Discuss about the Child Protection in Australia.
Australia is one of the most developed countries but however there are incidences of child abuses and child neglect (Kempe et al., 2013). There are several cases of child maltreatment such as physical abuse, emotional maltreatment, sexual abuse, neglect and exposure to family violence (Kempe et al., 2013). These kinds of child abuse cases damage the psychological and physiological well being of the children. There are instances when the victims of child abuse suffer from depression, anxiety and have difficulty in concentrating (Christian, 2015). The organization Help Kids would help in successful protection of children in NSW region. The focus of the organization is to work in this domain and work towards the reduction of child abuse cases in NSW region. The purpose of this body is to work collaboratively with the interagency partners in the process of child protection process in NSW. This would make sure that the organization would help in strengthening the facilities that help in the protection and development of the child well being in the region.
The organization would cater to the children between the age of 3 years to 18 years who are living in NSW region. The organization finds that the child abuse and child neglect are often caused by several reasons. The issue is of national importance as there are many cases of child abuse all over Australia (Kempe et al., 2013). However, this special initiative would be implemented in the NSW region only. The currency is important for proper implementation of the government board policies (Zuiderwijk & Janssen, 2014). The social inclusion is important for children as it seeks for equal opportunities for this age group and aims to enhance their living conditions.
The children are the most vulnerable group as compared to other age groups. This is because of the fact that they are in social, physical and psychological development stage (Kempe et al., 2013). They are unable to express their needs, wants and desires as done by the adults or people belong from other age groups (Brown, Manning & Stykes, 2015). As opined by Jones and Lowman (2017), the child well-being is considered as the multidimensional concept that is done by incorporating the psychological, social and physical dimensions. The well being of a child considers an optimum quality of life and providing them their basic rights.
The current policy on child protection aims to work towards the betterment of children. The Children and Young Person (Care and Protection) Act 1998 makes sure that good care of the young people and the children is taken by the families, agencies and government through the process of partnerships (Community.nsw.gov.au, 2017). The Child Wellbeing and Child protection- NSW Interagency Guidelines helps the population by providing them practical guidance regarding interagency cooperation in the field of child protection. These guidelines support the collaborative practice of supporting the child protection measures (Kempe et al., 2013). These guidelines are applicable for both the non-government as well as government agencies (Wiener et al., 2015). This program aims to provide streamlined child protection system, coordinated system of shared information and establishment of different child wellbeing units. This policy makes sure that the child has the right to participate in the decisions that are being made to improve his or her quality of life. The judgment should be done after giving adequate information to him. The child should be given adequate information about the outcomes of the decisions that he or she would be undertaking.
The Child Wellbeing and Child protection- NSW Interagency Guidelines focus on the collaboration on the interagency partners and the promotion of safety, wellbeing and the growth of the children. This policy also helps in the reporting of the unborn child and respond to the unmet needs of the children. These policies also help in the protection of the children from physical abuse and neglect when it occurs in a practical scenario.
The issue of child protection should be addressed the local and international level. The Australian Government should take the responsibility of protecting the well-being of children (Parton, 2014). The issue should be addressed more at the local level where it is possible to make a difference. The activists would also be able to work at the grassroot level and hence the policy can be best implemented at this level (Bartlett et al., 2016). The current policy impacts the child protection across all the territory jurisdictions in and around Australia. The policies aim to make the children participate in the decision-making process (Aifs.gov.au ,2017). This often leads to the fact that young people and children are involved in the process of decision making activities. This is done as per their maturity and age(Bartlett et al., 2016). This is also done after making sure that the child would be able to form as well as express their viewpoints and these are given serious consideration. These policies make sure that the child wins the case and he gets fair treatment across all matters.
The current child protection policy of Australia emphasizes on child protection activities just for providing response for abuse. The aspect of public health model to child care and protection is often missed from the policies (Bartlett et al., 2016). The public health model would give all round development for children and not only protect them from abuse. The current system relies only on the protection aspects of children and overlooks the overall improvement of the children (O’Dwyer, Cahalane & Pelican-Kelly, 2016). The public health model relies on the health, education, interests and availabilityof basic amenities to the children. It is important to concentrate on early intervention so that the children have a good quality of life (Bartlett et al., 2016). A health system is considered as beyond hospitals and the protection of children should be more than mere “statutory child protection service”. The child protection services in Australia are unable to provide a suitable response to all the vulnerable children and their respective families (Sun & Buys, 2013).
