Understanding the Behaviour of Children in Care before and after Parental Contact

2017 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Ainsworth ◽  
Patricia Hansen
Keyword(s):  
Child Protection ◽  
Foster Parents ◽  
New South ◽  
Frame Of Reference ◽  
Limited Time ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Realistic Possibility ◽  
Children In Care ◽  
Parent Contact

It is not uncommon to hear foster carers and child protection case workers comment about a child's behaviour both before and after parental contact. Frequently these comments are negative, the view being expressed that contact should be reduced because the children get upset at seeing their parents for a limited time, and then at having to separate from them. The child's resultant distress seems too difficult to manage for foster carers. Some foster parents even go so far as to suggest that parental contact should completely cease. This article sets out the rationale for parent–child contact after a Children's Court has ruled that there is “no realistic possibility of restoration” of a child to parental care. In doing so, the article revisits many of the old arguments put forward for reducing parent contact. However, alternative ways of approaching children's difficult behaviours both pre- and post-contact are also proposed to suggest different ways of managing these behaviours. The legislation and child protection practice in New South Wales provides the frame of reference for this article.

Challenges posed by kinship care: A study focussing on New South Wales

2003 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 12-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonie Gibbons ◽  
Jan Mason
Keyword(s):  
Child Protection ◽  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Kinship Care ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative Methods ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Care And Support ◽  
Placement Option

Kinship care as a formal placement option has been steadily increasing over recent years, particularly in New South Wales. This paper draws on a report of research on kinship care in New South Wales, in which the two authors participated (Mason et al, 2002). In conducting the research, qualitative and quantitative methods were used to explore both ‘top down’ perspectives (from policy documents and statistics) and ‘bottom up’ perspectives (from child protection practitioners and those who experience policy as service recipients – kinship carers, young people in kinship care and parents of children in kinship care).In this paper we briefly outline the research and discuss findings relating to definitions of kinship care, the extent of kinship care in NSW, decision making around the placement of children in kinship care, reasons given by participants for kinship care, and support for carers.

A survey of a low-density koala population in a major reserve system, near Sydney, New South Wales..

2001 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 135 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Curtin ◽  
D Lunney ◽  
A Matthews
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Field Survey ◽  
New South ◽  
Specific Information ◽  
Vegetation Types ◽  
Field Surveys ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Recreation Area ◽  
Reserve System

cinereus) in Yengo National Park and Parr State Recreation Area, which together form a major reserve system where P. cinereus were known to be scarce. The first, a community survey which was distributed to 823 residences adjoining the reserves, yielded 139 responses. Of these, 31 responses provided information that allowed 26 P. cinereus locality records to be verified. A further eight P. cinereus locality records were obtained from interviews with neighbours. Most records were road-based. The second, a field survey based on scat searches, produced an additional 13 P. cinereus localities. P. cinereus scats were found under 11 tree species. Eucalyptus punctata was most frequently recorded with scats of those that were adequately sampled. A range of vegetation types and both ridges and gullies were used by P. cinereus. During field surveys, P. cinereus was found to be sparse and occurring throughout much of the survey area, concentrated in the eastern, southern and central parts of the reserve system. Both methods identified P. cinereus to be present before and after the extensive fires of January 1994, which burnt 60 % of the area. An appraisal of the methods revealed that they are complementary. The survey of residents provided recent and historical information and an indication of initial search areas for P. cinereus. The field survey yielded specific information about local P. cinereus habitat. The combination increased the number of P. cinereus records for the area more than four-fold. This study has provided the reserve managers with a clearer picture of the location of the local P. cinereus population.

Establishing surface-sown pastures in a Poa labillardieri-Themeda australis association

1986 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 331 ◽  
Author(s):  
MH Campbell ◽  
MJ Keys ◽  
RD Murison ◽  
JJ Dellow
Keyword(s):  
Festuca Arundinacea ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Ground Cover ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Phalaris Aquatica ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Before And After

The effects of time and rate of application of glyphosate, 2,2-DPA and tetrapion on Poa labillardieri and Themeda australis were measured in seven experiments carried out 55 km south of Braidwood, on the southern tablelands of New South Wales between 1980 and 1982. In an eighth experiment (1981) and in a 35-ha demonstration (1983), at the same site, the effects of applying herbicides (before and after the autumn break) and surface-sowing Phalaris aquatica, Festuca arundinacea and Trifiolium repens with fertiliser on the control of P. labillardieri were ascertained. All three herbicides proved effective in reducing the ground cover of P. labillardieri from applications at any time of the year. For T. australis, tetrapion proved effective when applied at any time of the year, while glyphosate and 2,2-DPA were effective in all seasons except winter. Glyphosate at rates between 0.72 and 1.44 kg/ha a.i. was more cost effective than 2,2-DPA (11.1 kg/ha a.i.) and tetrapion (3.75 kg/ha a.i.). Best establishment and development of sown grasses and legumes was attained by applying herbicides after the autumn break but before heavy frosts, and then surface-sowing 1-3 months later. Control of P. labillardieri was best where P. aquatica and F. arundinacea established most densely.

