• National child abuse prevention awards HTML /PDF
• National Audit of Activities
• PECAN - Prevention & Education (Child Abuse & Neglect) HTML / PDF
• Needs assessment and case management in child protection and alternative care HTML / PDF
• Program Evaluation Consultancy Service PDF
• The other victims - Book review of Caring for child victims of domestic violence HTML / PDF
• Caring for the 'hidden children' - Book review of Children of parents with mental illness HTML / PDF
• Looking after children - new publication HTML
• Choose with care - ECPAT publication HTML
• New appointment - Children's Commissioner in NSW HTML
• Conferences - refer to the current listing
• *Literature Highlights - Selections from additions to the Clearinghouse Coll ection over the last six months. For copyright reasons, these can not be made a vailable electronically. Contact the Clearinghouse for a copy of the Newsletter .

Nominations for the Awards were sought in May 1999 through a national media campaign, selected mailouts and the Department of Family and Community Services' Website.

More than 150 nominations were received for individuals and organisations in the community services in Australia.

An Award was given in each of the following five categories: innovation; excellence; volunteering; valuing cultural diversity; and rural and remote.

Each Award was judged on one of the following three criteria: one, making a sustained and positive impact on the quality of life of children and young people who have been abused, or are at risk of abuse; or two, making a sustained and positive difference to people working with children and young people who have been abused, or are at risk of abuse; or three, improving community education in child abuse prevention through activities such as information campaigns and contributions to local or national community events.

It is intended that the Awards be presented every two years in conjunction with the Australasian Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect.

Ms Muriel Cadd, Chair, Secretariat, National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care Agency; Mr Robert Fisher, Chief Executive Officer, Family and Children's Services, Western Australia; Ms Dale Bagshaw, University of South Australia; Ms Wendy Machin, President, Save the Children Fund of New South Wales; Ms Jan Owen, National Director, Create Foundation, Queensland; Ms Em Travers, Create Foundation; and Ms Alison Stanford, Director of the National Council for the Prevention of Child Abuse Secretariat, Commonwealth Department of Family and Community Services, Canberra.

Winner Kidz Business Enterprise Project
Hampstead Primary School
Greenacres, South Australia

Kidz Business Enterprise Project was initiated in 1994 and was adopted by the school in 1995 in response to concerns about child abuse/neglect, the 'victim' mentality, non-assertiveness of many 'at risk' students, lack of skills transference from school to the real world and non-participation of many upper primary students. It builds on the core curriculum, pro-active climate, structures and processes of the school.

The Kidz Business Enterprise Project uses various project strategies, for example: explicit teaching of enterprising attributes and skills; students, parents and staff working together; teams contributing to the wellbeing of other 'at risk' children; and fundraising, performances and murals.

The project has been very successful in reducing 'victim' mentality, by developing students self-esteem, encouraging participation in the school/community, building quality child/adult relationships, developing parents' pride in the children, and 'real life' experiences.

"The strength of the Kidz Business Enterprise Project is the involvement of the whole community. It has changed the nature and culture of the community, given children confidence and skills and given parents recognition for their children. It has changed people's perceptions of the school as being 'poor' and not significant, to one of being recognised and happy."

Highly commended

The Jannawi Kids Project
Jannawi Family Centre
New South Wales

The Jannawi Kids are members of an innovative team of workers at Jannawi Family Centre in Lakemba, a specialist child protection service. They use a group of puppets that have played a unique role over the past five years in entertaining people, while raising public awareness about child abuse and the need for prevention.

Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Program
Victoria

The Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Program began in 1994 and was the first school-based program to focus specifically on child sexual abuse and prevention. The Program was the winner of the 1998 Australian Violence Prevention Award.

Winner

Cottage Family Care Centre
Campbelltown
New South Wales

The Cottage Family Care Centre was established in 1981. It is a community based program serving the City of Campbelltown local government area. The program provides special services for families with children up to five years of age caught in the generational cycle of physical, sexual, emotional abuse and neglect.

The Cottage Family Care Centre works with the whole family. Its goal is to help parents adopt a method of care for their children and themselves that is rewarding and conducive to the optimal development of the child.

For 18 years, the Cottage Family Care Centre has been committed to providing intervention, support and care for families in a unique way. They have made a sustained and positive impact on the quality of life of hundreds of children who have been abused or neglected.

"The Cottage Family Care Centre is well-respected by families and workers in the Campbelltown area and elsewhere. The majority of parents who have participated see it in a very positive, supportive way."

Highly commended

Family Visiting Program
Anglicare
Western Australia

The Family Visiting Program provides the opportunity for separated parents to have contact with their children in an environment which is child-focussed, safe and supervised. Operating in Perth and Bunbury, the service has demonstrated quality outcomes for children and parents and prevented the potential for ongoing abuse of children.

Abused Child Trust
Queensland

The Trust provides intensive long-term counselling, therapy, education, health and family support programs to abused and neglected children from birth to 8 years and their families. They have been running for ten years and have helped over 600 families.

