Latest ACCP news
ACCP Inform - Issue 7, September
Enjoy the latest issue of ACCP Inform, our quarterly e-newsletter with the latest news and information from the Centre.This edition focuses on the important specialist expertise of the ACCP’s clinical practice team. Our highly skilled team of psychologists bring leading clinical expertise in child trauma across the breadth of the ACCP’s work; from our research and consultancy projects and programs of work, through to the development of the Centre’s Workforce Development courses which are helping to build the capacity of the sector.
Launch of the new Minimum Practice Standards
Attorney-General Hon Mark Dreyfus KC MP, launches the new Minimum Practice Standards for services responding to child sexual abuse, developed by the ACCP.
Launch of Standards for services responding to child sexual abuse
The National Office for Child Safety recently engaged the Australian Centre for Child Protection, in partnership with PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting, to develop the national Minimum Practice Standards: Specialist and Community Support Services Responding to Child Sexual Abuse (the Standards).
Victims, survivors and their support system can face barriers when seeking help, including gaps in services, inadequate responses, and inconsistent service provision.
The Standards provide a set of principles and benchmarks for services to promote safe and effective services that support individuals who have experienced or been impacted by child sexual abuse. The 18 month national project brought together significant research and clinical practice expertise, including expertise across the sector in academia, service design, practice, standards auditing and quality management.
The Standards form a key part of Measure 24 of the First National Action Plan of the National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Child Sexual Abuse 2021-2030, to complete a baseline analysis of specialist and community support services responding to child sexual abuse.
> Read the Standards and complementary resources on our Minimum Practice Standards page.
Presentation - Healthy Development Adelaide Forum
Held in conjunction with National Child Protection Week, ACCP Director Prof Leah Bromfield was invited to Chair the Healthy Development Adelaide forum on 'Starting early for children in need – where we start matters' on Tuesday 5 September.
> listen to the recorded presentation here (starts @6:15min)
ACCP Award
The ACCP is delighted to see our PhD Scholar, Rachel Lever receive 2nd place in the University of South Australia 3 minute Thesis Grand Final presentation on Tuesday 5 September. Rachel was amazing and delivered an incredible presentation, titled 'Harmful sexual behaviours displayed by children: Police responses and diversions' with her research investigating therapeutic diversionary pathways - congratulations!
New online qualification supports frontline workers responding to child abuse
Alarming rates of child abuse and particularly sexual abuse in Australia have prompted the country’s first tertiary accredited postgraduate qualification for frontline practitioners, the Graduate Certificate in Childhood Trauma.
This part-time 100% online qualification, designed by the University of South Australia and the Australian Centre for Child Protection, will help sector workers to recognise the signs of abuse, understand the impacts and develop evidence-informed and tailored responses. > Read more here
Professional Certificate in Understanding Childhood Trauma - Applications open Monday 4 September
Presentation - Inaugural Justice & Society Aboriginal Enterprise Fellow, Dr Jacynta Krakouer
Dr Jacynta Krakouer's presentation 'Towards systemic transformation: Shifting thinking on First Nations self-determination on child protection', seeks to shift thinking on what First Nations self-determination can, and should look like in child protection in out of home care by interrogating the application of First Nations self-determination in these contexts.
> Watch the recorded presentation here (starts at 1:12min in)
ACCP Inform. Issue 6, June 2023
Enjoy the latest issue of ACCP Inform, our quarterly e-newsletter with the latest news and information from the Centre.This edition, crafted at the end of Reconciliation Week, offers reflection and highlighting of the Centre’s focus on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander research and governance.
ACCP in the media
8 September 2023: Ultra 106.5 radio in Tasmania interviewed ACCP's Deputy Director Practie Amanda Paton, in relation to the launch of UniSA’s new Graduate Certificate of Childhood Trauma.
31 August 2023. - It's the final week of The Commission of Inquiry into the Tasmanian Government's Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Institutional Settings. Featuring Prof Leah Bromfield as one of the Commissioners who presented 191 recommendations. ABC News. > Read more here
(Left to right) Professor Leah Bromfield, Marcia Neave AO and Robert Benjamin AM have heard nine weeks of evidence in Launceston and Hobart since 2022. (ABC News: Maren Preuss)
6 August 2023 - ACCP Deputy Director Amanda Paton quoted in "Helicopter parents promote unsafe phone use in childcare, advocates warn" - Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Sun Herald, Brisbane Times, Wa Today and others.
