Jane Thomson

Reforming Child Protection

Child protection is one of the most high profile and challenging areas of social work, as well as one where childrens lives and family life are seen to be at stake. Vital as child protection work is, this book argues that there is a pressing need for change in the understanding and consequent organization of child protection in many English speaking countries. The authors present compelling evidence from around the globe demonstrating that systems across the Western world are failing children, families and social workers. They then set out a radical plan for reform: Providing an overview of contemporary child protection policies and practices across the English speaking world. Presenting a clear and innovative theoretical framework for understanding the problems in the child protection system. Developing an alternative, ethical framework which locates child protection in the broader context of effective and comprehensive support for children, young people and families at the neighbourhood and community levels. Grounded in the recent and contemporary literature, research and scholarly inquiry, this book capitalises on the experiences and voices of children, young people, families and workers who are the most significant stakeholders in child protection. It will be an essential read for those who work, research, teach or study in the area.

The importance of parents in the lives of children in the care system

Research to date has found that natural parents may be an important source of identity and support for children in and young people leaving out-of-home care. There has, however, been limited research on natural parents themselves, both internationally and in Australia. This paper provides a justification for a research focus on parents, documents what is known from research to date, highlights current issues for parents and their children in out-of-home care, and concludes by identifying future research priorities in the area. The paper calls for recognition of the need to maintain positive links between natural family members in order to ensure best practice outcomes for children and young people in care.

RECONCILING INDIGENOUS AND NON-INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGES IN SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION: ACTION AND LEGITIMACY

This article describes an action research project undertaken in Australia to confront Eurocentrism in our social work curricula. Our aims, action, and reflections are discussed. Further, we explore the legitimacy of non-indigenous teachers taking action to reconcile indigenous knowledges in curricula. The findings have relevance for international social work education.

Critical review of Queensland's crime and misconduct commission inquiry into abuse of children in foster care: Social Work's contribution to reform

This paper profiles Queenslands recent Crime and Misconduct Commission Inquiry into the abuse of children in foster care. The authors welcome the outcome as an opportunity to highlight the problems encountered by child protection jurisdictions in Australia and internationally, and they applaud some of the Inquirys findings. However, the paper argues that the path to reform is hampered by insufficient accountability by government and management, and an inadequate challenge to the ideologies underpinning contemporary child protection policy and practice. The authors conclude with a call to value and assert social works contribution to child protection systems so as to vastly improve outcomes for children and families.

This is nothing new: child protection concerns and poverty

The title encapsulates the argument advanced in this paper. The author argues that the associative link between child protection concerns and poverty, although well accepted, is not incorporated into practice with families. The paper presents the results of a small scale qualitative study undertaken in the two North Queensland regional cities of Townsville and Mackay. The author undertook interviews with ten (10) Family Services Officers (FSOs) in the Department of Families (DoF). Interviews revealed that FSOs agreed that family poverty is a stressor for child maltreatment. Participants differed in the extent to which they ascribed personal or societal responsibility for these family circumstances to deal with family poverty in a child protection practice and policy context. The paper argues that more can and should be done to help children and families in this regard.

Forward to the Past: A “New” Model of Collective Practice

In this paper I briefly outline my Ph.D. findings, which led me to make a call for a renewed commitment to collective practice approaches. I argue that social work has suffered from a trend towards decontextualizing and technologizing practice. I assert that social work needs to reclaim and revalue the importance of materiality as a framework for understanding peoples experience, both service users and social workers.