Early Intervention Program
Benevolent Society
New South Wales

series of early intervention programs (Home Start, Infant-Parent, Families Together) support parents who are experiencing problems during pregnancy and their children's early years. Early intervention has been an important part of the work of the Benevolent Society for almost twelve years and the Benevolent Society has developed a unique understanding of the issues to do with child abuse over that time.

Dr Peter Eastaugh
Consulting Paediatrician
Victoria

Dr Eastaugh is a consultant paediatrician in the Shepparton area. For the past two decades, he has started a free clinic for children in Fitzroy, founded the Shepparton Early Intervention Committee which has been adopted as a model throughout Victoria, begun personal safety programs for children with disabilities, started the Shepparton child abuse prevention group (Sheppcan) and has been an outstanding advocate on behalf of children.

Winner

Child Abuse Prevention Service (CAPS)
Ashfield
New South Wales

The Child Abuse Prevention Service was established over 26 years ago. CAPS offers a community response to child and parent stress through a 24 hour a day, 7 days per week national freecall crisis help line, telephone counselling and support, home or personal visits and drop-in centres for parents and children.

The Service is provided by volunteers, many of whom are parents themselves, and professionals offering their time and services. It is an example of how volunteers can provide an essential service over many years and how this provides a key link to those seeking help.

"Many of the CAPS volunteers have life experiences that help in establishing a rapport with parents who ring for help. This is something that set it apart from other services from the beginning and that has sustained it for more than two decades."

Highly commended

Parent Helpline Volunteer Program
South Australia

The Parent Helpline is the only 24 hour, 7 days per week telephone service in South Australia to successfully integrate volunteer and professional staff in a primary prevention service. It offers information, support and counselling in the areas of health, behaviour and relationships for parents. The volunteers have become an essential and vital part of Parent Helpline and contribute greatly to a supportive environment for families to care for and protect their children.

Clan Midland Incorporated
Western Australia

Started in 1993, this volunteer-based home visiting service helps disadvantaged families in the Midlands District of Western Australia. Clan Midland uses home visiting as a primary form of service delivery, and in response to community need has developed a respite program once a month for children of high need families. Twelve volunteers provide support for ten families in the district.


Home-Start, Newcastle
The Family Action Centre
New South Wales

Home-Start is an innovative voluntary home visiting program in which volunteers offer regular support, friendship and practical help to young families who are under stress or facing difficulties in their home. It was the first Home-Start program (using the English model) in Australia and is well regarded by the Newcastle community.

SA Association of School Parents' Clubs Inc
South Australia

In South Australia, volunteers in schools, including parents, are mandated to notify suspected child abuse. The Association is the only parent organisation in Australia that conducts mandatory notification information sessions in schools.

Winner

Dr Cary Ooi
New South Wales

Dr Ooi is recognised for his long-term commitment in the area of developmental delay and child abuse. He has worked in community education on these issues for many years and has successfully raised awareness among the general population as well as the medical community. His personal and professional commitment to child abuse prevention is exceptional.

"Dr Ooi's drive and determination in his work to prevent child abuse and educate the community is outstanding. His special interest in, and commitment to children has had a sustained and positive impact on the quality of their lives."

Highly commended

Yorgum Aboriginal Corporation
Western Australia

Yorgum was first established in 1993 as a result of Aboriginal members who recognised that no culturally appropriate counselling support for Aboriginal people in the area existed. From this broad beginning, Yorgum developed this project of culturally appropriate counselling and treatment services to assist individuals and families where intra-familial sexual abuse has occurred. It is one of the very few such services throughout the country and, although has only been running a short time, it has already demonstrated excellent work that will inform services in many other areas across Australia.

Winner

Prevention and Education - Child Abuse and Neglect (PECAN)
Territory Health Service
Northern Territory

PECAN was established in 1996 and has worked to improve community awareness and education of the prevention of child abuse and neglect through coordinating and participating in information campaigns such as the National Child Protection Week. It also coordinates, develops, implements and evaluates a range of primary and secondary child abuse prevention programs in the Northern Territory. The program's particular strength is the way it has gained acceptance in remote communities, through engaging the community and allowing them to develop their own approach to child abuse prevention with assistance from PECAN.

"PECAN has a remarkable presence in many communities. They look at the individual needs of each community and try to assist them in their activities rather than imposing something on them. Their level of consultation within communities is also remarkable and they do this across the entire Territory on a very limited budget.

"Feedback from workers and people in the communities all show that this is seen as one of the most positive programs in the Northern Territory."

Highly commended

Protective Behaviours Program
Mullewa District
Western Australia

The area is an isolated one with limited access to services. Before the program was introduced, there was a significant degree of violence and child maltreatment that went unreported. People generally kept silent and children had few safety options.

The Protective Behaviours Program in the school changed much of that. It allowed people to acknowledge violence and child maltreatment in the town and to set up a network that enabled children to feel safe.

• Write to: The Department of Family and Community Services, Secretariat to the National Council for the Prevention of Child Abuse, Family Relationships Branch, Box 7788, Canberra Mail Centre, ACT 2610.

• Internet: Visit the Family and Community Services Website under Who's Who, Family Relationships.

