Bibliography

Resilience and child abuse

Blackstock, Cindy; Trocme, Nico.
Community-based child welfare for Aboriginal children: supporting resilience through structural change.
Social Policy Journal of New Zealand no.24 Mar 2005: 12-33, tables, and Online
http://www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-our-work/publications-resources/journals-and-magazines/social-policy-journal/spj24/24-community-based-child-welfare-for-aboriginal-children-supporting-resilence-through-structural-change-p12-33.html

Available data suggest that First Nations children, youth and families in Canada continue to experience multiple and disproportionate human rights violations stemming from colonialism. First Nations child and family service agencies began developing in the 1970s to affirm community based systems of care and stem the tide of children being placed in non Aboriginal homes. Although these agencies have demonstrated significant success there are key barriers which limit their efficacy, such as the imposition of Euro western legislation, inadequate access to financial resources and the continued marginalisation of Indigenous knowledge within Euro western social work. This paper describes the contemporary lived experience of First Nations children, youth and families in Canada. It identifies the conditions that support First Nations child and family service agencies to implement community based responses to child maltreatment that honour the strength, wisdom and resiliency embedded in Indigenous ways of knowing and being. Future directions, such as mobilising a movement of reconciliation in child welfare as a means of dislocating Euro western social work values, policies and practice that aggress Indigenous ways of caring for children, will be discussed. (Journal abstract)

Available from: Ministry of Social Development, PO Box 12-136, Wellington, New Zealand. Internet http://www.msd.govt.nz/

Boland, Carol.
Functional families: functional teams.
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy v.27 no.1 Mar 2006: 22-28

This article highlights the negative effects on professionals who regularly work with very abusive families and seeks to identify what protective factors in the work team and its management mitigate these effects. The author compares behavioural consequences of living in a dysfunctional family with the consequences of working in a dysfunctional team. She aims to identify practical, realistic things that can be done, especially by team managers, to protect staff from the all too familiar emotional costs of such work. (Journal abstract)

Available from: Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy Association http://www.anzjft.com/

Bright, Ken; Pascoe, Sue; D'Arcy, Craig; Silberberg, Simone; Fletcher, Richard.
The nuts and bolts of kids and schools: a parenting course for fathers of school-aged children.
Callaghan, NSW: Family Action Centre, University of Newcastle, 2005, 91p, figures

Fathers are starting to become more involved in the development and education of their children. This guide is for facilitators of The Nuts and Bolts of Kids and Schools, a short course for fathers and father figures who care for school aged children. The guide explains the development and objectives of the course and how it operates. It then details the course's six sessions: The strengths of dads; Communication: does it work for me and my family?; Fathers in the school and community; Resilience and positive interactions with your child; Child protection; Great, we've come a long way: now where to from here? The guide includes resources and handouts.

Available from: Family Action Centre, University of Newcastle http://www.newcastle.edu.au/centre/fac/index.html

Champion, Ruth; Burke, Gabrielle.
Implementing Looking After Children as a collaborative practice and policy framework in Victoria, Australia.
In: Flynn, R. J., Dudding, P. M. and Barber, J. G. eds. Promoting resilience in child welfare. Ottawa, Ont.: University of Ottawa Press, 2006, p368-389

Looking After Children (LAC) is a practice and policy framework for government and non government agencies responsible for providing child protection services and out of home care for children and young people. The authors describe their experiences of overseeing the implementation of LAC in Victoria, guided by three key themes that emerged from LAC implementation in the United Kingdom, Canada, New South Wales and Western Australia. The three themes emphasise a whole of organisation commitment to LAC, overcoming resistance to LAC through stressing its benefits and acknowledging staff skills and expertise, and using the whole of LAC to replace the existing system. LAC in Victoria provides a casework methodology for social workers and a consistent framework for all who share parenting responsibilities for children who cannot live with their families - that is, birth parents, carers, placement agency case workers, and Department of Human Services child protection workers. LAC assessment and action records that can be accessed and maintained by relevant agencies have been created for most new out of home care placements since the implementation began.

Cheers, Deirdre; Morwitzer, Jude.
Promoting resilient outcomes in Australia with the Looking After Children Electronic System (LACES).
In: Flynn, R. J., Dudding, P. M. and Barber, J. G. eds. Promoting resilience in child welfare. Ottawa, Ont.: University of Ottawa Press, 2006, p390-400

Child protection laws and arrangements for out of home care in Australia are the responsibility of each state or territory; there is no national Australian agenda for children in care and no consistent standard for the provision of out of home care. Barnardos Australia provides a range of support services to families, including out of home care placements. It has implemented the United Kingdom Looking After Children (LAC) system in all Barnardos out of home care providers in Australia to ensure reliable data collection, care planning, ongoing assessment and review of children in care. This chapter describes the Barnardos Australia implementation of LAC and the development of LACES, the Looking After Children Electronic System. LACES enhances the potential of LAC to collect aggregate national data about children in care, to monitor service effectiveness and measure outcomes for children and young people in the Australian care system. By August 2004, 68 out of home care agencies in Australia were using the LAC and LACES systems to case manage 8,500 children in care.