It is advisable that the public health approach places greater emphasis on family assistance so that the abuse of children can be prevented (Sun & Buys, 2013). It should aim to involve professionals, wider community and families for enhancing the child protection and recognition of the fact that children are responsibility of all. The objective of this program would also include protection against child abuse and find appropriate ways to handle the issue (Bartlett et al., 2016). The country should adopt a national leadership as well as common goal for child protection activities.
There are several states as well as territory governments which have implemented reforms towards child protection systems but they have not been fully implemented in the current scenario. It is important to coordinate with the Australian Government programs and seek an early intervention. The income support is also important as it would help in the bright future of the children. The national leadership should focus on the social policies pertaining to research, data and information sharing across all the sectors. The indigenous children should be supported and kept safe within their communities and families. The risk factors for neglect and child abuse should be addressed. The children should be encouraged to live within their known people and family members. The awareness regarding sexual abuse and exploitation should be done so that the children are aware about these. The children below three years should be monitored more since they have the risks of injuries and neglect. The organizations operating in these sectors should opt for financial assistance from the business sector. The corporate sector is willing to devote time and resources to various social causes.
The Government of Australia should focus more on the involvement of the children in the decision making process. I feel that the child protection policy should be formulated after consulting well with the representatives of this age group. The NSW government should hold more awareness camps that would raise more awareness regarding the matters of child abuse including sexual exploitation of the children.
Conclusions
The child protection in NSW is serious issue and should be given utmost importance. Children are considered as the future of the nation and hence they should be given a better standard of living. There are several policies of child protection in the states but they have not been properly implemented so far. It is important that the overall development of the children is emphasized on. The protection of the child should not be the only consideration of the policies; instead it should focus on the physical as well as psychological well-being of the children. This paper would enhance the knowledge regarding the child protection policies in NSW, Australia.
References
Australian Institute of Family Studies. (2017). Australian Institute of Family Studies. Retrieved 7 September 2017, from https://aifs.gov.au
Bartlett, S., Hart, R., Satterthwaite, D., de la Barra, X., & Missair, A. (2016). Cities for children: children’s rights, poverty and urban management. Routledge.
Brown, S. L., Manning, W. D., & Stykes, J. B. (2015). Family structure and child well?being: Integrating family complexity. Journal of Marriage and Family, 77(1), 177-190.
Christian, C. W., & Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect. (2015). The evaluation of suspected child physical abuse. Pediatrics, 135(5), e1337-e1354.
Community.nsw.gov.au, 2017. Community Services. (2017). Community.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 7 September 2017, from https://www.community.nsw.gov.au
Jones, W., & Lowman, M. (2017). Child Well?Being. A Practical Guide to Analytics for Governments: Using Big Data for Good, 11-33.
Kempe, C. H., Silverman, F. N., Steele, B. F., Droegemueller, W., & Silver, H. K. (2013). The battered-child syndrome. In C. Henry Kempe: A 50 Year Legacy to the Field of Child Abuse and Neglect (pp. 23-38). Springer Netherlands.
O’Dwyer, P., Cahalane, S., & Pelican-Kelly, S. (2016). Evaluation of a co-location initiative: a Public Health Nurse working in a social work department to improve child protection practice. The Irish Social Worker.
Parton, N. (2014). The politics of child protection: Contemporary developments and future directions. Palgrave Macmillan.
Sun, J., & Buys, N. (2013). Child abuse, neglect and maltreatment health service in Australia: A literature review. International Public Health Journal, 5(4), 399.
Tilbury, C., Walsh, P., & Osmond, J. (2016). Child Aware Practice in Adult Social Services: A Scoping Review. Australian Social Work, 69(3), 260-272.
Wiener, L., Weaver, M. S., Bell, C. J., & Sansom-Daly, U. M. (2015). Threading the cloak: palliative care education for care providers of adolescents and young adults with cancer. Clinical oncology in adolescents and young adults, 5, 1.
Zuiderwijk, A., & Janssen, M. (2014). Open data policies, their implementation and impact: A framework for comparison. Government Information Quarterly, 31(1), 17-29.
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