• Phone: The National Council for the Prevention of Child Abuse Secretariat (02) 6212 9185.

• Fax: The National Council for the Prevention of Child Abuse Secretariat (02) 6212 9299.

PECAN is a unit of two - a coordinator and community worker - currently located at Palmerston Community Care Centre, in Palmerston, a community of just over 21,000 people approximately 21 kilometres from Darwin in the Northern Territory.

PECAN develops and implements a range of primary and secondary preventive activities to reduce the incidence of child abuse and neglect.
Overall aims are to prevent child abuse and to create an environment which supports families and communities and helps them to meet their responsibilities to care for and protect children.

National child protection week activities

PECAN coordinates and evaluates National Child Protection Week activities by Family and Childrens Services in urban, rural and remote areas across the Northern Territory.

This is done by:

• developing an overall focus for activities in the Northern Territory in line with the national agenda and media campaign of the National Association for the Prevention of Child Abuse & Neglect (NAPCAN);
  
• providing assistance and support to prevention representatives in each district to help identify their particular community's needs in relation to child abuse prevention;
  
• assisting staff in planning ways of approaching communities about the issue of child abuse and neglect that focus on family strengths;
  
• initiating regular contact with staff in assisting in overcoming the impact that isolation can have on information sharing;
  
• discussing ways to assist disempowered segments of the community to legitimately raise issues about factors that impact on the care and protection of children;
  
• sharing ideas and information with staff about child abuse prevention activities that have had successful outcomes in other localities;
  
• assisting staff to access resources that are needed for child abuse prevention activities/programs (eg funds, promotional material local and national);
  
• assisting staff with planning and evaluating their prevention activities in the face of unique problems associated with distance, cultural and language barriers;
  
• introduction of a prevention and evaluation training package for staff.

Positive parenting program

The Positive Parenting Program (Triple P) was initially piloted in Darwin and is now being introduced across the Northern Territory.

Triple P is a multilevel family intervention program for children with disruptive and behaviour disorders that is an initiative of the Parenting and Family support Centre at the University of Queensland. The program is scientifically validated and provides an approach to parenting which aims to promote children's development and manage children's behaviour in a constructive and non-hurtful way.

This parenting program is primarily implemented through Infant Health Clinics and Family Support Services in government and non-government agencies. (See attachment.)

Calendar for new parents

The Calendar for New Parents is provided through infant health clinics to all parents of newborns in the first three months of the calendar year. Funding has not been found for the calendar for year 2000 and so private sponsorship is being sought.

The calendar incorporates humour (through cartoons) to normalise the most commonly experienced difficulties in parenting; information on 12 common parenting topics - one per month; and family support services available to parents on the topic of the month.

Evaluation of the calendar indicates that the humour, content and service information is positively regarded by parents, and has assisted them in coping with the multiple demands of parenthood.

Caravan park project

Following concerns about high numbers of child protection reports in mobile communities and families residing in caravan parks, PECAN has worked with such families over the past 18 months, in liaison with the National Caravan Park Dissemination Project of the University of Newcastle.

Weekly sessions with families in group settings identified issues of financial stress, marital difficulties, inability to access services, lack of knowledge of available support services, social isolation, lack of security as tenants, and poor or non-existent facilities for young children.

PECAN & KIDSAFE NT are currently undertaking a joint research project, The Health and Safety of Young Children in Caravan Parks and Mobile Communities, in the Darwin, Palmerston and Litchfield Shire districts. Research findings will be used to influence future planning and design of caravan parks to be child safe and family friendly and to promote positive community interaction.

Initial funding was obtained to pilot the appointment of a paid Playgroup Coordinator at one caravan park and Playgroup NT is now looking to extend this service to all caravan parks in Darwin, Palmerston and Litchfield districts.

Local councils have made literature available on services to van park management and residents.

The initial findings report of the Darwin Caravan Park Project was presented at the 6th National Caravan Park Workers seminar in Brisbane on 18 March 1999.

NAPCAN in Northern Territory

Negotiations are well under way with the National Association for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (NAPCAN), local councils, social service providers and Territory Health Services for the establishment of NAPCAN NT. NAPCAN is a non profit, volunteer based organisation formed to create a national focus on the prevention of child abuse and neglect. The Northern Territory will be able to contribute our unique geographical and multicultural experiences to the national agenda.

For further information about the work of PECAN, contact Lesley Taylor, PECAN Coordinator. Phone: (08) 8999 3340 Fax: (08) 8999 3333 Email: lesley.taylor@plmccc.health.nt.gov.au

The Children, Young Persons and Their Families Agency in New Zealand adopted the Manitoba Risk Estimation System (Reid and Sigurdson 1990) in the early 1990s. Elements of this system were also incorporated in the Victorian Risk Framework developed by the Victorian Department of Human Services in 1998. In 1996, the Department of Human Services in South Australia implemented the safety and risk assessment tools developed by the Children's Research Centre as part of their Structured Decision Making System (Ereth et al. 1999).