5 August 2023 - Professor Leah Bromfield quoted in "Invisible predators: the shifting behaviour of paedophiles has Australian Police playing catch-up". The Guardian.
4 August 2023 - Professor Leah Bromfield spoke to 5AA Adeladie, ABC News, ABC Radio: "Responding to child abuse in state care".
2 August 2023 - Professor Leah Bromfield spoke to ABC News Melbourne: "How strong are child protection laws in Australia?
31 May 2023
3: ACCP's Director, Professor Leah Bromfield, interviewed by 7.30 provides some insight into the behaviours and needs of vulnerable children.
9 May 2023: The Sector published “SA forms Child Protection Expert Group to help drive lasting change in the state” featuring the involvement of ACCP Director Prof. Leah Bromfield, as Chair and ACCP Deputy Director Asso. Prof. Melisa O’Donnell, as a member of the South Australian Child Protection the Expert Group.
Supporting children to participate in evaluation - webinar
ACCP's Deputy Director Practice, Amanda Paton was a guest speaker at the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) webinar held on Wednesday 3 May. > Watch the recorded webinar here
ACCP Guest Speaker & Award
ACCP's Deputy Director Research, Associate Professor Melissa O'Donnell was the guest speaker at the HDA Women's Excellence in Research Award presentation, on Wednesday 3 May in Adelaide.
ACCP in the Media
5 April 2023: "More kids, less carers, and less time by caseworkers, that's a pretty toxic trio of things to happen" said ACCP Director Prof Leah Bromfield, who spoke with the ABC News recently regarding the foster care system.
ACCP Award
The 2022 UniSA Justice & Society Academic Unit Awards were held on Wednesday 10 April and we are thrilled to be awarded the JUS Champion Award for Most Outstanding Team!
Congratulations to the UniSA and ACCP staff who form the ACCP Short Course Development Team (Amanda Paton, Sian Burgess, Emily Russell, Jacqueline Le Mesurier, Phoebe Edgeworth, Jenny Macpherson, Alison Vink, Tracey Johnson, Kate Minosora, Emma Cole-Henry, Amy Cleland, Vickie Hovane, Deirdre Tedmanson, Leah Bromfield, Lisa McDonald, Elissa Pearson, Carol Brewitt, David Birbeck, Matt Golotta, Jason Whittle, John Walker, Mel Friend, Diana Nayler, Tanya O’Leary, and Jacinta Hughes)
For working to create and deliver the suite of Professional Certificates (that have, this year been accredited as a Graduate Certificate) the team has worked with great care and integrity and, importantly, in partnership with the sector. The professional Certificates (in Understanding Childhood Trauma; Assessing Childhood Trauma; and Responding to Childhood Trauma) are sector leading – the team have delivered accessible, fit-for-purpose quality training which is upskilling the current workforce. The initiative is leading the university's development of stackable, micro credentialized offerings. The project has brought together clinical, research, cultural, pedagogical, and teaching innovation through leveraging the expertise of a highly multidisciplinary and multi-skilled team.
ACCP Book Publication
Responding to the lack of exchange in practices between countries in responses to child sexual abuse, the University of Quebec, University of New Hampshire, and UniSA set out to put together an edited book titled "Contemporary and Innovative practices in Child and Youth Advocacy Centres Models" (due to be released 19th April).The book, co-edited by Associate Professor James Herbert of the Australian Centre for Child Protection draws on a truly international researchers, policymakers and practitioners sharing new approaches to multi-agency responses to responses to child abuse. Chapters cover forensic interview, therapeutic and support services and prevention of abuse across the United States, Canada, Australia, Norway, Sweden, Israel, United Kingdom, Croatia, Iceland.
ACCP Guest Presentation
Hear from ACCP's Deputy Director Research, Associate Professor Melissa O'Donnell about the health sector's critical role in responding to domestic & family violence experiences of children & young people with disability.The online presentation hosted by Children's Healthcare Australasia will be held 12:30pm - 1:30pm AEDT 28 March 2023.
