This is the text of an address given by Mrs. Gorman at a luncheon of the Children’s Bureau of Australia on Tuesday 23rd October, 1984.

In Victoria at the present time a major review is being undertaken into child welfare practice and legislation. The importance of this task is two-fold. Not only do children have to gain from a sensitive and workable final Report, but families too could find that they will be offered the support they need to assist in the difficult task of raising children today. It is hoped that the Review Committee will not concentrate solely on the rights of the child, but will also give due recognition to the rights of the family to a caring and protective environment.

The Victorian Government was the first state government to adopt a family policy approach to dealing with the child. This was confirmed by the Norgard Report (1976) and formed the basis of a submission by the Victorian Minister of Social Welfare to the Federal Minister of Social Security (1977) which culminated in the Family Support Services Scheme being set up the following year. This joint federal/state program officially recognised the interaction of children’s rights and needs with those of their parents.

A review article on prisoner mothers by Dennis Challinger (1982) questioned what, policies there should be for mothers in prison having their children with them. The present article is a personal view by a patient written at her request by a therapist. It deals with the impact of the knowledge that her mother had been in gaol for a year when she was four years of age and some thoughts about the efficacy of being with her and the help they both might have received if facilities had been available.

This paper was presented as the opening address to the Seminar, ‘Directions for Residential Child Care in Victoria’ 26th November, 1984 at the University of Melbourne.

Children adopted from overseas by New South Wales families since 1975 have come from many countries, and the welfare services of these countries differ greatly. Some have adoption laws similar to those in Australia, while others have no adoption legislation at all. The regulations governing what is required of the adoptive parents also differs from country to country. Some countries insist that the adoptive parents travel to the country for assessment or court hearings, while others prefer the adopted child to travel under escort to his new country and request that the parents abide by this rule. Some countries will only accept childless couples or those of a particular age, while others have less rigid application criteria.

Intercountry adoption is expensive. Depending on the country, an adoption can cost the family anywhere between $3,000 to $15,000.

This was the fifth International Congress on Child Abuse and Neglect that I have attended, others have been held in Geneva, Paris, Amsterdam and London. The 5th International Congress of Child Abuse and Neglect was held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in September 1984. In keeping with the Congress theme, which emphasised community responsibility for the prevention of child abuse and neglect, organisers, agencies, professionals and citizens who contributed to the congress and represented different levels of Government and various sectors of the community; thus a broad cross section of the people involved. Prevention is the only way of reducing child abuse and neglect. The aim of the conference was to bring together preventative strategies from both professionals and self help agencies. Child abuse is a community responsibility. Every child has the right to be protected “against all forms of neglect, cruelty and exploitation”. Workers inthefield recognise that the help they bring to families is too little too late, and that we cannot rely on judicial strategies to reduce child abuse. Times are difficult, resources are strained, this affects service delivery, and brings increasing stress to the family, making them more vulnerable to breakdown. The U.S.A. spends $2 billion a year on treating the problem and only $2 million a year on preventative activities.