That risk assessment has been established as a critical topic for discussion is demonstrated by the DHS's commitment to host annual national Risk Assessment conferences in Victoria. This follows in the footsteps of the Annual Risk Assessment Roundtables in San Francisco that have been sponsored by the American Public Welfare Association since 1987.

Amid all this interest in risk assessment, it seems that some confusion has arisen between the functions of risk and needs assessment in case practice. Moreover, the critical role that systematic needs assessment plays in case management seems to have been overlooked in the more controversial debate about the different approaches to risk assessment.

This paper outlines what I consider to be the separate functions of risk and needs assessment, and then provides a brief overview of some of the current assessment tools that are being used - including family needs assessment, child needs assessment, and combined child and family needs assessment tools. The paper concludes by illustrating how needs assessment data derived from casework can be aggregated to provide management information that is critical for strategic planning and resource allocation.

Risk assessment

Risk assessment tools are used to help workers estimate the likelihood of future abuse or neglect in order to make decisions about intervention. There is considerable debate about whether risk assessment tools should be used at intake, after initial assessment or post-substantiation. In reality, child protection workers start making judgements about the risks in a given situation from the moment they receive a report of maltreatment. Theoretically, therefore, risk assessment tools can be used at all decision making points from intake through to closure. The only exception to this is the substantiation decision, which is not risk-based but evidence-based within the legal mandate of each jurisdiction.

The decision-making point where risk assessment is most commonly used is post-substantiation and there has been widespread use of formal risk assessment at this stage both in the United States and in New Zealand and South Australia. Both the reliability and validity of different risk assessment tools used at this point has now been tested and researched with significant results re their efficacy (Baird 1999).

In case management terms, the primary functions of risk assessment in initial case planning and of risk re-assessment at subsequent case reviews are as follows:

• to target departmental intervention to the families where the risks of re abuse and/or re-neglect are greatest;

• to determine the level of monitoring/support required for the prevention of re-abuse or re-neglect;

• to monitor the decrease (or increase) in risk during the course of departmental intervention;

• to assist in closure decisions by establishing a risk threshold below which departmental intervention can be terminated.

Needs that have no impact on or are irrelevant to the intervention goal are not included. Thus, unemployment may be a significant need/problem for a family but unless there are indicators that unemployment is impacting on child protection issues it would not necessarily be considered a need in the context of child protection case management.

Most recent needs assessment tools have incorporated child or family strengths as well as needs in recognition of the benefits of adopting a balanced view of the child and family situation rather than focusing solely on negative characteristics.

In risk assessment, there is continuing debate about the relative merits of consensus and actuarial models. In essence, actuarial risk assessment tools are developed by prior research. Case data on the characteristics of known abusive households is collected and analysed and critical characteristics, or 'risk factors' are identified. Risk factors are only included when they can be shown statistically to distinguish households where re-abuse is likely to occur from those where it is not. Consensus risk assessment tools on the other hand are designed by professionals, researchers, academics and other 'experts' in the field meeting together and reaching a consensus about which 'risk factors' they consider to be of critical importance.

All current needs assessment tools have been designed on a consensus basis. This is not to say that there has been an absence of research on needs factors, simply that the tools currently in operation have not been designed solely on the basis of that research.

Needs assessment tools have been used to assist decision-making during ongoing case management. In other words, they have not been used at intake or during initial investigation/assessment but they are used post substantiation and as part of the case planning and review processes for children in alternative care.

While the principal functions of risk assessment are targeting and monitoring, the main casework functions of needs assessment are as follows:

• to determine the needs/problems that cause or contribute to the ongoing risks, or that create barriers to achieving the desired case planning goals;

• to establish an overall needs/strengths level that can be reviewed at intervals;

• to identify the priority needs that should be the focus of intervention during the next phase in the case management process;

• to assist in the evaluation of the effectiveness of interventions.

  In summary, risk assessment tools are used to systematically determine the required intensity of intervention and monitoring, whereas needs assessment tools are used to drive the direction and content of the actual case plan for intervention.

Needs assessment may provide the rationale for intervention along with risk assessment. In other words, a department may decide to intervene because the risk of re-abuse is considered high or because various high needs have been identified during the initial assessment, or for both reasons. Once the decision to intervene is made, however, focused case planning requires ongoing and regular needs assessment.

For example, if a young child is severely neglected in an environment where there is domestic violence and substance abuse, it is only through the identification, prioritisation and treatment of the underlying family or parental needs - substance abuse or domestic violence or both - that the risk of re neglect can be reduced significantly.

Needs re-assessment and case planning reviews are conducted at regular intervals in order to establish whether needs have been addressed and this in turn assists in determining the appropriate point at which case closure can be considered.

Perhaps surprisingly there has been little controversy about the actual family needs factors that have been included or excluded in the different systems. Many needs factors show up in all assessment tools but there are some interesting differences and omissions.

Table 1 sets out the family needs assessment tools currently in use in Rhode Island, Michigan and South Australia, as well as the tool now being introduced in California.

