Child Welfare In Australia

The recommendations of the inquiry were directly aimed at the failings identified in Mr Barbour’s report. In March 2009, the NSW Government responded to the inquiry by releasing a plan of reform for child protection. Keep them Safe, a five-year plan designed by the government, contemplates fundamental changes to the way in which child protection services are delivered in NSW. The cornerstone of the changes is to make child protection a ‘shared responsibility’. All relevant government agencies will have prescribed responsibilities for ensuring the wellbeing of children. In line with this the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 had been amended to permit the exchange of information relating to the safety and welfare of a child. The expanded role of a range of government agencies have the potential of making these agencies more responsive to the needs of children at the local level, and of ensuring that more families receive timely and appropriate support. In total, the inquiry has made 111 recommendations, ultimately forming the basis of a major overhaul of the child protection system and has lead to a vastly changed child protection system in NSW. Through the recognition of failures within Ebony’s case, the legal system and government has effectively amended, improved and introduced legislature and plans to ensure the protection and well being of

This research is to distinguish whether the children, who are exposed to violence or abuse, if left unaddressed or ignored, are at an increased risk for emotional and behavioral problems in the future. Children who are abused may not be able to express their feelings safely and as a result, may develop difficulties regulating their emotions. As adults, they may continue to struggle with their feelings, which can

within this assignment I will be talking about the factors which could lead to suspicion of child maltreatment or abuse, different strategies and methods that are used in order to minimise the harm to children, young people and their families where and when the abuse is confirmed. I will also be talking about the responses where child maltreatment or abuse is suspected or confirmed relating to current legislations and policies.

The current legislation is the result of the children’s Act 1989, which is used to ensure that all people who work with children are working together and are clear about their responsibilities and know how to act if allegations of child abuse are made. The children’s act 2004 is a legal framework for “Every Child Matters” and is a direct result of the Laming Report following the death of the Victoria Climbie case in the year 2000. Hereafter an independent inquiry highlighted so many problems with how the reports of neglect and child abuse was dealt with and that vulnerable people in society were not being properly safeguarded. The main points of the 2004 Children’s Act were that every local authority has a director of children’s services who is ultimately responsible for ensuring that children are safeguarded.

The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 1974 was originally created to protect a target population of children, under the age of 18, from child abuse and neglect; however, over the years this act has been amended and improved to protect a wider population, with many specific subpopulations, over the past 42 years. In the original text of the act, two specific populations are addressed with different goals: reducing the rate of child abuse in children under the age of eighteen, and improving the treatment of children who had been maltreated or neglected (National Low Income Housing Coalition, 2014). It is easy to see that this act and policies within it are aimed at protecting children specifically, yet looking only at the children,

recording observations over time, through written records, builds a picture of the young person life and allows us to recognise patterns and changes in their behaviour. Children and young people who have been physically abused may be fearful, submissive and aggressive after the abuse has stopped. The abuse has taught them that hitting is a way to control others and solve problems. The beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours that appear after physical abuse can cause problems with friends, struggling to maintain and keep friendships. They may be distrustful of authority figures at home or school becoming fearful of their carers and those there to help them. They may feel guilty, ashamed, angry, helpless or hostile resulting in anxiety disorders or depression.

The published articles in this literature review all prove evidence that child abuse can negatively affect those children in either their adolescences or adulthood, or even in both. None of the articles explore if those children abused later abuse their future children, however a study by Ehrensaft,

Summary of legislations, guidelines, policies and procedures for safeguarding the welfare of children and young people-

Explore what support is available to children at risk of abuse and critically examine its impact for safeguarding children.

