Child & Family Social Work · 2006 · 37 citations · 1 references
Social SciencesPublic PolicyChild PolicyChild WelfareChildren's RightsChild ProtectionChild Protection LawChild Welfare PolicyChild Welfare SystemsMandatory Reporting
Australian child protection has faced turbulent years marked by major inquiries, organizational changes, and persistent doubts about the effectiveness of mandatory reporting and comprehensive systems. The study aims to re‑examine child protection issues and assess the effectiveness of mandatory reporting five years later. New data for 2003–2004 has been released.
ABSTRACT In an article published in 2002, one of the authors of this paper offered an analysis of the Australian child protection data from 1999 to 2000 and raised questions about the effectiveness of mandatory reporting. Recently, child protection data for 2003–2004 has been released. This provides an opportunity to re‐examine some child protection issues and the effectiveness of mandatory reporting 5 years on. These have been tumultuous years. Each state and territory has held major inquiries into this area of practice and, as a result, significant organizational changes have taken place and new resources are being made available. Nevertheless, questions about the effectiveness of child protection services remain. There is continuing doubt about the value of comprehensive reporting systems.
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