Bibliography

Poverty and child abuse

Allan, Julaine.
Whose job is poverty? The problems of therapeutic intervention with children who are sexually violent.
Child Abuse Review v.15 no.1 2006: 55-70

The number of children who commit sexually violent acts has been increasing since the 1980s. Professionals such as social workers, therapists and counsellors who are involved with this client group have struggled to explain their clients' deviant behaviour. The effect of poverty in the therapeutic arena is minimised in current explanations for the occurrence of sexual violence. Although the most difficult and worrisome child clients are the poor ones, the practice of counselling is unable to address structural disadvantage. This gives rise to a poverty culture explanation for sexual violence, which recognises poverty but pathologises the individual. In the case of sexual violence among children, current social policy and practice approaches towards intervention and individualised case based treatment minimise the continuing problem of poverty.

Available from: British Association for the Study and Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect, 10 Priory Street, York, YO1 1EZ, UK. Subscription: Wiley Interscience

Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth.
Report of the 2005 Think Tank organised by the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth.
West Perth, WA: Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth, 2005, 11p, Online (PDF 97K)
http://www.aracy.org.au/AM/Common/pdf/20050915%20ARACY% 20Collaborative%20Projects%20Think%20Tank%20Final%20Report.pdf

This report summarises the deliberations of a meeting, organised by the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth, of 80 discipline and sector leaders from around Australia. They were invited to contribute their skills, knowledge, vision and expertise to the development of research project proposals to address complex and entrenched problems in the areas of child poverty, child protection, school transitions and relationships for a child friendly society. Participants were asked to consider project ideas in the light of five criteria: outcomes for children and young people; effective collaboration; the extent to which a project is informed by knowledge and research; achievability and feasibility; and whether a project is positioned to attract funding.

Available from: Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth http://www.aracy.org.au/

Bellamy, Carol.
The state of the world's children 2005: childhood under threat.
New York, USA: UNICEF, 2004, 151p, tables, figures, maps

Millions of the world's children are missing out on a healthy childhood because of poverty, armed conflict and disease. This report contains information on children in countries all over the world in relation to the following issues: childhood under threat; children living in poverty; children caught up in conflict; and children orphaned or made vulnerable by HIV and AIDS. It discusses the Convention on the Rights of the Child, children's rights, the Millennium Development Goals, education, gender issues, and child trafficking. It also contains case studies of individual children's stories and child protection and welfare programs.

Available from: UNICEF, USA. Email pubdoc@unicef.org. Internet http://www.unicef.org

Cadd, Muriel.
Working together: toward a national policy for child protection and recovery.
SNAICC News Mar 2004: 1-4

This paper delivered by the Chairperson of the Secretariat of the National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care (SNAICC) at a recent national summit on child abuse examines the underlying causes of abuse and violence stemming from the historical legacy of abuse towards Indigenous people and then describes the situation today. Investing in the development of children and listening to the voices of Indigenous people are highlighted as essential to any attempt to start addressing the causes of child abuse and neglect. The article concludes with a summary of the key reforms proposed by SNAICC to improve the situation for Indigenous children.

Available from: Secretariat of the National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care (SNAICC), 4 Brunswick Place, Fitzroy 3065

Calvert, Gillian.
Acting together to give our kids a head start: tackling the early years.
Every Child v.11 no.3 Winter 2005: 16-17

A Head Start for Australia is a framework jointly developed by the Queensland and NSW Commissions for Children and Young People and National Investment for the Early Years (NIFTeY). This article discusses the framework's purpose of reducing the impact of poor developmental outcomes on children. It outlines the nine areas nominated in the framework as priorities for policy and planning decisions, at all levels, for achieving the best outcomes for early childhood development issues. The key areas are: supporting the well being of women of childbearing age; promoting child well being; supporting the choices of families in the parental and working roles; enriching, safe and supportive environments for kids; improving economic security for families and reducing child poverty; achieving success in learning and development; protecting the safety of children; promoting connections across generations, families, cultures and communities; increasing children's participation in policy action, awareness raising and advocacy.

