care contexts. Cultural connection includes a community element, where culture acts as a point of distinctiveness to show that Indigenous peoples are surviving. At this juncture, cultural connection is a tool to resist the assimilatory impacts associated with ongoing child protection removals. Cultural connection can be understood as a complex journey of connecting for First Nations children and young people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Legislative provisions for accepting unborn child reports into the child protection system in Australia have coincided with a noticeable rise in the number of infants entering care. This article collates information on the child protection process during pregnancy based on a desk review of relevant public primary sources. The effectiveness of child protection during pregnancy in reducing statutory intervention at or following birth and avoiding unintended consequences is also explored through an examination of relevant child protection data, reviews, and research. The summary revealed some differences in the process of making, accepting, and responding to an unborn child report across Australia. The knowns about child protection during pregnancy include a high rate of unborn child reporting, a high proportion of children involved in unborn child reports who are subsequently admitted to care, and a disproportionate representation of Indigenous children in these statistics. The knowledge gaps include the circumstances of parents involved in unborn child reports who are approached by child protection and when; parents who refuse to engage; parents who are provided advice and support; and the outcome of these cases. Some aspects of child protection practice during pregnancy, including information sharing, risk assessment and case planning, and parental engagement and partnership throughout the process represent further knowledge gaps. IMPLICATIONS Attention to the high rate of unborn child reporting to child protection in Australia and to the differences in procedures for responding across the states and territories is needed. The high proportion of children involved in unborn child reports who are subsequently admitted to care, and the disproportionate number of Indigenous children who are represented in unborn child reports, substantiations, and care entries during infancy need to be addressed. There is a need for further research on child protection practices during pregnancy and case outcomes to maximise safe pregnancy journeys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contact between children in care and family members is complex and often emotionally difficult for all concerned. In the context of a wider Australian cross-jurisdictional intervention trial, focusing on contact between children in long-term care and their parents, a snapshot survey of 901 children in Victorian foster care and kinship care placements was undertaken. The aim was to determine which children had seen parents, siblings or extended family members within a 12-month period, and how practitioners explained lack of contact between children and their parents. The study found that most children had had contact with parents or other family members, though children in long-term care were less likely to have seen their parents than those where reunification was still a possibility. Practitioners' views on why parental contact had not occurred for 18% of the sample illustrate the complexity of the issues involved in contact. IMPLICATIONS To support children's best interests, professionals should be clear about the purpose of family contact and provide support appropriate to that purpose. With children in long-term care less likely to see their parents, professionals have a role in helping these parents adjust to a new role. Developing strategies to maintain meaningful connections between children in long-term care and their parents may be more effective for children's best interests than the current emphasis on actual visits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Movimento (0104754X) is the property of Movimento, da Escola de Educacao, Fisica, Fisioterapia e Danca and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Perceived social support and a sense of belonging are thought to be protective factors against negative outcomes in adulthood that are commonly associated with childhood adversity. However, while this relationship is well established, very little is understood about how adolescents and young adults define these constructs themselves. This research aimed to examine adolescents' and young adults' understandings of perceived social support and sense of belonging, as well as their own understandings of their childhood experiences and current outcomes. Participants in the study were 275 adolescents and emerging adults aged between 17 and 24 (mean = 18.82, SD = 1.50), and included 177 females, 99 males, and 2 transgender participants, with 2 participants not disclosing their gender. Convenience sampling from a national group of young people accessing welfare service organisations within Australia was used. Qualitative data were obtained from 13 open-ended questions to an online survey. The study found that this group of adolescents and emerging adults with a history of childhood adversity understood social support and belonging as having someone who listened, as coming from people who surrounded them, and as impacted by their childhood experiences. We argue that support for this group of youth needs to revolve around building positive relationships in order to maximise resilience and well-being outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Childhood adversity is a complex issue with the potential for lasting effects over the developmental trajectory. Research has confirmed that people who experience significant adversity, hardship and trauma in early stages of development are at an increased risk of a range of negative outcomes at later stages of the life-course, including increased psychological distress and dysfunction, decreased likelihood of educational engagement and an increased risk of early parenthood. However, distal events exert their influence on later outcomes through various proximal mechanisms. One such postulated mechanism is a sense of belonging. This study investigated the role of sense of belonging as a mediator between experiences of adversity in childhood and psychosocial outcomes in emerging adulthood, amongst a sample of 254 young people receiving a range of social services throughout Australia. Results of three mediation analyses confirm that the path from childhood adversity to psychological distress and educational engagement is only weakly mediated by sense of belonging. No other statistically significant relationships were found. These results indicate that additional mediators are likely needed to more fully explain the effects of childhood adversity on psychosocial functioning in emerging adulthood. The paper concludes with a discussion of the relevance of belonging for practice in the field of child and youth welfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]