Child protection systems focus too heavily on identifying risk when assessing families and instead need to also consider the strengths and cultural connections that can help create safety for children, according to new research from Australian Catholic University (ACU).
- Australian Catholic University researchers found that child protection systems focus too heavily on risk in assessments
- A deficit-only approach can miss the protective factors already present in a child's life such as, a supportive teacher or strong kinship network.
- They propose a 'Reservoir Model', a combination of strengths and protective factors in an assessment.
Child protection systems focus too heavily on identifying risk when assessing families and instead need to also consider the strengths and cultural connections that can help create safety for children, according to new research from Australian Catholic University (ACU).
This approach could address the overrepresentation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in the child protection system, according to researchers from ACU's Institute of Child Protection Studies.
The rapid literature review looked at the research on strengths and protective factors associated with child maltreatment and considered how this can inform child protection assessments.
It found that a deficit-only approach can miss the protective factors already present in a child's life such as, a supportive teacher, stable family friend, strong kinship network, parental warmth, school engagement, or culturally safe services.
"Assessments that consider these factors may support families to reduce the likelihood of further harm and increase the safety and wellbeing of children," said lead author Dr Gabrielle Hunt.
"Child protection has primarily focussed on what's going wrong and that has had some real consequences for certain groups."
Co-author Luke Cantley – Research Fellow in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Public Health at Flinders University – said the ongoing overrepresentation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in the child protection system highlights the need to move beyond deficit-based thinking.
Recent data shows Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were 5.5 times more likely than non- Aboriginal children to be subject to child protection notifications, 10.2 times more likely to be subject to a protection order, and 10.4 times more likely to be in out-of-home care.
"A strengths-based approach recognises the capabilities, resilience, and cultural strengths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and communities, creating opportunities for earlier support and better outcomes for children," Dr Cantley said.
Dr Hunt said that getting an assessment wrong can have lasting consequences for children and families.
"We know that removing children from a family is a type of trauma and we know that a lot of children experience abuse and neglect in out-of-home care," she said.
"Decisions about removal and care are among the most serious child protection systems make.
"Getting it wrong has life-long and generational impacts for families."
The authors offer an alternative model for assessment in their research, coined 'The Reservoir Model' that integrates a combination of strengths and protective factors in an assessment.
Dr Hunt said a more balanced approach to child protection assessments does not mean ignoring harm but rather asking better questions.
"The aim is better decision-making — decisions that are grounded in the full context of a child and family's life, not only the difficulties they are facing.
"But this is nothing new and it's something that Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander families have been calling for decades," she said.
"We think it could work for all families."