Available from: Early Childhood Australia Inc, PO Box 105, Watson ACT 2602. Email eca@earlychildhood.org.au. Internet http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au

Foy, Jane E, ed..
Ensuring the rights of indigenous children.
Florence, Italy: UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, 2003, 32p, tables (Innocenti digest no.11), and Online (PDF 409K)
http://www.unicef-icdc.org/publications/pdf/digest11e.pdf

Although many Indigenous children live in poverty, one of the best ways of promoting the rights and way of life of all members of Indigenous communities is through protecting the rights of Indigenous children. This publication explains the ways in which Indigenous children's rights are formally protected, provides demographic information on the world's Indigenous peoples, and explains the following rights: to life, survival and development; to birth registration, a name and nationality; to health and health care; to education; to protection from abuse, violence and exploitation. It discusses the impact of armed conflict and civil unrest on Indigenous children and considers the following ways of ensuring the rights of Indigenous children: providing the highest standard of health and nutrition; providing quality education; providing effective protection and support; and ensuring child participation in decision making processes. It looks at examples of national and international action for Indigenous children, including Australian Aboriginal children.

Available from: UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, Piazza SS Annunziata, 12, 50122 Florence, Italy. Email florenceorders@unicef.org. Internet http://www.unicef-icdc.org

Frederick, John; Goddard, Chris.
Exploring the relationship between poverty, childhood adversity and child abuse from the perspective of adulthood.
Child Abuse Review v.16 no.5 Sept - Oct 2007: 323-341

This article discusses the relationship between early childhood abuse or other adversity and later poverty in adulthood. It reviews risk and protective factors, and family poverty as a risk factor for child abuse, and features results from a study of emergency relief recipients in regional Victoria on their life circumstances, including experience of child abuse, bereavement, family breakdown, foster care, and mental health. The study findings support the ideas of negative chain effects, or pathways into poverty caused by accumulated adversity.

Available from: British Association for the Study and Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect. Internet http://www.baspcan.org.uk ; Subscription: Wiley Interscience

Hanna, Kirsten; Hassall, Ian; Davies, Emma.
Improving public provision for children.
Childrenz Issues v.10 no.1 2006: 7-12

Compared to other developed nations, New Zealand rates poorly in measures of child well being. This is wholly inconsistent with children's pivotal role in the nation's future social and economic sustainability. This paper discusses four critical areas in which public policy can contribute to improving children's well being: placing children centrally in public policy; giving all children a good start in life; eliminating child poverty; and reducing child abuse and neglect. The authors argue that children's well being must become a fundamental, guiding principle in political processes if New Zealand is to prosper as a country. (Journal abstract)

Available from: Children's Issues Centre, University of Otago http://www.otago.ac.nz/cic/

O'Brien, J; Reimer, E.
Because children matter: making a case for addressing child poverty in Australia.
NSW: UnitingCare Burnside, 2003, 53p, tables

Child and family care agency UnitingCare Burnside provides services to disadvantaged children, young people and families in NSW. This paper discusses the extent and experience of poverty for children in Australia, which includes living with inadequate income, reduced quality of life, lack of choice and fewer options, isolation, exposure to risk, and negative impacts on cognitive development and school achievement, health and mental health, effective parenting, and increased child abuse and neglect and juvenile crime rates. Initiatives to reduce the incidence of poverty and the impacts of poverty are outlined and recommendations made to government. These involve changes to the income support system, changes to the role of the Commonwealth in training, employment assistance and job creation, and investment in public education. Childhood education and care services and services for families with entrenched problems are then discussed, as are two Burnside programs.

Available from: UnitingCare Burnside, NSW

Press, Frances.
What about the kids? Policy directions for improving the experiences of infants and young children in a changing world.
Sydney, NSW: NSW Commission for Children and Young People, 2006, 69p, figures, tables, Online (PDF 916K)
http://www.kids.nsw.gov.au/files/What_about_the_kids_full.pdf

Suggestions for policy improvements to better support the care and education of young Australian children and their families are presented. The report covers: developing a platform for prevention of harm; child poverty; child well being in the context of work and family life; early education and care; children at risk of abuse; early investment; maternity and parental leave; family friendly work practices; part time work; working hours; organisational culture; one parent families; jobless households; welfare reform; income support measures; family tax benefits; the use of non parental early care and education; informal and formal care; factors driving the current use of early childhood education and care; labour force participation; assistance to children and families with additional needs; provision of early childhood education and care; children's services providers; the role of governments; funding, cost and affordability; quality in early childhood education and care; and the importance of a regulatory framework.