ACCP Award Winner
Congratulations to ACCP Deputy Director Research, Associate Professor Melissa O'Donnell - winner of the HDA Women’s Excellence in Research Award for 2023!
ACCP Inform. Issue 5, March 2023
Enjoy the fifth issue of ACCP Inform, our quarterly e-newsletter with the latest news and information from the Centre. This issue we focus on our new ACCP Strategic Framework, leading our work, focus and direction across the next five years.
Child protection expert appointed to lead national advisory group
Professor Leah Bromfield, Director of the Australian Centre for Child Protection at UniSA, will lead an advisory group for the State Government tasked with guiding what's being described as long term reform to the child protection system. The new panel responds to observations made in an independent review into the system released last year.
ACCP Inform. Issue 4, December 2022
Enjoy the fourth issue of ACCP Inform, our new e-newsletter with the latest news and information from the Centre. Learn more about the ACCP, our team and the important work we do to help prevent and respond to child abuse and neglect.Child Protection: breaking the cycle of harm
Recent cases of alleged neglect have again thrown the child protection system into the spotlight. ACCP researchers say it’s time for a new approach, where holistic support agencies work in partnership with families and communities to break the intergenerational cycle of harm.
This article is from the University of South Australia’s Enterprise magazine under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International licence.
Steering Group for Children's Services in Scotland
ACCP Director, Leah Bromfield, has been appointed as a member of the Independent Steering Group for Children’s Services Research in Scotland.
The purpose of the Steering Group is to provide independent direction and oversight to the Children’s Research conducted by CELCIS, which will be used to inform Ministerial decision-making regarding children’s services in the context of the introduction of the National Care Service.
Prof Leah Bromfield, Keynote Speaker at OPEN: Outcomes Practice Evidence Network Symposium 2022
The annual OPEN Symposium was held online at 9:30am (EST) Wednesday 26 October.
This year’s theme was ‘Maintaining Momentum: Continuing to innovate and build Victoria’s Child and Family Service sector evidence base’. At the Symposium, the child and family services sector discussed the innovative practices that are delivering better outcomes for children and families.
'Growing up safe and supported' forum
Join us for the 'Growing up safe and supported' forum presented by Healthy Development Adelaide - HDA on Wednesday 7 September, 5.30 - 8.00pm at the Napier 102 lecture theatre, North Terrace, University of Adelaide. ACCP's Deputy Director Research, A/Professor Melissa O’Donnell, is one of the guest speakers, and her topic is 'Pregnant mothers and infants involved in child processes'.
Child protection systems in Australia are 'in crisis', but some programs are making a positive difference
ABC news recently spoke with ACCP’s Director Prof Leah Bromfield about her insights into child protection, highlighting the need for new approaches to give children and families the best chance for success.
>Read more here (scroll down to second half of article) or watch video interview (starts at 1min 14sec)
Baseline analysis of services responding to child sexual abuse across Australia - EOI to participate in consultations.
The ACCP on behalf of the National Office for Child Safety are conducting a baseline analysis of specialist and community services for victims and survivors of child sexual abuse. Stakeholders are invited to participate in consultations for this project. Please register your interest in participating in the project consultations here.
Family and Community Services Insights, Analysis and Research (FACSIAR) Lunch and Learn webinar
ACCP's Deputy Director, Research, Associate Professor Melissa O'Donnell recently presented at the FACSIAR 'Infants entering out-of-home care: health, developmental trajectories and services' webinar.
>Click here to watch the webinar
Framework for Understanding and Guiding Responses to Harmful Sexual Behaviour in Children and Young People Webinar
Director ACCP, Professor Leah Bromfield and Deputy Director Amanda Paton were proud to support the Department of Communities and the Minister for Child Protection, Hon Simone McGurk in launching the WA Framework for understanding and guiding responses to harmful sexual behaviours in children and young people.
This marks a significant step for WA in better understanding and responding to this very complex issue and paves the way for a more consistent and therapeutic response for children, young people and their families.
The Framework can be accessed via WA’s safer WA website.
