Experiences in childhood, both good and bad, shape a person's future. All too often we are shocked by the wrongdoings, often heinous, against children. Fortunately, there are people around the globe who work tirelessly to end violence and neglect of children.
Professor Lynne McPherson, Director of the Centre for Children & Young People (CCYP) at Southern Cross University is one of them. Prior to becoming a social work academic 15 years ago, she spent more than 25 years as a senior social work manager and practice leader in child protection and the wider child, youth and family sector.
Professor McPherson's extensive professional and academic experience is respected here in Australia as well as overseas. Recently this has seen her lead projects for the Australian Childhood Foundation and the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse (ISPCAN).
Scientific committee co-chair at ISPCAN Congress in Melbourne
ISPCAN publishes Child Abuse & Neglect, the highest-ranking journal in the world reporting on these critical issues. It also organises an annual gathering of multidisciplinary professionals.
Professor McPherson was appointed Scientific Committee Co-Chair of the ISPCAN International Congress, held in Melbourne in August, playing a key leadership role in shaping the Congress program. A distinctive feature was its strong focus on First Nations perspectives and youth participation, with dedicated streams designed to amplify these voices in child protection research, policy and practice.
"It was such a privilege to co-lead the development of this international Congress as Scientific Chair, alongside ISPCAN's USA-based colleague Dr Lori Frasier," said Professor McPherson.
"We are thrilled to have Southern Cross University as a regional university representing the Australian partnership with ISPCAN Melbourne 2026, alongside industry partner Australian Childhood Foundation.
"The invitation to Southern Cross University to co-chair the scientific program speaks to the growing awareness of the high impact research undertaken by the Centre for Children and Young people, focussing on the rights and needs of marginalised children who have experienced significant adversity in their lives."
ISPCAN's Melbourne Congress attracted more than 1200 delegates from over 80 countries, drawn from a range of disciplines including social welfare, legal and medical.
The core theme of the 2026 congress, Transforming Approached to Safety and Healing, enabled delegates to showcase cutting edge research and exemplary practice from across the globe.
CCYP research presented to global delegates at ISPCAN
Colleagues in the Centre for Children & Young People (CCYP) supported the ISPCAN Congress by reviewing conference abstracts, chairing sessions, presenting research and leading the ISPCAN Network of Emerging Expertise in Child Protection (NEXT) Working Group.
"The Centre's participation reflects its growing international profile and leadership in research that promotes the rights, wellbeing and safety of children and young people," said Professor McPherson.
The CCYP team also presented papers during the Congress that showcased the breadth of the Centre's research across residential care, Indigenous young people, and sexual abuse and more*.
Evaluation finds new therapeutic foster care model shows promise in helping carers stay
During the Congress, the Australian Childhood Foundation (co-organisers of the ISPCAN Congress), unveiled a preliminary evaluation of its new therapeutic foster care program in Western Australia, revealing a model that strengthens carers, improves support, and shows real potential in keeping foster carers in the system, according to Southern Cross University.
ACF commissioned Southern Cross University to conduct an independent evaluation of the program's first 18 months of implementation.
The evaluation report, Holding Us So We Can Hold The Children , was co-authored by Professor McPherson with colleagues Dr Catharine Simmons and Associate Professor Emily Hindman. The researchers drew on child profile data, focus groups with foster carers, staff and external stakeholders and program documentation.
Professor McPherson said the early findings were encouraging.
"The program is showing enormous promise, with carers, therapeutic specialists, program managers and external stakeholders consistently reporting the unique aspects of the wrap-around support, enabling the carer-child relationship to flourish," she said.
ACF's Western Australian Foster Care program commenced in early 2024, at a time when foster carer numbers were falling nationally; with a net loss of around 390 carers in 2023–24. Pressure was felt in Western Australia too, even though no equivalent data is published.
The evaluation report shows that carers are surrounded by a level of therapeutic, practical and relational support that is rarely seen in foster care generally and is the kind of wraparound support that makes it possible for them to meet the significant needs of the children in the program. Rather than simply managing behaviour, ACF carers and Care Teams are supported through therapeutic assessment to understand meaning, regulation and underlying needs, and thus shifting practice from control to real connection with the children they care for.
The evaluation also found that cultural connectedness is at the heart of healing. For Aboriginal children, cultural identity is strengthened through the Cultural Connectedness Plan, which links language group, kin and Country into everyday care.
ACF Regional Director WA Shaun Chandran said the evaluation makes clear that relationships are the engine of therapeutic care.
"Children experience foster care through relationships," he said. "Carers can only offer relational safety when the system offers it to them. These findings remind us to keep asking the essential question: who holds the carers?"
Phase 2 will see Southern Cross University examine child wellbeing, placement stability and developmental trajectories over time.
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Read the evaluation report, commissioned by the Australian Childhood Foundation, Holding Us So We Can Hold The Children – Southern Cross University Research Portal
* CCYP research presented at ISPCAN International Congress Melbourne 2026:
- 'Recognition and social capital practices as pathways to safety for young people in Therapeutic Residential Care' (McPherson, L., Anderson, D., Mitchell, J., Canosa, A., Gilligan, R., Day, K., Gatwiri, K., Moore, T., Hand, K. (24-26 August 2026))
- 'Aboriginal young people's experiences in therapeutic residential care in New South Wales, Australia' (Day, K., McPherson, L., Canosa A. et al. (24-26 August 2026))
- 'Who do children try to tell? Learning from victims and survivors about what helps disclosure and responses to child sexual abuse' (Canosa, A., McPherson, L. et al. (24-26 August 2026))
- 'Survivor Perspectives on Early Responses to Sexual Abuse Disclosure and Adult Psychological Wellbeing' (Hindman, E., McPherson, L., Canosa, A. et al. (24-26 August 2026))