On the face of it, a system that does not include the assessment of child needs does seem to be incomplete. The argument for excluding detailed child needs factors is that case management in child protection intervention should focus on the changes that are necessary to reduce the risk to the child. These changes should be sought in the behaviour of adult caregivers and in the home environment rather than in the child. The contention is that if one includes child needs, many abusive or neglectful caregivers will accentuate the child's needs or problems while downplaying their own.

Ultimately, the relative merits of excluding or including child needs can only be judged by comparative evaluations of outcomes achieved by the different approaches.

As can be seen from the Table, employment and literacy factors have been left out of the more recent tools. The Californian tool has also left out intellectual capacity and sexual abuse. On the other hand, they have included two new needs factors that relate especially to the urban environment in the major Californian cities.

In all of the above models, workers are asked to rate families (and children) on each needs factor, and to decide which are the three priority needs and the three priority strengths. The three priority needs become the focus of intervention to which services and programs must be aligned. The strengths are used as a positive force to assist in dealing with the needs.

The rationale for using a narrow focus on just three major needs per family is that this encourages sustained and targeted intervention. In other words, workers and families cannot shift the direction of case planning simply because a particular need or problem proves intractable, or because the caregiver is unwilling to follow through with a program or treatment service.

The focused approach also assists managers and supervisors who, it is argued, no longer have to wade through complex file records in order to obtain an overview of the family needs/strengths and progress. Instead they can simply look through the completed needs assessments and reassessments. Of course, the use of a needs assessment tool cannot of itself overcome the resistance of a parent or family. What it can do is identify and highlight the precise nature of the obstacles to risk reduction.

Child needs assessment tools

The use of child needs assessment tools is widespread in the United States, the United Kingdom and elsewhere. Table 2 sets out some examples and the use of various needs factors in the different systems. The Looking After Children program in the United Kingdom (henceforth referred to as LAC) does not actually describe itself as a child needs assessment process, however that is the essence of the 'action and assessment' part of that program.

In LAC the assessment process is tailored to different child developmental stages and within each domain both the objectives and the extent to which they were achieved must be specified. The Tennessee model is designed so that each section opens with the identification of the child or young person's strengths rather than their problems/needs. This is doubtless the way of the future.

Issues relating to needs assessment tools

There are a number of practice issues associated with the use of needs assessment tools. I will briefly mention two.

First, most of the current US models use weighted scoring of each factor to enable a total needs score to be established. LAC and the Tennessee Permanency Planning model on the other hand involves no scoring. In LAC, each 'domain' involves numerous subsets intended to elicit an overall view of the level of needs in that domain.

Many professionals remain strongly resistant to the use of scoring tools, believing that such mechanistic systems necessarily detract from professional decision-making. I would argue that the real issue is not the design of a particular assessment tool but how the tool is implemented and the extent to which professional staff have the capacity to use their own judgement to override or replace scores generated by the tools.

The problem is that unless some scoring or weighting mechanism is built into the system, the potential for measuring aggregate needs and trends is severely limited. This is proving a significant difficulty to the researchers at Leicester University who are attempting to aggregate child needs data from LAC and are having to extract particular needs factors for use in their outcome measurement (Ward 1998).

Second, there is the question of how and to what extent the caseworker should involve the subject family or child in making the needs assessment. Practice varies considerably, with some professionals preferring to make their own 'objective' assessment and others using the assessment tool to assist in their engagement with the family or child. Clearly it is more time-consuming to involve clients, since they may disagree with the worker on priority needs. On the other hand, there is little chance of promoting major change unless the perceived needs/barriers are made explicit and placed on the case-planning table by the caseworker.

LAC takes the partnership approach a stage further and encourages a variety of key players to be involved in completing the assessment questionnaire. This may appear to be advantageous but it does raises issues about whether consistency of assessments can be maintained over time. Certainly the recent US study on risk assessment tools (Baird 1999) suggests that brief assessment tools are both more reliable and more valid than comprehensive tools using more broadly defined factors.

Aggregation of strengths/needs data for strategic planning

Providing the needs assessments tool is clearly classified and computerised, it is relatively simple for departments to aggregate data from individual casework up to team, office, regional and state levels. This provides critical information to management that can assist strategically in the following areas:

• Identification of aggregate needs, service requirements and service gaps. The major needs and strengths of client families and children can be aggregated by geographic area, age, social/ethnic group, program etc. This assists departments in building up a profile of strengths/needs against which the supply of existing services can be measured.

  In South Australia for example, initial aggregation of family needs data suggested a significant gap in DV services available to families with child protection issues in certain Metropolitan districts but not in others. In Michigan, substance abuse was found to be a chronic problem in 27 per cent families with children in foster care but only 6 per cent families involved in the Families First program. This kind of data is needed to support detailed planning and resource allocation.

• Monitoring of service provision and compliance. Referrals to particular services can be related to the needs assessment to determine if families with serious problems in the various needs domains are (a) being referred to the necessary services, and (b) are actually receiving the services or are refusing them.

• Determining the relative effectiveness of programs and service providers. Using matched groups of cases with similar needs profiles, outcome comparisons (eg re-abuse rates) can be made between different intervention strategies or different treatment programs. This in turn provides departments with valuable information concerning the effectiveness of the community agencies they fund.