Available from: Commission for Children and Young People http://www.kids.nsw.gov.au

Queensland Council of Social Service (QCOSS).
QCOSS policy consultation.
FQ Fair Queensland Magazine Spring 2006: 5-18

The current key social policy issues for Queensland, identified by the QCOSS policy consultation for inclusion in the State Budget submission for 2007 / 2008, are summarised in this article. The 13 key issues are: poverty; prevention and early intervention; homelessness and housing; legal and corrective services; health and mental health; work and education; rural, regional and remote; CALD (culturally and linguistically diverse); utilities; older people; disability; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander issues; a strong community sector. Recommendations include: Poverty, including spatial poverty, should be addressed through reducing societal inequalities and increasing regional assistance programs; Prevention and early intervention measures should include increased early childhood programs for the early and middle years, more services for young people, community building, and violence prevention through coordinated service responses to family violence; A whole of government response to homelessness and increased investment in social housing are needed; Legal and corrective services could be improved through the recognition of the role of community legal centres and increased support for crime prevention, rehabilitation and recidivism programs; Health and mental health issues should be addressed through increased accessibility to primary health care, consumer participation and an increase in mental health services; Work and education initiatives should focus on additional employment programs and expanded pre school and school retention programs; Rural, regional and remote areas should receive increased funding for the development of locally based collaborative services and communications investment; CALD people need social services that are culturally appropriate, and funding for interpreters; Water and electricity costs should be subsidised for people on low incomes; Measures for older people need to address health, transport, housing, elder abuse, social participation, financial support for older carers; Increased funding, direct support and interventions are needed for people with a disability; Solutions to issues for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders focus on health services and child protection; Measures to achieve a strong community sector include increased funding, improving the relationship between the community sector and government, and building strong regional mentoring and support networks.

Available from: Queensland Council of Social Service http://www.qcoss.org.a

Resnick, Michael D.
Healthy youth development: getting our priorities right.
Medical Journal of Australia v.183 no.8 Oct 2005: 398-400, and Online
http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/183_08_171005/res10607_fm.html

Promotion of health youth development is a worldwide priority that cannot be achieved by parents and families alone. Health professionals must use and advocate for evidence based strategies that enhance key protective factors in the lives of young people. The United Nations' Millennium Development Goals create an unprecedented opportunity to partner with professional and youth led organisations to ensure young people in the most vulnerable settings benefit from this initiative to reduce extreme poverty and threats to health and well being. (Journal abstract)

Available from: Australasian Medical Publishing Company, Locked Bag 3030, Strawberry Hills, NSW 2012 Email medjaust@ampco.com.au Internet http://www.mja.com.au/

Scutella, Rosanna; Smyth, Paul.
The Brotherhood's social barometer: monitoring children's chances.
Fitzroy, Vic: Brotherhood of St Laurence, 2005, 36p, tables, figures, and Online (PDF 184K)
http://www.bsl.org.au/pdfs/BSL_social_barom_monitoring_childn_chances.pdf

In this first issue of the Social Barometer series, the Brotherhood of St Laurence seeks to add to the literature highlighting the disadvantages facing Australia's children by presenting indicators of children's capabilities and childhood disadvantage. Drawing on a variety of published data sources, and using the confidentialised unit record file from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey, the report provides an overview of policy and advocacy on child poverty, discusses social inclusion and new measures of disadvantage, and describes the condition of Australian children today in six key dimensions of life. Each dimension reflects basic capabilities and opportunities that every child should enjoy, including good physical and mental health, literacy and numeracy, freedom from violence and abuse, and access to an adequate level of economic resources and housing. The Social Barometer shows that children from disadvantaged families are more likely to have: greater health problems, a higher chance of experiencing mental health problems, experienced homelessness, limited participation in pre school programs, greater problems with literacy, less access to computers, not finished school, experienced unemployment, and a greater risk of experiencing abuse. The report points to a lack of reliable national data monitoring trends in the various dimensions of children's wellbeing and says a more coordinated approach is needed to collect data and monitor key areas, particularly mental health, obesity and diabetes, participation in all early childhood education options, and child abuse.

