Action on research to protect kids
It is an issue that grabs headlines in ways that not many others can. Child protection and the agonies of child abuse increasingly live large on our TV screens and news pages.
So it is likely that much will be expected from the new Australian Centre for Child Protection (ACCP) at UniSA, a project established in 2004 with a $10 million funding package from the Federal Government for the next 10 years.
Professor Dorothy Scott, who has just left the University of Melbourne to take up the position of director of the ACCP, sees translating research into action as the biggest challenge for the centre and one which is vital for the wellbeing of children at risk.
“Child protection is an emotive issue and in response to that high emotion we find policy development can be driven by politics and the press – the short term ‘action now’ approach,” Prof Scott says.
“The danger is that policies are put in place that in the long term do more harm than good to children and their families.
“The other outcome can be to demoralise and ultimately lose dedicated staff working in the field who face volatile situations very few of us would be prepared to tackle.
“We need a knowledge based approach to child abuse and with this support from the Federal Government, we have got the capacity to help make this happen.”
Prof Scott says a key priority before embarking on any new research into child protection is to harness what has already been done in Australia.
In collaboration with the Child Protection Clearing House at the Australian Institute of Family Studies, an audit is in progress.
“The audit will not only show us what research has been done and where the gaps are, but what has been done with that research,” Prof Scott says.
“We hope to find what the factors are that stop research being used, or indeed ensure its uptake, so that child protection researchers can develop research projects that have an impact on child protection policies and service delivery.”
Prof Scott says the ACCP also has a mission to help a broad range of professions to deliver graduates and postgraduates who are equipped to prevent and respond to child abuse and neglect.
“We will be appointing someone to head up this area and we will seek expressions of interest from a range of academic departments such as psychology, social work, nursing and teaching for grants to help map professional courses across Australia for their child protection related content and identify exemplary curricula and teaching,” she said.
“How to train doctors, lawyers and other professionals to protect children is also on our horizon.
“With growing recognition of the need for a whole of government approach and encouraging opportunities for prevention and early intervention, I have never been more optimistic about the prospects of making a difference.”