Cousins, Carolyn.
The 'rule of optimism': dilemmas of embracing a strength based approach in child protection work.
Children Australia v.30 no.2 2005: 28-32

Written from a practitioner's perspective, this article explores some concerns with the application of the popular strength based approaches to statutory child protection work. It is suggested that despite the many benefits and positives in these approaches, these models are sometimes used (or misused) too early in intervention, which can lead to over optimism about the possibilities for change. The article questions whether a solely strength based approach can be safely applied to child protection work, and encourages practitioners to question their practice and 'proceed with caution'. (Journal abstract)

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

D'Arcy Pope, Jane.
Staying connected and holding onto hope: a community document created by three mothers who have been separated from their children due to statutory child protection intervention.
Developing Practice: The Child, Youth and Family Work Journal no.18 Autumn 2007: 12-20

This article is the outcome of a documentation project inspired by the author's observation of mothers who have managed to stay in touch with their children after they have been removed from their care by state child protection authorities. The resulting document gives an indication of the skills and knowledge that three mothers have either gained or hung onto through difficult times of separation from their children. It serves as a resource for parents who risk falling into despair and isolation as a result of their children being removed from their care.

Available from: Association of Childrens Welfare Agencies http://www.acwa.asn.au/

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

Geary, Bernie.
That elusive but essential element beyond sound legislation, policy and theoretical perspectives.
Family Matters no.76 2007: 85-87

The primary focus of this article is to present the critical elements of a quality service to highly vulnerable children who require the state to act as parent for various periods of time. The author reviews recent developments in policy development and notes that the professional sector associated with family support, child protection and state care now recognises the need for knowledge of theories and research, such as attachment and trauma theory, neuroscience, child development and resilience theory. Legislation to promote positive outcomes for children in Victoria - the Child Wellbeing and Safety Act 2005 and the Children, Youth and Families Act 2005 - have introduced a list of reforms and related practice developments and quality compliance measures. However, the real challenge is to make sure reform activity translates into real benefits for children. After consulting broadly and talking with children the author, as Child Safety Commissioner, has developed a Charter for Children in Out-of-Home Care which in simple language articulates what any child in care should expect - regarding safety, health, education, consistency of care, connectedness, and wellbeing.

Available from: Australian Institute of Family Studies http://www.aifs.gov.au/

Gilligan, Robbie.
Creating a warm place where children can blossom.
Social Policy Journal of New Zealand no.28 Jul 2006: 36-45, and Online
http://www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-our-work/publications-resources/journals-and-magazines/social-policy-journal/spj28/28-creating-a-warm-place-where-children-can-blossom-p36-45.html

The scaffolding that supports child development and progress is provided by key social relationships and key social roles. This paper explains the importance of these elements in working with vulnerable children. It looks at the stories of people who have come through serious adversity to live positive lives in a stable environment, pointing out that merely providing child protection services is not enough to help children achieve stability and resilience; it is necessary to work with children and their families in their own environment to help build a stable social network to connect them to reliable social support.

Available from: Ministry of Social Development http://www.msd.govt.nz/

Hunter, Sally V.
Constructing a sense of self following early sexual experiences with adults: a qualitative research study.
Psychotherapy in Australia v.13 no.4 Aug 2007: 12-21

The aim of this research project was to develop a fuller understanding of the process of constructing a sense of self following early sexual experiences with an adult. Using narrative inquiry, a sample of twenty-two men and women aged twenty-five to seventy were interviewed about their early sexual experiences, at the age of fifteen or under with someone over eighteen. Participants told four different narratives about these experiences: narratives of silence: of ongoing suffering; of transformation: and of transcendence. These four narratives have been examined in the light of the literature relating to childhood sexual abuse, and the victim and survivor discourses. To an extent they challenged current conventional views about child sexual abuse. The implications for therapists working with men and women who have experienced child sexual abuse are discussed. (Journal abstract)

Available from: PsychOz Publications Pty Ltd http://www.psychotherapy.com.au

Hunter, Sue-Anne; Lewis, Peter.
Embedding culture for a positive future for Koorie kids.
In: Positive futures - Achieving well-being for children and families: proceedings of the Conference of the Association of Childrens Welfare Agencies, 14-16 August 2006. Haymarket, NSW: Association of Childrens Welfare Agencies, 2006, 11p, Online (MS Word 67K)
http://www.acwa.asn.au/Conf2006/HunterPaper_ACWA2006.doc

The authors discuss the importance of connection with culture as a factor in developing resilience as an essential life skill. Referring to the cultural abuse experienced by Aboriginal people throughout colonisation processes in Australia, they identify one of the key strategies of Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency (VACCA) as reconnecting Indigenous children with their families, with social networks of care and with their culture. By building on the resilience of Indigenous cultures they seek to develop resilience in Indigenous children and to strengthen Indigenous self determination of the future of their children.

