National Child Protection Clearinghouse
Evaluation Survey

1. Which of the following best describes your main role?
Please select Researcher (e.g., university academic, teacher) Statutory child protection service professional (including managers of direct service providers) Statutory child protection policy professional Out of home care service professional (including managers of direct service providers) Out of home care policy professional Other policy-related professional/program developer Foster carer/Residential carer Community-based family welfare professional (e.g., family support, parent education, counsellor) Adult-centred service professional (e.g., drug and alcohol, mental health, domestic violence) Child-centred service professional (e.g., treatment of survivors of child sexual abuse, Manager - Early childhood program) Health professional (e.g., maternal and child health nurse, paediatrician, general practitioner, health training and administration) Legal professional (e.g., police, lawyer) Non-tertiary education or child-care professional (e.g., school teacher, careers advisor, child-care worker) Advocacy or lobby group (e.g., NAPCAN, AFCA) Other (please specify)

If 'Other', please specify:

2. In which state or territory do you work? Please select Australian Captital Territory New South Wales Northern Territory Queensland South Australia Tasmania Victoria Western Australia

3. What do you see as the role of the Clearinghouse (or the main purpose/function of the Clearinghouse)?

4. Which of the following areas do you think fall within the Clearinghouse's purview? (Tick as many as you think apply)
Child abuse prevention
Child protection
Out-of-home care

5. Have you accessed material (e.g., books, research, audio-visual materials) from the Clearinghouse library collection (based at the Australian Institute of Family studies)?
Yes     No (go to question 13)

6. Are you a Clearinghouse library member?
Yes     No (go to question 8)

7. If yes, how long have you been a member of the Clearinghouse library? Please select Less than 12 months 1-2 years 2-3 years 3-4 years 4-5 years More than 5 years

8. How did you find out about the Clearinghouse library? (Tick as many as apply to you)
Contact with Clearinghouse/Institute library staff
Website
Newsletter
Word of mouth
Other (please specify)

9. Could you please indicate the type(s) of information/publications/materials you have accessed from the Clearinghouse? (Tick as many as apply to you)
Journal articles
Books
Clearinghouse publications (e.g., Issues Papers)
Audio-visual materials
Reports

10. How did you find out about the above materials? (Tick as many as apply to you)
Literature search conducted for you by a Clearinghouse/Institute librarian
Searching the Clearinghouse/Institute catalogue
Literature highlights from the Clearinghouse newsletter
Bibliographies page of the Clearinghouse web
Other (please specify)

11. How helpful do you find the materials available to you through the Clearinghouse/Institute library?

12. Do you have any further comments that you would like to add in relation to the Clearinghouse library services?

13. Do you have internet access?
Yes     No (go to question 21)

14. What kind of internet access do you use regularly (at least weekly)? (Tick as many as apply to you)
At home - broadband
At home - dial-up
At work or university - broadband
At work or university - dial-up
Internet café
Public library
Other (please specify)

15. Have you ever accessed the Clearinghouse website?
Yes     No (go to question 21)

16. How did you first find out about the Clearinghouse website?
Via link in an email
AIFS publication
Word of mouth (e.g., colleague)
At a conference / conference presentation by AIFS staff
Internet search
Web link from another related site
Other (please specify)

17. (a) What aspects of the Clearinghouse website are of most use to you?

17. (b) What are the 3 most useful services?
1.
2.
3.

18. How easy or difficult is it to find what you want on the Clearinghouse website?

19. Are there any aspects of the website that you find particularly problematic? (Tick as many as apply to you)
Navigating through different parts of the site
The format of downloadable reports
Finding what I am looking for
The availability of a clear menu
The layout of the front page
The time taken for the site to load
Other/s (please specify)
N.A.

20. Are there any aspects of the website that you find particularly good? (Tick as many as apply to you)
Navigating through different parts of the site
The format of downloadable reports
Finding what I am looking for
The availability of a clear menu
The layout of the front page
The time taken for the site to load
Other/s (please specify)
N.A.