Available from: Brotherhood of St Laurence http://www.bsl.org.au/

Stanley, J.
Children front and centre: an interview with Dr Tess Ridge.
Child Abuse Prevention Newsletter v.11 no.1 Winter 2003: 12-13, and Online
http://www.aifs.gov.au/nch/pubs/newsletters/nl2003/winter.html

Dr Tess Ridge, a lecturer in Social and Policy Science at the University of Bath, UK has been a Visiting Fellow at the Australian Institute of Family Studies. Her research focuses on child poverty and social exclusion. In this article the author takes the opportunity to ask her some questions about her work, and they discuss the purpose of her visit, the relevance of her work to child welfare and child protection, the link between children living in poverty and child abuse, the importance of children's rights, the difference between the UK and Australia about child welfare practice, the major issues for children in the UK and globally, and research ethics and the difficulties associated with interviewing children.

Available from: Australian Institute of Family Studies, Level 20, 485 La Trobe Street, Melbourne, Vic 3000. http://www.aifs.gov.au/

Thomson, J.
This is nothing new: child protection concerns and poverty.
Children Australia v.28 no.1 2003: 4-10

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. The paper concludes with four recommendations 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. (Journal abstract)

Available from: Oz Child: Children Australia, PO Box 7020, Dandenong Vic 3175. Email ChildrenAustralia@latrobe.edu.au.

Thomson, Jane.
Money counts: challenging poverty in families to protect children.
In: Protecting children: what counts? Airlie Beach, Queensland, 8 August 2003: symposium papers. Mackay, Qld: Centre for Research on Community and Children's Services, 2003, 16p, Online (PDF 55K)
http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/56368/20070824-0001/www.croccs.org.au/downloads/What_Counts_conf_papers/JaneThompsonPaper.pdf

Interviews with Family Services Officers in the Mackay Whitsunday region of the Queensland Department of Families about their understanding of the relevance of family poverty to child protection concerns are presented in this paper. The paper discusses the face of family poverty in contemporary Australia and the literature on the link between child protection concerns and family poverty. It makes four major recommendations for improvement in the responses of statutory child protection departments: whole of government approach to child protection; lobbying for better income support for families; family support and early intervention practice that respectfully engages with parents; and documentation of poverty as an evidence base for practice.

Available from: Mackay Centre for Research on Community and Children's Services, PO Box 1401, Mackay Qld 4740. Internet http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/56368/20070824-0001/www.croccs.org.au/index.html/

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).
The state of the world's children 2006: excluded and invisible.
New York, NY: UNICEF, 2005, 143p, tables, figures, maps, ill., and Online
http://www.unicef.org/publications/index_30398.html

The State of the World's Children for the year 2006 focuses on children who are defined as excluded or 'invisible', the millions who have not benefited from past gains. The report outlines the root causes of exclusion as poverty, weak governance, armed conflict, HIV/AIDS. inequalities and discrimination. The main cause of children's invisibility is violations of their right to protection from harm, abuse, exploitation, violence and neglect. The report outlines key areas for intervention to reach such children - research, legislation, financing and capacity-building, and assesses global efforts to realise the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs). Case studies of individual children's stories and child protection and welfare programs are included.

Available from: UNICEF, USA http://www.unicef.org

Weatherburn, Don; Lind, Bronwyn.
What mediates the macro-level effects of economic and social stress on crime?
In: France, A. and Homel, R. eds. Pathways and crime prevention: theory, policy and practice. Cullompton, Devon, UK: Willan Publishing, 2007, p128-145

Current social disorganisation theory holds that structural variables such as poverty, ethnic heterogeneity and geographic mobility exert an effect on crime by reducing the level of informal social control in a neighbourhood. Individual level evidence, however, suggests that the effects of structural variables on offending are expressed through disruption to the parenting process. This chapter reports the results of an aggregate level study that investigated whether aggregate level effects of poverty, ethnic heterogeneity and geographic mobility on juvenile crime are produced by higher levels of child neglect in a neighbourhood.

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