ACCP Inform. Issue 2, May 2022
Enjoy the second issue of ACCP Inform, our new e-newsletter with the latest news and information from the Centre. Learn more about the ACCP, our team and the important work we do to help prevent and respond to child abuse and neglect.
Participants needed for ACCP study exploring the barriers to child-centred recordkeeping in child protection contexts
Recordkeeping researchers at Monash University and the Australian Centre for Child Protection are conducting a research study to understand the barriers to child-centred recordkeeping in child protection contexts.
If you are a social work student, social work curriculum developer, or child protection/family support practitioner or caseworker, then we want to hear from you.
Your participation (in either an interview, focus group or survey) will help improve our understanding of how child protection workers are prepared for case recording in their training and how child-centred recordkeeping could be supported. Participation in the study will be confidential. Findings may lead to better and fairer recordkeeping systems for children involved in child protection systems.
For more information about how you can participate, please contact Dr Martine Hawkes: martine.hawkes@unisa.edu.au or visit https://rights-records.it.monash.edu/research-development-agenda/caring-records/
The study has been approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee at Monash University (Application ID: 31759) and UniSA (Application ID: 204524).
Evidence-informed decision making: Using research evidence to inform practice, webinar
ACCP Deputy Director, Amanda Paton will be one of four key presenters speaking at the “Evidence-informed decision making: Using research evidence to inform practice” on Wednesday, 23 March 2022 1:00–2:00pm AEDT.
This free webinar is presented by Child Family Community Australia and will explore how research evidence can be used to support decision making in programs and practice in the child, family and community welfare sector.
ACCP Inform. Issue 1, February 2022
Enjoy the first issue of ACCP Inform, our new e-newsletter with the latest news and information from the Centre.Learn more about the ACCP, our team and the important work we do to help prevent and respond to child abuse and neglect.
Using data to inform therapeutic responses to child sexual abuse
ACCP’s Deputy Director Amanda Paton and Senior Research Fellow Dr James Herbert recently explored how data can be used to inform therapeutic responses to child sexual abuse in a Child Family Community Australia webinar. Held on 24 November, the webinar had a high level of engagement, with participants learning what influences therapy engagement and completion following a disclosure of child sexual abuse and how data from research and practice can be used to inform program and service model design.
A recording and transcript of the webinar is available here, alongside key resources: Using data to inform therapeutic responses to child sexual abuse
ACCP Response to the National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Child Sexual Abuse
27 October 2021 saw the launch of the National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Child Sexual Abuse.
ACCP Deputy Director Tim Moore's The Conversation article, highlights its strengths, but also the need to work with survivors, children and young people to ensure it achieves it goals.
Protecting Children - ABC Radio Interview with Tim Moore
On 19 October, ACCP Deputy Director Associate Professor Tim Moore was interviewed by Sonya Fedlhoff on ABC Radio Adelaide in response to a new report on the needs of children and young people in the SA residential care and youth justice systems*. The discussion also included Penny Wright, of the Guardian for Children and Young People and Training Centre Visitor. Interview with Tim commences at 6mins 05sec into the recording.
> Play audio recording of interview
> *Download the report the interview is referring to "Six Month Snapshot of the South Australian Dual Involved Project: children and young people in South Australia’s child protection and youth justice systems"
Credit: Afternoons with Sonya Fedlhoff, ABC Radio Adelaide.
Recognising excellence in child protection research in helping our most vulnerable
An Award for Excellence in Child Protection Research has been awarded to UniSA’s ACCP, for its leadership of child protection research across Australia and partnering with jurisdictions to support the design of evidence-based services.
Tri-Peaks Webinar
ACCP's Director, Professor Leah Bromfield was the guest speaker for the Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare's webinar in May 2021. The topic was "Rethinking the child protection system design assumptions for families with multiple and complex needs."
> Watch the replay here.
Prof Leah Bromfield appointed Commissioner
As Director at the ACCP and as one of Australia’s foremost child protection researchers, Prof Leah Bromfield's latest appointment to the Commission of Inquiry into the Tasmanian Government’s Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Institutional Settings is both vital and deserved.
> Read more here.
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