References

Reid, G. & Sigurdson, E. (1990), Basic Issues Concerning the Assessment of Risk in Child Welfare Work, University of Manitoba, Canada.

Baird, C. (1999), Child Abuse and Neglect: Improving Consistency in
Decision-Making, NCCD, Madison, USA.

Ereth, J. et al. (1999), A New Approach to Child Protection: The CRC Model,
National Council on Crime and Delinquency, Madison, USA.

Ward, H. (1998), 'Using a child development approach to assess the
outcomes of social work interventions with families', in Children and Society.

Tim Heatherington is Coordinator, Alternative Care Development, Office of Child Protection, Queensland Department of Families, Youth and Community Care. This article represents the views of the author, and does not represent Departmental policy.

From the outset, the title of the book communicates Blanchard's understanding and approach to the issue. Whereas children living in domestic violence are often described as 'child witnesses' or 'children exposed to domestic violence', the approach here is less ambiguous, choosing instead to use the description 'child victims' of domestic violence.

The importance of unequivocally believing that all domestic violence does harm to children is an argument afforded substance through the book's thorough examination of the consequences for children and young people. Ideas about children's development, Blanchard argues, explain in large part the degree to which there is still a level of minimising the effects on children living in domestic violence, both within services that work with children and the broader community.

As Blanchard (p. 7) says: 'There is also a general ignorance in adult society about the way children develop emotionally. This stems from the belief that, because their cognitive development is immature and they cannot express themselves verbally, they lack any depth of feeling and emotion as well. We put children last in many instances because we believe they have no really deep feelings, just superficial ones. We like to picture them as "happy innocents". It is notable that services for child victims of domestic violence are only now being developed, long after services for the women victims and even the male perpetrators of the violence have been in existence.'

According to Blanchard, the task of caring for child victims of domestic violence requires workers to have knowledge about the effects on children of the damage done and of children's own survival strategies. In equal parts the book provides an account of the consequences for child victims and a focus on the practical strategies to improve the situation for the children and their mothers. Chapters that deal with the experience for children include: The effects of domestic violence; Children's experience of domestic violence; Identifying hurting children; The double whammy children (children who are also assaulted in the home); The child's eye view of alcohol and domestic violence; and Adolescents growing up with domestic violence.

Current reports, articles and pamphlets often have to condense the information about the effects on children.This book is able to elaborate on those effects that are often seen listed in point form, such as low self-esteem, aggressive behaviour, frequent illness. The section 'How children survive' (in Chapter 2) provides insights into the coping methods adopted by children in domestic violence.

The book uses quotes from research into children's experience of domestic violence to illustrate and support its claims.

For example, on p. 29: 'Children from violent homes are often very compliant: As a young child I was always trying to do the right thing, plan what would please him, work out what he might want'. '

And on p. 31: 'They contain their anger within themselves and wait for the opportunity to leave home. They become extremely emotionally controlled, not displaying their feelings. One person described it to me as: You develop a sense of being in total control in that situation. So inside you're feeling very scared and frightened but outside you're being very cool, calm and collected.'

This section (p. 30) also describes some of the ways in which children attempt to maintain their sense of self and self-esteem. 'Rather than accept their home life with passive tolerance and submission, they register a determination not to give way to despair but to fight back. How I dealt with my stepfather was that I set myself challenges, like when I learnt to ride a bike when I was eight . . . there was a very steep hill near the school and my challenge was to ride up it. Get to the top of the hill! Then I felt I could do anything. By successfully accomplishing the challenges she set herself, she retained confidence in herself, which otherwise would have been dissipated by the negative attitude of her father.'

Blanchard examines the effects of the violence on the relationship between the mother and child in a number of different contexts. In looking at the experience of adolescents the role of the mother is discussed: 'For children from violent homes, adolescence has problems beyond those normally experienced by the majority of children. A mother, suffering from her own emotional problems, may have considerable difficulty controlling her teenage children, partly because of her own inertia or because she feels guilty that she has caused the child's problem by remaining too long with her violent partner.' (page 85)

The second half of the book provides practical strategies. Some of the chapters include: Communicating with children; Group work with children from violent homes; Creative ideas for working with children; and Helping mothers to cope with distressed children. In the chapter on Supporting the distressed child, information is provided about ways to deal with angry children. The author makes the point that it may be difficult for workers not to react, however it is important to get through this 'testing out' period in order to be able to modify the children's behaviour and so have a helpful impact on them.

According to one child support worker (p. 118): 'Setting up a play environment where aggressive children can act out their anger in a safe situation . . . Play dough, which can be thumped around and squeezed is ideal . . . Dolls and toy animals are also useful because children can act out the scenes they have witnessed. Children will do this over and over again in an effort to come to terms with their experiences. One boy constantly played with two dolls who bashed each other up. Then he would bring an 'ambulance' to take them away.'

Throughout these chapters Blanchard emphasises the importance of interventions that involve the mother as a way of ensuring that the process of healing will be more likely to continue in the future.

