Rosemary Sheehan

Women, resettlement and desistance

With the numbers of women imprisoned increasing across Western jurisdictions over the last 15 or so years, so too have the numbers of women returning to the community following a period in custody. Despite increasing policy attention in the UK and elsewhere to prisoner resettlement, women’s experiences on release from prison have received limited empirical and policy attention. Drawing upon interviews with women leaving prison in Victoria, Australia, this article discusses the resettlement challenges faced by the women and highlights their similarity to the experiences of women leaving prison in other jurisdictions. Women had mixed (and predominantly negative) experiences and views of accessing services and supports following release, though experiences of parole supervision by community corrections officers were often positive, especially if women felt valued and supported by workers who demonstrated genuine concern. Analysis of factors associated with further offending and with desistance, points to the critical role of flexible, tailored and women-centred post-release support building, and, where possible, upon relationships established with women while they are still in prison.

Research Articles in Australian Social Work from 1998–2007: A Content Analysis

Abstract With the rise of evidence-based practice, there have been calls in social work for practice research that examines the efficacy of its interventions. For the present paper, the authors conducted a content analysis of all articles published in Australian Social Work in the period from 1998 to 2007 to examine the nature of published research and evaluation. Of the 313 articles, 138 (45%) reported on research findings. Of these, only six articles involved practice evaluation or testing of an instrument, but there were positive signs of a developing empirical research culture primarily utilising a qualitative approach or mixed methods studies. The authors suggest that there is a need for more research on social work interventions, a more conscious decision by the profession about its attitude to evidence-based practice (EBP), specific directions for research education, and greater rigour in reporting all types of research studies, but particularly qualitative studies.

Parents with Mental Illness: Decision‐making in Australian Children's Court Cases Involving Parents with Mental Health Problems

Mental illness is listed as a child protection concern for a number of families reported to child protection agencies in Australia. Parents with mental health problems are more vulnerable, as are their children, to having parenting and child welfare concerns. Studies undertaken in the Melbourne Childrens Court (Victoria) have found that the children of parents with mental health problems comprise at least one‐quarter of all new child protection applications brought to the Court (Sheehan, 1997; 2001). This paper reports on a study undertaken in 2002, in the Melbourne Childrens Court, to examine (a) the extent to which the children of parents with mental health problems are involved in child protection matters, (b) the contribution by mental health professionals to resolving these child welfare concerns, and (c) the difficulties which confront the Court in deciding these matters. The study considered in this article found that, although parents with mental health problems are a significant group coming to Court, there is negligible involvement by mental health professionals in the child protection system. It was apparent that there was very little co‐operation between adult mental health and child protection services in this field. The Court was, therefore, given little appreciation of a parents mental health functioning and its contribution to, and impact upon, the child, and thus may not have all necessary information about the needs of, and likely outcomes for, these children and their parents.

The Effectiveness of Support and Rehabilitation Services for Women Offenders

Abstract There is a large body of research evidence suggesting that support, rehabilitation, and supervision programs can help offenders to reduce recidivism. However, the effectiveness of these services is dependent upon the extent to which the workers who deliver them comply with “what works” principles and practices. Because most of this research has been conducted with men, this study focused on the extent to which these principles and practices apply to women. In particular, the study examined services offered to a group of women in prison in Victoria, Australia, and following their release to the community; and the relationship between these womens views about the services, recidivism, and the characteristics of the services. Results were generally consistent with earlier research. The women favoured services that are delivered by workers who are reliable, holistic, collaborative, who understand the womens perspective, and that focus on strengths. They did not support services that challenged the women, focused on their offences, or on the things they did badly.

Parents as prisoners: A study of parent–child relationships in the Children’s Court of Victoria:

• Summary: This article reports on a study funded by the Criminology Research Council, Australia, investigating the intersection between the child protection and criminal justice systems and the extent to which children before the Melbourne Children’s Court on child protection matters, during the study period June to December 2006, had a parent currently in prison, awaiting sentencing or previously in prison. This article focuses on what associations there might be between parental imprisonment and its impact on family life and the care of children. • Findings: Magistrates identified 156 children as meeting these criteria during the study period for whom there were concerns about physical and emotional harm, child development, or the parent’s incapacity to provide care for the child; concerns about parental substance abuse, mental health, family violence and transience. The instability in these children’s lives was linked to the parents’ offending and was reflected in the reasons why the children came to the attention of the court, and the child protection concerns expressed about them. Yet, there was no co-ordinated response by the child protection and justice systems to managing these children’s situations. • Application: Early intervention for children affected by parental offending, and the development of child protection service protocols with the corrections system about children when their parents enter prison is essential, to better address the instability and disruption in care these children experience, their vulnerability as adults to mental health and relationship problems, and their reduced education and employment outcomes.

