Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-lj6df Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-04T19:33:33.958Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

This is nothing new: Child protection concerns and poverty

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 February 2016

Jane Thomson
Jane Thomson*
Affiliation:
School of Social Work and Community Welfare, James Cook University, Townsville, Qld 4811. Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

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.

Type
Other
Information
Children Australia , Volume 28 , Issue 1 , 2003 , pp. 4 - 10
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2003

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Agger, B. (1991) Critical theory, Poststructuralism, Postmodernism: Their sociological relevance, Annual Review of Sociology, No 17, pp.105–131.Google Scholar
Ainsworth, F. & Summers, A. (2001) Family Reunification and Drug Use by Parents, Final Report, Research for the Care of Children Advisory Committee, Perth: Department of Family and Children's Services.Google Scholar
Bryman, A. (2001) Social Research Methods, Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
CAFWAA (2002) A Time to Invest in Australia's Most Disadvantaged Children, Young People and Their Families, Sydney: Child and Family Welfare Association of Australia.Google Scholar
Callahan, M. & Lumb, C. (1995) ‘My Cheque and My Children: The long road to empowerment in child welfare’, Child Welfare: Journal of Policy, Practice and Program, Vol LXXIV, No. 3, May/June, pp.795–819.Google Scholar
Corcoran, J. (2000) Evidence-Based Social Work Practice with Families: A lifespan approach, New York: Springer Series on Social Work.Google Scholar
Elliott, A. & Sultmann, C-M. (2002) A Fair Start for Queensland Children, Young People and Families: A report card on child protection services, Brisbane, QCOSS.Google Scholar
Gelles, R. J. (1992) ‘Poverty and Violence Towards Children’, American Behavioral Scientist, Vol. 35, No. 3, pp.258–274.Google Scholar
Gil, D. (1970) Violence Against Children: Physical abuse in the United States, Cambridge, Mass, US: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Gordon, L. (1988) Heroes of Their Own Lives: The politics and history of family violence. Boston 1880-1960, New York: Penguin Books.Google Scholar
Harding, A., Lloyd, R. & Greenwell, H. (2001) Financial Disadvantage in Australia 1900 to 2000: The persistence of poverty in a decade of growth, Sydney: Smith Family and NATSEM.Google Scholar
James, M. (2000) ‘Child Abuse and Neglect: Part 1- Redefining the Issues’, Trends and Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice, February, Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology.Google Scholar
Jordan, B. (1974) Poor Parents: Social policy and the ‘cycle of deprivation’, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.Google Scholar
Jordan, B. (1996) A Theory of Poverty and Social Exclusion, Cambridge, Mass, US: Polity Press.Google Scholar
Keegan Eamon, M. (2001) ‘Maternal Depression and Physical Punishment as Mediators of the Effect of Poverty in Socioemotional Problems of Children in Single- Mother Families’, American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. Vol. 71, No. 2, April, pp.218–226.Google Scholar
Laird, J. (1995) ‘Family-Centred Practice in the Postmodern Era’, Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Human Services, March, pp. 150–162.Google Scholar
Leonard, P. (1997) Postmodern Welfare: Reconstructing an emancipatory project, London: Sage.Google Scholar
May, T. (1997) Social Research: Issues, methods and process, 2nd edn., Buckingham, UK: Open University Press.Google Scholar
McCallum, A. (2002) ‘Action Needed for all Australians to Feel Better’, Impact, February, Sydney: ACOSS.Google Scholar
McClelland, A. (2000) ‘No child… ’: Child poverty in Australia, Melbourne: Brotherhood of St Laurence.Google Scholar
Mendes, P. (1999) ‘Marxist and Feminist Critiques of Child Protection: To protect children or to change society?’, Children Australia, Vol. 24, No. 2, pp.27–31.Google Scholar
Mullaly, R. (1997) Structural Social Work: Ideology, theory and practice, Toronto: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Osmond, J. & Darlington, Y. (2001) ‘Introducing Evidence Based Practice’, Information Sheet No 1. Using Knowledge in Practice, Brisbane: School of Social Work and Social Policy, University of Queensland and Department of Families.Google Scholar
Parton, N. (2002) ‘Protecting Children: a socio-historical analysis’ in Wilson, K. and James, A. (eds), The Child Protection Handbook, 2nd edn., Edinburgh: Bailliere Tindall.Google Scholar
Pecora, P. (2002) The Challenge of Achieving Evidence-Based Practice in Child and Family Services, keynote address, Association of Children's Welfare Agencies Conference, 2-4 September, Sydney.Google Scholar
Pelton, L. (1981) The Social Context of Child Abuse and Neglect, New York: Human Services Press.Google Scholar
Pelton, L. (1987) For Reasons of Poverty: A critical analysis of the public child welfare system in the United States, New York: Praeger.Google Scholar
QCOSS (1999) People and Places: A profile of growing disadvantage in Queensland, Brisbane: Queensland Council of Social Service.Google Scholar
QCOSS (2001) A Charter for A Fair Queensland, www.fairqueensland.org.au Google Scholar
Saunders, P. (2002) Measuring Australia's Progress and Economic Disadvantage and Inequality, Sydney: Centre for Independent Studies, http:apprn.org/policy/Saundersl.html Google Scholar
SNAICC (2002) Through Young Black Eyes: A handbook to protect indigenous children from the impact of family violence and child abuse, Canberra: Secretariat National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care.Google Scholar
Stilwell, F. (1993) Economic Inequality: Who gets what in Australia?, Sydney: Pluto Press.Google Scholar
Thomson, J. (2000) ‘Practical Responses with Women in Poverty: the value of ‘trained in life' workers’, in Weeks, W. and Quinn, M. (eds), Issues Facing Australian Families: Human services respond, Melbourne: Longman, pp.165–172.Google Scholar
Tomison, A. (1996a) Child Maltreatment and Family Structure. Discussion paper No. 1, Winter, Melbourne: National Child Protection Clearinghouse.Google Scholar
Tomison, A. (1996b) Child Maltreatment and Substance Abuse. Discussion paper No. 2, Spring, Melbourne: National Child Protection Clearinghouse Google Scholar
Tregeagle, S. (1985) Poverty and the Abuse and Neglect of Children, Monograph No 12, Sydney: Barnados.Google Scholar
Wise, S. (2001) How Should Family Services Respond to “Children in Need”?, Australian Family Briefing No. 11, October, Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies.Google Scholar
Wiseman, J. (2000) ‘All For One or One For All? The past and future of the Australian Welfare State’, in McMahon, A., Thomson, J. and Williams, C. (eds), Understanding the Australian Welfare State: Key documents and themes, Melbourne: Tertiary Press.Google Scholar