Looking after children

8 April 2009

New research paints the first detailed picture of the experiences of more than 600 children living in out-of-home care throughout Victoria.

The research by the Australian Institute of Family Studies found there were a number of positive outcomes for children but many areas where the life experiences of children under the care of community service organisations could be improved.

Institute General Manager of Research, Dr Daryl Higgins, says that overall younger children are less likely to be teased or picked on than older children, and tend to do better in terms of risky behaviour, illnesses and accidents.

“We also found that children in residential care fared worse than children in home-based care. For example, children in home-based care were twelve times more likely to meet at least half of the family and social relationships objectives than children in residential care,” Dr Higgins said.

The research was part of a project commissioned by the Victorian Department of Human Services and involved analysing a series of assessment and action records to glean information about what children’s daily lives were like in care.

“We found that about a quarter of these young people in care had an ongoing health condition and more than half of children aged 3 17 years had either a developmental delay or a learning difficulty. Forty percent of the children had seen a mental health professional or were on a waiting list,” Dr Higgins said.

The research also found:

The average number of carers that children had experienced in their lifetime was five (but with several cases, this number was much higher).
One quarter of children did not have contact with any member of their birth family.
Only 22% of school age children frequently saw their friends outside of school, although almost three quarters had a special friend and 68% had a supportive adult they could turn to in a crisis (other than their carer or parent).
Health objectives were met in around 54% of cases when a young person could be described as “normally well”, with good health monitoring and high proportion of children being fully immunised.
52% of children over the age of ten were classified as being at low risk for using tobacco, illicit drugs or alcohol, with 30% classed as being at medium risk and 15% at high risk.
Despite positive rates of book ownership and daily reading, education outcomes were poor across all age groups, especially for children over 15 years old.
Over half of the young people had a positive view of themselves and their abilities and knowledge of their family background, with more than three quarters able to explain (or having been told) why they were in care.
21% of children over 10 had been cautioned or warned by police or charged with a criminal offence.
Only a third of the young people could look after themselves to the point where they could function independently at a level appropriate to their age or ability.

The research was based on data from 56% of the total population of children and young people in out-of-home care in Victoria on 30 June 2007.

Author of the paper: Dr Sarah Wise, former Principal Research Fellow, Australian Institute of Family Studies.

Child Abuse Prevention Newsletter No. 17(1)

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