Available from: Association of Childrens Welfare Agencies http://www.acwa.asn.au/

Ly, Jessie; Wickham, Nicki.
Getting back on track: when your child has been sexually assaulted: a group work programme promoting children's resilience through promoting parents' resilience and strengths.
In: Blossoming of our children: 10th Australasian Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect: papers, presentations and abstracts. Christchurch, NZ: New Zealand Family Violence Clearinghouse, 2006, 6p; 16p, ill., Online (PDF 121K (paper); 478K (presentation))
http://www.nzfvc.org.nz/accan/papers-presentations/abstract115v.shtml

The sexual abuse of a child can generate a crisis for family members. Sydney Children's Hospital's Getting Back on Track program aims to enable parents to cope with the abuse of their child and to help them help their children deal better with abuse related issues. This paper discusses the need for a support network for parents, the effect of the reactions and support children receive from their parents on their emotional and behavioural adjustment following abuse, and factors contributing to resilience in sexually abused girls. The paper describes the group program, parents' experience of participating in the group and how it enabled them to help their children develop resilience.

Available from: New Zealand Family Violence Clearinghouse http://www.nzfvc.org.nz/

Magor-Blatch, Lynne.
Families and substance use: building a resource for recovery.
Communities, Children and Families Australia v.3 no.1 Dec 2007: 34-44

The parenting of people with a drug or alcohol addiction may be characterised by inconsistency, irritability, lack of energy and impaired judgment. The result of this, together with the social context in which parents find themselves and the absence of family or friendship support systems, may set up a dynamic between parent and child that can increase the risk of maltreatment. The increasing number of children affected by parental substance use is a social issue requiring action on a number of levels. This paper describes a program that works with families where substance abuse is in evidence. The Karralika Family Program, set up by the Alcohol and Drug Foundation Australian Capital Territory (ADFACT), works particularly with single mothers and children, but also with single fathers and couples with and without children. Extended families and friends are also supported in the community as part of a process of building resilience. The paper highlights the importance of a range of interventions utilised in the family program. (Journal abstract, edited)

Available from: Australian College for Child and Family Protection Practitioners Inc PO Box 1401, Mackay Qld 4740

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/

Robinson, Amanda Alexandria.
The silent crisis: simple ways to protect children from sexual abuse.
Perth, WA: Silversky Publishing, 2007, 256p

This book aims to educate parents about child sexual abuse: improving child safety through parental awareness. It explains the dangers and warning signs of child sexual abuse and outlines preventive strategies for minimising risk and empowering children to trust their instincts and seek help. Topics include sexual abuse and child development, the characteristics of paedophiles, child abuse by family members, the signs of child abuse, socialisation, resilience, building effective parent child relationships, and strategies for suspected abductions and use of the internet.

Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care (SNAICC).
Protecting Indigenous children: a view from SNAICC.
Family (Families Australia) no.7 Nov 2006: 6-8

This extract of a briefing to state and territory governments looks at ways to prevent and respond to the abuse and neglect of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. Recommended strategies include: respond holistically to child abuse and neglect, focus on child well being and development, expand community based Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child and Family Welfare Agencies, expand and broaden Indigenous Children's Services, use strengths based practice, family centred programs and Indigenous culture as a source of resilience, focus on underlying socio economic issues that lead to child neglect, focus on Indigenous children's right to culture, and sustain a planned and coordinated response across and between governments at the national level.

Available from: Families Australia http://www.familiesaustralia.org.au

South Australia. Women's Health Statewide.
Childhood sexual abuse: annotated bibliography for workers.
North Adelaide, SA: Women's Health Statewide, 2006, 58p, Online (336K)
http://www.whs.sa.gov.au/pub/Worker_Bibliography_2006.pdf

This bibliography was developed to improve access by workers to resources beneficial to working with women who had been subjected to childhood sexual abuse. Inclusion of articles and resources within the Bibliography is based on feminist principles requiring that resources be non-pathologising, respectful to women, and address power and gender issues. Items are listed with annotations under the following headings: practice implications (therapeutic approaches, legal system, disclosure, vicarious traumatisation, community development/prevention programs); dominant social discourses (mother blame, forgiveness, false memory debate, masculinities); abuse sub-groups (institutional, ritual, sibling, men and boys, Indigenous, CALD background, elderly, disabled); perpetrators (tactics, female perperators, treatment/therapy of offenders); effects (self harm and disordered eating, mental health, medical/dental examinations, maternal health and wellbeing, intimate relationships, traumatic memory amd somatisation); resilience and coping; other (websites and miscellaneous).

