Centre for Social Policy Practice Research and Development

Our publications and reports

An Assessment of the Children’s Court of Western Australia: Part of a National Assessment of Australian Children’s Courts

Clare.M., Clare, J., Spiranovic, C., & Clare, B. (2011). An Assessment of the Children’s Court of Western Australia: Part of a National Assessment of Australian Children’s Courts.

In 2008, the Australian Research Council, through the Discovery Grants scheme, funded a research project titled ‘Challenges, Possibilities and Future Directions: A National Assessment of Australia’s Children’s Courts’. This national assessment of Australia's Children's Courts examines the contemporary status and current challenges faced by the Children’s Courts in both the child welfare and criminal jurisdictions and the viability of possible reforms based on the perspective of Judicial Officers and key stakeholders. In its entirety, this research provides a national assessment of the institution of the Children’s Court and allows comparisons to be drawn among Australia’s States and Territories….In summary, Judicial Officers and other stakeholders in the provision of services to children in Western Australia who participated in this study reported that the Court as an institution is not perfect, but it is satisfactory. A similarly universal view expressed by participants was that the broader system within which the Court is located makes it effectively unworkable. One Magistrate in particular summarises a generally held view: I’m really against having powers where you end up with the appearance of things happening but the real work on the ground is not capable of being done... It comes back to service delivery and starting to get some real things happening early with real, genuine interventions…

The experiences of parents and families of children and young people in care

Harries, M. (2008). The experiences of parents and families of children and young people in care. A social research project undertaken by Anglicare WA, on behalf of Family Inclusion Network WA and funded by a Lotterywest Social Research Grant. Centre for Vulnerable Children and Young People.

In 2005, Anglicare WA applied for, and in 2006 won, Lotterywest WA Social Research Grant Program funding for this research project titled ‘The Experiences of Parents and Families of Children and Young People in Care’. The aim of the research was to gain an understanding of the experiences of families who had been subject to investigation by statutory authorities in respect of their ability to care for their children. A particular focus of the research was the experience of parents whose children had been taken into the care of the child welfare department in Western Australia or elsewhere. The Centre for Vulnerable Children and Families in the Discipline of Social Work & Social Policy at The University of Western Australia was commissioned by Anglicare WA in December 2006 to undertake the research…..A total of forty-one people participated in interviews or focus groups or both. The literature demonstrates that there is a significant need to achieve a better understanding of the experiences of parents and families of children and young people who have been placed in the out-of-home care system, as this is a group who are little understood and who have rarely been asked to provide their views on their experiences of what happened to them. Extant research demonstrates that families have largely been invisible and their views have been underrepresented within the child welfare field, and consequently, this is an area that warrants research attention. The issue of poor relationships between child protection workers and families is consistently highlighted in the literature. Some of the key factors which have been identified as contributing to more positive relationships between workers and parents are: the workers’ acknowledgment of the power dynamic inherent in the relationship; the importance of trust being established between parties in the relationship; workers and parents working collaboratively together; keeping parents up-to-date and informed about their child; and the importance of involving parents in the decision-making about their child, such as placement decisions. As Thorpe (2007) suggests, renewed attention to family inclusion in child protection practice could be a key strategy, both for building sustainability and in providing clear benefits for children, their families and communities. It is clear that what is needed is an opportunity to form a better understanding via the experiences of these parents so that they — a primary consumer group — can inform policies and practices that will benefit children, young people and families involved in child protection practices.

Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse: Evidence and Options: Discipline of Social Work and Social Policy

Harries, M., & Clare, M. (2002). Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse: Evidence and Options: Discipline of Social Work and Social Policy. University of Western Australia.

The Minister for Community Development via the Western Australian Child Protection Council commissioned this analysis of the evidence that exists to support or otherwise mandatory reporting as an optional mechanism for addressing child abuse in Western Australia. A review team at the University of Western Australia was engaged on 26th April to report to the said Council by 30th June 2002. At a meeting on the 19th June 2002 this submission date was deferred to 17th July due to requests from community members for a longer period for consultation and an extended period for submissions….. In light of the overwhelming evidence that mandatory reporting systems are in chaos worldwide, every effort should be made to capitalize on the strengths of the Western Australian history and network of services.

‘Warm Eyes’, ‘Warm Breath’, ‘Heart Warmth’: Using Aroha (Love) and Warmth to Reconceptualise and Work towards Best Interests in Child Protection

Young, S., McKenzie, M., More, C., Schjelderup, L. & Walker, S. (2020). ‘Warm Eyes’, ‘Warm Breath’, ‘Heart Warmth’: Using Aroha (Love) and Warmth to Reconceptualise and Work towards Best Interests in Child Protection. Social Science. (9)54.

The attributes ‘warm eyes’, ‘breathe warm air’, ‘heart warmth’ and aroha (love) guide our work in child protection. These quotes are from a young person from the Change Factory 2020, a MFAMILY student in 2020 and Jan Erik Henricksen Key Note at the 4th International Indigenous Voices in Social Work Conference, Alta, Norway 2017 respectively, to describe the way young people and families want workers to be. We reflect on the child rights and family inclusion provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRoC), and the Aotearoa New Zealand (ANZ) legislation Children, Young Persons and their Families Act (1989), in contributing to the best interests of the child. We examine current events in our locations, Aotearoa New Zealand, Norway and Western Australia, as demonstrating that these joint principles are far from universally used in child protection practice. The sole use of Article 3 of the UNCRoC, in particular, often results in excluding families as legitimate stakeholders. In seeking to achieve the best interests of the child, we apply a practice framework to example vignettes. Here, we have added micro-practices to address the identified gaps in relationship building, engagement and enabling practices in working towards the practice of best interests