The conceptualisation of the long-term effects of child maltreatment reflects the surrounding circumstances which expose child abuse as a common event. Childhood abuse is a growing epidemic which evokes extreme emotional responses both privately and publicly and is viewed as a risk factor for an extensive variety of consequent problems. 2014 demonstrated that over 137,585 child abuse cases involving 99,210 Australian children were investigated (Australian Institute of Family Studies 2015). Abuse is categorised into neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse and emotional abuse. Contrary to the implied supposition that emotional abuse is less injurious in comparison to sexual and physical abuse, emotional abuse ranked as the most commonly substantiated harm type in Victoria, Western Australia, Tasmania and the Australia Capital Territory (AIFS 2015). Childhood abuse occurs throughout a period where complex and ordered changes occur within a child’s physiological, psychological and sociological being. The following report will accentuate how the state of flux instigated by childhood abuse leaves children susceptible harmful consequences that will pervert or prevent a normal developmental procedure. Through psychological and physiological wellbeing, adult delinquency and the effects on different genders readers will be able to identify the harmful consequences childhood abuse places on victims and survivors.

The safety and security of many children across the world are in danger due to physical abuse. Child abuse has been linked to an assortment of changes in the brain which result in psychological, behavioral, and academic problems. While it is unclear whether the population that had been maltreated as children is accurate, physical maltreatment in the first 5 years of life places a child at risk for a variety of psychological and behavioral problems during adolescence. The following three literature reviews attempts to prove and support the premise.

Childhood abuse frequently leads to PTSD and sharply increases the risk for later delinquency and violent criminal behavior. Many studies found a relationship between severe childhood abuse and the propensity to victimize others. If the sufferer does not receive treatment, violent behavior may reoccur.” ( Wave Trust, 2014-15). Doctor Dutton has been quoted numerous times in articles, journals, and books as saying, “Although witnessing parental violence, being shamed and being insecurely attached are each sources of trauma in and of themselves, the combination of the three over prolonged and vulnerable developmental phases constitutes a dramatic and powerful trauma source. The child cannot turn to a secure attachment source for soothing, as none exists, yet the need created by the shaming and exposure to violence triggers enormous emotional and physiological reactions requiring soothing.” (2000, pp.

There are significant signs of psychological trauma due to any kind of abuse. Children experience feelings of low self esteem and depression. Many exhibit behavioral problems including aggression towards other children. Other emotional problems include hostility, fear, humiliation and the inability to express feelings. The social impacts of physical abuse include inability to form relationships, poor social skills, poor cognitive language skills, distrust of others, over-compliance with authority figures, and tendency to solve interpersonal problems with aggression. (2008, p. 1). Verbal and physical abuse has a cumulative impact on children’s socialization. Abused children are caught in damaged relationships and are not socialized in positive, supportive way (Craig & Dunn, Ex.: 2010, p. 196). They learn defiance, manipulation and other problem behaviors that are used to escape any maltreatment. In turn they will learn to exploit, degrade and terrorize.

Child maltreatment is characterized as “all intentional harm to, or avoidable endangerment of, anyone under 18 years of age” (Berger, 2014, pp. 236). Subtypes of child maltreatment includes child abuse (intentional harm inflicted on a child physically, emotionally, or sexually) and child neglect (failure to provide physical, educational or emotional needs) (Berger, 2014). Lower socioeconomic status (SES) and dysfunctional families can increases the risk for child maltreatment (Harpur, Polek, & van Harmelen, 2015). Additional circumstances that can increase the risk for child maltreatment is low maternal education, single-parenthood, non-biological caregivers, and parental substance abuse (Harpur et al, 2015). In 2012, in the United States,

Every year, child abuse and neglect affect more than one million children nation-wide (Currie and Tekin 1). Along with this, child abuse is the source of severe injury to more than 500,000 children and the death of over 1,500 children (Currie and Tekin 1). These outrageously large numbers reveal the extent to which child abuse and neglect impact society; however, they do not acknowledge the effect abuse can have on a child’s life and the repercussions that may occur in both the individual’s childhood and adulthood. While the effects most certainly include physical pain and possibly future disabilities, child abuse and neglect can also affects the child’s psychological welfare. Psychological effects are often more difficult to recognize,