Jump to Content

Media Release

February 21 2008

Sharing international research to help vulnerable children

Just how services for child protection and domestic violence are developed and delivered in Ireland may have some important clues for Australian researchers in the same field.

Leading researcher Dr Helen Buckley from Ireland’s Children’s Research Centre will be discussing her internationally recognised work and research in child protection as the guest speaker at the Australian Centre for Child Protection’s Summer Symposium tomorrow from 9.30am.

The symposium at UniSA’s Hawke Building, City West will feature Dr Buckley’s findings from of a number of Irish research studies in the area of child protection.

The range of studies explore the opinions of adults and young people involved with child protection and domestic violence services in Ireland, looking closely at individuals’ preconceptions and initial impressions of the services they used. The work also analyses the extent to which expectations and needs were met and the qualities individuals’ found positive and helpful in service providers identified.

“The research shows that people really value friendly, helpful and respectful relationships as well as openness, reliability and skill in child protection service workers,” Dr Buckley says.

“We’ve found that quality relationships between those using services and those providing services are paramount in achieving the best outcomes.”

Director of the Australian Centre for Child Protection and chair of the symposium Professor Dorothy Scott explains that it is vital to learn from the research and work of international counterparts in the area of child protection.

“It is invaluable to be able to share the insights of child protection researchers from Ireland, Australia and other countries around the world where important work is being undertaken. It enhances and expands our understanding of these issues globally.

“Dr Buckley will also be presenting new perspectives on frameworks for assessing vulnerable children and their families, which is a very contemporary issue in child protection,” Prof Scott said.

The Summer Symposium will be of particular interest to practitioners, managers, policy makers, researchers and students working with vulnerable children or in the child protection area.

Dr Buckley is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Social Work and Social Policy at Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland and a Senior Research Fellow in the Children’s Research Centre also at Trinity College. She provides a consultancy service to the Office of the Minister for Children in Ireland and has been involved in the development of child protection procedures for voluntary and statutory agencies. In addition, Dr Buckley has produced a number of publications on child protection.

The Child Protection summer symposium will be held at UniSA's Hawke Building, City West campus from 9.30 am to 1 pm on Friday February 22.
 

Contacts for interview

Media contact

top^