There is a discussion or two of the key policy issues in this area - the interface of child protection and domestic violence services, and family law reform. Blanchard stresses the need for greater cooperation between agencies and highlights some of the positive changes in law reform (p. 212): 'The Family Law Reform Act 1995 contains provisions which require the court to ensure any order made with respect to children is consistent with any family violence order (Hon Justice Alistair Nicholls 1997).'

Chapter 12, entitled Working in a multicultural environment, provides a good overview of the specific issues and different experiences for Aboriginal children and children from non-English-speaking backgrounds. In particular these children will likely have been affected by the hurtful and often rejecting attitudes of the dominant culture. The need to be sensitive to the diverse cultural and child raising practices is discussed and the importance of employing staff from similar backgrounds is stressed.

Finally the last two chapters address survival strategies for workers and a discussion about prevention. There is information about the issues for workers who themselves have been child victims of domestic violence and some encouraging words for children's workers on the vital role they play in domestic violence and child abuse prevention.

'By their attitudes and the information they can impart to the women and children with whom they come into contact they can demonstrate non-violent ways of resolving conflict and empower them to stand up for their rights to live a life without fear and violence . . . It is important that workers stop and take a little of their time to collect and pass on their valuable information and insights..by collecting statistics..raising issues at staff meetings, and being prepared to take part in studies or research.' (p. 217)

Caring for Child Victims of Domestic Violence contains enough useful information to make it substantial text, but it is not a 'heavy' one. The book uses plain language and obviously reflects workers' experiences in the field. It will be a useful resource of ideas for children's workers and it should provide a valuable introduction for those newly entering the field, and for students.

Caring for Child Victims of Domestic Violence can be purchased for $21.50 from Nandina Press, PO Box 1329, Wangara, WA 6947. Phone/fax (08) 9306 1759.

According to the editor of this book, an estimated 27,000 children in Australia have parents who suffer from mental illness. Sometimes referred to as the 'hidden children' because of their past neglect by the mental health system, they are now recognised as being potentially at risk for poor intellectual and social outcomes.

These children often have to deal with the symptoms of their parent's illness, as well as professional interventions which they may not understand. Risk to children may arise from impairment of a parent's capacity to provide adequate care and supervision, from trauma, or from absence of the parent because of periods of hospitalisation.

The book presents the insights and perspectives of a range of contributors including workers in the mental health system, parents with a mental illness, and children of mentally ill parents.

In Part I, professionals with experience in the area describe the clinical issues for parents and children, and how mental illness impacts on the family. In Chapter Two, Sandra Lancaster describes the types of disorders most likely to affect the children of mentally ill parents, and the effects of these disorders on children at different ages.

Part II presents the results of the research project, Children of Parents Experiencing Major Mental Illness, which addressed the questions: What did parents and professionals identify as the needs of the children? What did parents identify as their own support needs, and, if they not seek support, why was this? Also described is the Southern Partnership Project which aimed to facilitate a process of developing collaborative and cooperative links among service providers to ensure that vulnerable children are identified and receive appropriate support, to enable parents to feel that they are entitled to ask for help in caring for their children, and to develop appropriate prevention and early intervention programs. Chapter Four provides perceptions of the needs of parents and children from a parent's point of view.

Part III deals with mental health and the law in Victoria. Parental mental illness may contribute to the risk of child abuse or neglect. When the parent receives appropriate treatment, has supportive family and friends, and has access to adequate income and housing, the vulnerability of a child is reduced. However when other risk factors are present, such as substance abuse, family violence, poverty, homelessness or social isolation, the child's vulnerability is increased. Author Robert Ross warns that: 'in the presence of multiple risk factors, such as mental illness and family violence, it is important that assessment and planning address each issue separately while considering how they may be interrelated.'

Professionals may be faced with situations where the rights of child and parent are in conflict. When this occurs, response needs to be tailored to the needs of the mentally ill parent, the family and the children, and inter-agency collaboration is essential for this to happen.

Part IV describes recent programs available for parents and children. Until the Families Together program began in New South Wales, there was no comprehensive community-based home visiting support program in Australia for parents with a long-term mental illness who have a dependent child.While the programs described in this book are generally at an early stage of development, their very existence is heartening and an indication that children of mentally ill parents are losing their 'invisibility'.

One program provides a home-based outreach support service for women with psychiatric disabilities who have dependent children in their care. The program is described and two consumers provide feedback. The respectful, non-judgemental one-to-one support is valued, as are the group meetings:
'I'm glad that the MSP exists. It really is a help to me.'

Also described is Parenting Together, a community peer support program for the mentally ill parents. Feedback from the group's participants is again positive: 'It has helped me to get well through support, confidence and people who had confidence that I was an okay mum.'

The Anglicare Croydon Family Support program is an outreach, in-home support program for families with children aged 0-13 years. Approximately 40 per cent of the parents have a mental illness. A strength of the program is its capacity to work with families on a long-term basis, and well-established networks facilitate inter-agency communication and cooperation.