21. What Clearinghouse publications have you accessed? (Tick as many as apply to you)
Child Abuse Prevention Issues
Child Abuse Prevention Newsletter
Resource Sheets
Research Briefs
Research reports (e.g., Out-of-home care in Australia: Messages from research)
Conference/workshop presentations

22. Of the Clearinghouse publications that you have accessed, please rate their degree of usefulness:

23. To what extent do you agree with the following statements relating to clearinghouse publications?

24. Were you aware that the Clearinghouse offers an information, advisory and "help-desk" service, through which professionals and interested parties can use the Clearinghouse library collection, library services and research staff to source information and relevant materials?
Yes     No (go to question 29)

25. Have you contacted the Clearinghouse for assistance in sourcing information?
Yes     No (go to question 29)

26. What sort of information did you seek? (Tick as many as apply to you)
How to obtain specific publications
Research advice
Information about researchers in the field
Information on a particular topic (e.g., mandatory reporting, working with children checks etc.)
Conference details
Other (please specify)

27. How useful did you find this service?

28. Do you have any further comments that you would like to add in relation to the Clearinghouse information and advisory service?

In addition to undertaking core Clearinghouse functions for which the National Child Protection Clearinghouse is funded, staff from the Clearinghouse also undertakes additional research projects.

29. Were you aware that staff from the Clearinghouse also undertake independent research?
Yes     No (go to question 31)

30. If yes, have you accessed any of the following reports based on research undertaken by the Clearinghouse in the past few years:

1. "Out-of-home care in Australia: Messages from research", which reviewed available Australian research into out-of-home.
   Yes     No
2. "Understanding organisational risk factors for child maltreatment: A review of the literature", which provided an evidence base for Australian jurisdictions to inform decision-making in the area of pre-employment screening checks for child-related employment.
   Yes     No
3. The "Research Utilisation Project", which explored the barriers and facilitators to research use by policy makers, practitioners, and other service providers in the child protection sector.
   Yes     No
4. "The recruitment, retention, and support of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander foster carers: A literature review", which examined the recruitment, retention, training, assessment and support of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people caring for children removed from their parents.
   Yes     No
5. "Enhancing out-of-home care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people", which focused on home-based care arrangements, but also includes some references to residential and other forms of out-of-home care.
   Yes     No
6. "National Audit of Child Protection Research 1995-2004", which brought together information about Australian research projects in the fields of child protection and early intervention to prevent child abuse and neglect.
   Yes     No

Childprotect is an electronic discussion forum for people in the child protection and child welfare sector. Childprotect provides a venue for discussion of child maltreatment and child protection research, policy and practice issues.

31. Were you aware of the Clearinghouse's electronic discussion list, childprotect?
Yes     No (go to question 33)

32. If yes, how did you first hear of childprotect?
Clearinghouse website
Clearinghouse publications
Colleagues / associates / word-of-mouth
Other (please specify)

33. If you were to utilise the Clearinghouse's electronic discussion list, what kind of messages would you find most useful? (Tick as many as apply to you)
Opinion pieces
Conference details/information
Training program details/information
New publication alerts
Research "tips"
What's new on the Clearinghouse website updates
Research enquiries and responses
Other (please specify)

The consultants are hoping to conduct brief telephone interviews (10-15 minutes) with a number of survey participants to obtain further feedback on specific National Child Protection Clearinghouse activities.

34. Are you happy to be contacted for a brief follow up telephone interview?
Yes (please provide your contact details below)     No

One in every 50 responses received will win two adult movie tickets. If you would like to go into the draw, please provide your details below.

Note: If you have not elected to partake in a telephone interview, your contact details will be destroyed immediately after the winners of the movie tickets have been drawn. If you have given your consent to a follow up interview, your contact details will only be used for the purpose outlined above. In addition, to maintain the anonymity of the information you provide, your contact details will be detached from your responses before any analysis is undertaken by the consultants. Once the telephone interview is conducted, your contact details will be destroyed.

Contact details for follow-up telephone interview and/or to enter the draw to win two adult movie tickets:

Thank you for your very useful contribution to this evaluation.