Available from: Women's Health Statewide http://www.whs.sa.gov.au/

Stewart, Sarah.
Suicidality, interpersonal trauma and cultural diversity: a review of the literature.
Australian e-Journal for the Advancement of Mental Health (AeJAMH) v.4 no.2 Sept 2005: 21p, Online only (PDF 305K)
http://www.auseinet.com/journal/vol4iss2/stewart.pdf

There are substantial bodies of literature focusing on suicide and interpersonal trauma, and on suicide across cultures, and a growing body of knowledge relating to interpersonal trauma across cultures. However, there is a marked gap in the literature that brings these three areas together. Studies that specifically investigate the prevalence of suicidality in relation to experiences of domestic violence, sexual assault and childhood abuse in a cross-cultural context are scant. Moreover, inconsistencies in data collection and reporting and considerable variability in results among the few existing studies highlight substantial methodological limitations and definitional differences in the research. This hampers both identification of at-risk groups and examination of possible risk and protective factors. What is clear is that interpersonal trauma and suicide are linked in significant and complex ways. What is less evident is how culture mediates this inter-relationship. It is suggested that gender and cultural biases in suicide research may account for our limited understandings in this area. Implications for practice include the need for alternative research perspectives and more inclusive frameworks that promote greater cross-discipline dialogue and intersectoral collaboration. There is thus ample scope for further research in this area so as to elucidate the implications for suicide prevention, intervention and postvention work with culturally and linguistically diverse communities. (Author abstract, edited)

Available from: Auseinet, c/- Flinders University, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide SA 5001. Internet http://www.auseinet.com/index.php

Tolley, Sue.
SCARF: Supporting Children And Responding to Families: a family casework model with client and worker friendly assessment, planning and review tools.
Child Abuse Prevention Newsletter v.13 no.2 Winter 2005: 12-19, figure, and Online
http://www.aifs.gov.au/nch/pubs/newsletters/nl2005/winter.html

Supporting Children and Responding to Families (SCARF) is a casework model designed for services assisting vulnerable families and children. The SCARF casework model is based on ecological theory, which suggests that individuals are connected to and interact with the environment in which they live. SCARF also draws on neurological development, attachment, resilience 'good enough parenting' theories to inform its assessment and planning methodology, and promotes a strengths based / solution focused approach. This article provides an overview of SCARF, the use of the model by Barnardos, the values and knowledge underpinning SCARF, strategies used and SCARF's contribution to a vision for family support.

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

Victorian Indigenous Youth Advisory Council; Youth Affairs Council of Victoria.
VIYAC: voices telling it like it is: young Aboriginal Victorians on culture, identity and racism. With a summary report by the Youth Affairs Council of Victoria: Painting a picture with stats and facts.
Melbourne, Vic: Youth Affairs Council of Victoria, 2006, 54p, figure, Online (PDF 1843K)
http://www.yacvic.org.au/includes/pdfs_wordfiles/viyacfinal%20AR.pdf

Three key issues affecting Indigenous youth are culture, identity and racism. Excerpts from interviews with young Indigenous Victorians about their perspectives on these issues are presented. They discuss what their culture means to them, the value of their culture, their connection to culture and how it can be strengthened, how connection to culture influences their life, what it is to live with pride, their Aboriginal identity and what it means to them, the expectations their communities have for them and their role as a young person in their community, society's expectations of them and how that impacts on their identity, what racism is, their experiences of racism as young Aboriginal people, and the impacts of these experiences. The report then presents information on connection to culture, land and experiences of dispossession and removal; education; employment; child protection; juvenile justice; housing and homelessness; health and well being; and strengths and protective factors.

Available from: Youth Affairs Council of Victoria http://www.yacvic.org.au/

Watts, Juanita; Kumar, Renee; Nicholson, Kenneth; Kumar, Janelle.
Stigma, rights, resilience and stability.
Social Policy Journal of New Zealand no.27 Mar 2006: 12-19, and Online
http://www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-our-work/publications-resources/journals-and-magazines/social-policy-journal/spj27/stigma-rights-resilience-and-stability-27-pages12-19.html

Representatives of the Youth Council of the Care to Independence Programme in New Zealand, reflecting on their personal experience and knowledge, identify the issues that are most critical to the ability of young people in care to flourish. The Youth Council's concerns focus on the areas of stigma (being prejudged as 'kids in care'), rights (the right to support past the age of 17 and to responsive guardianship), resilience (which comes of being valued, loved, given attention, supported and cared for), and stability (receiving good placements that last). The Youth Council's representatives took the opportunity of the Australasian Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect to speak directly to the social workers, service providers and policy makers present. (Journal abstract)

Available from: Ministry of Social Development http://www.msd.govt.nz/

Return to Bibliographies Menu