Other programs such as the CHAMPS project at the Mental Health Research Institute work directly with the young people affected by the mental illness of a parent. CHAMPS offers a peer support program in the form of a camp, designed to have a balance of activities between robust physical exercise and quiet times, between structured and unstructured activities. The educative process is not separate but evolves from the camp activities and ensuing discussions. Comments from children and leaders clearly indicate their success.

As Rose, a camp leader, comments: 'The questions and revelations come thick and fast, so that the children compete for "air time" to pose their question or describe a particularly harrowing event. Watching hands being raised in the air, frantically trying to get answers they haven't had before, saying things never before said. Looking around and realising they are not aliens from another planet just because they have a mum who is different. Seeing the seasoned players offer advice, comfort. Watching in awe as the 13-year-old tough boy gently wove beads into the hair of a quiet nine-year-old, all the while chatting about this and that. Makes the exhaustion by Sunday night worthwhile.'

Loosely modelled on the Melbourne CHAMPS program, Kids with Confidence was a pilot peer support program for children located in the Loddon Southern Mallee region. This program consisted of eight weekly sessions after school, of approximately one-and-a-half hours' duration. Each session had a specific theme or topic for discussion, followed by an activity, a brief summary and some time for the children to 'do their own thing'. As yet the program has not been formally evaluated, but the project team found the experience rewarding and the approach promising. Post-program responses from the young participants were positive.

Another program for young people is Paying Attention to Self (PATS) run by the Centre for Adolescent Health in Melbourne. This is a peer support program which aims to provide young people with the opportunity to share their experiences and be supported by other young people in a similar situation. The program runs over a six-week period, with young people coming together for two hours once a week. Between five and eight young people aged 13-17 attend each group, which is co-facilitated by a health professional and a peer leader (who also has a parent with mental health problems). The focus is on developing skills among young people to increase their resilience and deal with their parent's illness.

Children of Parents with Mental Illness, concludes with principles for collaboration and a model for developing a collaborative approach. A useful list of resources, which cover both professional material as well as books suitable for children and young people, is provided in an appendix.

The book is impressive by virtue of its comprehensive coverage of research, policy, practice and legislation. A major strength is the insights provided by the representation of consumers and carers, as well as service providers. The book constitutes a valuable resource for anyone concerned about families with mental health problems, and is also immensely readable.

In the United Kingdom, the same concerns led to the development of the 'Looking After Children' approach. Looking After Children is an assessment, case-planning and review system designed to promote positive development outcomes among children and young people who are required to live away from their families of origin.

The Looking After Children approach in Australia, published by the Australian Institute of Family Studies, provides an informative account of the development of Looking After Children in the United Kingdom, and an analysis of its applicability in Australia. It argues that the Looking After Children approach may have measurable benefits for child care services in Australia.

The experience of a Victorian pilot implementation of Looking After Children, including details from an evaluation of the success of the pilot in improving the health and wellbeing of the children and young people in substitute care, is reported to demonstrate the potential of the approach to improve assessment, case-management and review systems, and in this way to secure children's wellbeing.

This book is a useful resource for anyone concerned with the wellbeing of children and young people who, for whatever reason, are required to live away from home of their families of origin.

The Looking After Children Approach in Australia, by Sarah Wise, Australian Institute of Family Studies, 1999. 76 pages, $15.00 plus $3.00 postage and handling.

Written specifically for non-government organisations, this handbook offers strategies and good selection processes for the appointment of staff and volunteers. These strategies will assist organisations to deter potential abusers and deny them entry to the organisation, thus reducing the risk of child abuse from selection errors.

Each phase of the selection process is examined with tips and ideas for improved practice. Contents include:

• The Aware culture
  
• Basic principles of good selection
  
• A model of recruitment, selection and support
  
• Recruitment (job description, setting clear criteria, realistic job previews)
  
• The employment interview (with ideas on questioning styles, approaches and decision making)
  
• Reference checks
  
• Alternative methods of selection
  
• Psychological testing
  
• Pre-employment checks
  
• Documentation
  
• Staff support and management (including an overview of strategies for induction, supervision, support and training)
  
• Guides and models to enable these principles to be put into action.

Choose with Care can be purchased from ECPAT Australia, PO Box 1725 Collingwood Victoria 3066, Australia. Price: $20 (includes postage within Australia only).

Gillian Calvert has been appointed as the first New South Wales Commissioner for Children and Young People. Ms Calvert was the former Executive Officer of the NSW Child Protection Council (1986-1990), community member on the National Child Protection Council (1991-1995), and Director, Office of Children and Young People, New South Wales. The appointment is for a period of five years, with responsibility directly to the Premier.

The establishment of a Commission for Children and Young People was a key recommendation of the Wood Royal Commission Paedophile Inquiry.

The Commission's responsibilities include:

• enhancing the safety, welfare and wellbeing of children in the community;
  
• promoting children's participation in decisions that affect their lives;
  
• monitoring screening procedures for child related employment; and
  
• advising the government on how to improve services for children.

In addition, it will be important to the Commission's success that it develops close links with children and young people - and the community more broadly - through ongoing consultation and discussion.

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