The children's court and child protection: The primacy of the socio-legal response to child abuse

Abstract Solutions to family and child welfare problems are increasingly sought from the courts. The Childrens Court in particular is increasingly asked to decide child care and parenting issues and to decide when the state has a claim in these matters. Child protection workers are also increasingly turning to the courts to confirm welfare concerns and justify their involvement in a familys life. Magistrates therefore have a significant role in child protection. The decisions they make have consequences not only for the child, the family, and the community but also for protective workers, as it is the magistrates decision that directs the work of protective services, yet how magistrates make these decisions is largely unknown. The paper reports on a study of magistrate decision-making, undertaken during 1993-95 in the Family Division of the Melbourne Childrens Court, Victoria, to discover what factors influenced magistrates in decision-making in child protection matters.

Magistrates' Perspectives on the Criminal Division of the Children's Court of Victoria

Abstract The Childrens Court is a critical social institution and important forum of social work practice. It decides important legal and social issues relating to children and families. This article reports the findings of a study of the views of Victorias Childrens Court magistrates on the current status and challenges faced by the Childrens Court as well as possible reforms that have recently been canvassed in Australia and overseas. This study was part of a larger “national assessment” of Australias Childrens Courts. The focus of this article is the Courts criminal jurisdiction. The findings point to concrete directions for change, for example, in aspects of its inputs and throughputs. In addition, the magistrates supported a shift in the Courts orientation to that of a therapeutic, jurisprudence-informed, problem-solving court. Findings also point to the need for research on the understanding of court processes and decisions by defendants and their families.

Alternative dispute resolution in child protection matters: the Victorian experience

Abstract Pre-hearing conferences were introduced in 1992 into the Family Division of the Childrens Court, Victoria. Pre-hearing conferences take place when there is a dispute between the Child Protection Service and the childs family about the need for statutory intervention in their familys life. The conference is held prior to any formal hearing so that the family, their legal representatives and the welfare authority can see whether they can negotiate an agreement about a child protection order. The present paper sets out the findings of a study of 208 pre-hearing conferences held in the Melbourne Childrens Court from February to July 2002. The study found that the quality of legal advice provided to parents significantly affected the outcome of pre-hearing conferences. Legal representatives varied in their willingness to step aside from the adversarial approach and give priority to discussion about child welfare concerns. It was apparent that professionals coming to the pre-hearings, both legal and welfare, had different expectations of these forums. It is imperative that if pre-hearings are to succeed, then their role and place in the child protection legal process is clearly explicated and professionals receive training in alternative dispute resolution.

Child abuse in the context of parental separation and divorce: New reality and a new intervention model

Child abuse allegations in the context of parental separation and divorce have long been seen as merely weapons fashioned by angry and vindictive parents involved in separation and divorce wars. They have been disregarded on the basis that they were unlikely to be real. However recent research from Australia and overseas has shown that this picture is not true. Child abuse in this context is real and it is serious. Moreover the research has shown that the socio-legal system does not serve children caught in this situation at all well. The Magellan program, a world first experimental program to overcome the problems for these children and their families as they progress through the socio-legal system, was introduced by a consortium of agencies in Victoria recently. This article reports on the program and its outcomes, and considers implications of some of the components of the new program for the various professionals working with this issue.

Family Group Conferencing in child protection: An evaluation

Family Group Conferencing (FGC) in child protection is a method of involving families in planning. This paper reports on a study undertaken in the Victorian child protection system, which examined (1) the extent to which the Victorian FGC program actually involves families in the planning process, (2) the extent to which FGC develops case plans which are appropriate, and (3) the extent to which FGC develops case plans which are sustained over time. Researchers observed 28 conferences and phone interviews were conducted with more than 100 participants including family members, staff members and representatives of non-government agencies providing placement and support services. The results suggest that FGC is more successful in involving family members in case planning than more traditional planning processes. Family members believe that FGC leads to more appropriate case plans which are more likely to be sustained. Child protection workers on the other hand believe that more appropriate case plans are developed in traditional planning meetings, rather than FGCs, and that case plans developed in traditional meetings are more likely to be sustained over time. Possible explanations for these findings are discussed, in particular that FGCs may be used for more difficult cases.