Effects of variable-intensity logging and the influence of habitat variables on the distribution of the Greater Glider Petauroides volans in montane forest, southeastern New South Wales

2000 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodney P. Kavanagh ◽  
Rodney P. Kavanagh
Keyword(s):  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Environmental Variable ◽  
Variable Intensity ◽  
Usual Practice ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Arboreal Marsupials ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Before And After

Populations of arboreal marsupials were assessed in forests before and after logging at different levels of logging intensity to determine the sensitivity of these species to habitat disturbance. The logging treatments imposed were unlogged controls and two intensities of integrated logging for sawlogs and woodchips. The mean basal area of trees retained in logged blocks ranged from 83% to 35% of pre-logging levels. The objective of the study was to develop better methods for managing arboreal marsupials within the wood production forests of southeastern New South Wales. Seven species of arboreal marsupials were recorded during the study, but the Greater Glider Petauroides volans was the only species recorded in sufficient numbers for analysis (86% of all records). No significant differences were observed between the treatments in counts of the Greater Glider before and after logging. However, given the observed trend and an a priori expectation of a decline in numbers of this species following intensive logging, a one-tailed statistical test was applied which resulted in a significant difference at P = 0.08 for the contrast between the unlogged controls and the most intensively logged treatment. The existence of a threshold in logging intensity within the range of 21 % to 39% retention of tree basal area, below which numbers of the Greater Glider suffer a marked decline, was inferred on the basis of comparisons with the results of other studies. Factors other than logging were important in determining the distribution of the Greater Glider. Elevation, in particular, was a significant environmental variable, with Greater Gliders more likely to occur in forests above 845 m a.s.1. The presence and absence of particular tree species also influenced the distribution of the Greater Glider. Forests containing Manna Gum E. viminalis and Mountain Gum E. dalrympleana were highly preferred compared to forests with a high proportion of E. obliqua. The presence of E. cypellocarpa appeared to improve the quality of habitat for the Greater Glider in forests dominated by E. obliqua. This study has shown that Greater Glider populations can be maintained at or near pre-logging levels when at least 40% of the original tree basal area is retained thoughout logged areas and when the usual practice of retaining unlogged forest in riparian strips is applied.

The feasibility of applying a cost-effective approach for assigning priorities for threatened species recovery with a case study from New South Wales, Australia

2009 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judit K. Szabo ◽  
Sue V. Briggs ◽  
Rachel Lonie ◽  
Linda Bell ◽  
Richard Maloney ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Threatened Species ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Limited Time ◽  
Biodiversity Management ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Cost Effective Approach ◽  
Key Terms

May (2002) estimated that the current rate of extinction of species globally is 100?1000 times background rates. Hence a primary goal of biodiversity management is to bring the rate of extinction back to normal levels. Conservation managers face two interrelated problems: limited time and money, and how to allocate the finite available resources (Bottrill et al. 2008, 2009). In this paper we tackle the second of these problems. Definitions of key terms are in Appendix 1.

Establishing Adoption as a Route Out of Care in New South Wales: A Commentary

2016 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 232-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Ainsworth ◽  
Patricia Hansen
Keyword(s):  
Foster Care ◽  
Parental Care ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Open Adoption ◽  
South Wales ◽  
The Us ◽  
Realistic Possibility ◽  
Children's Court ◽  
Children’S Court

Over the last 25 years (1990–2015), the number of adoptions of children (and young persons) in Australia declined from 1,142 to 292 (25.5 %). Of the 292 adoptions that took place in 2014–15, 83 (28%) were inter country adoptions, with the remaining 209 (72 %) adoptions of Australian children. Very few of the adoptions of Australian children were in New South Wales. In amendments in 2014 to the New South Wales Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 and the Adoptions Act 2000, a new emphasis on ‘open’ adoption was introduced. The focus of these amendments is on adoption of children who are in foster care where the New South Wales Children's Court has ruled that there is no realistic possibility of restoration of the child to parental care. This article is about the implementation of this new legislative emphasis on adoption. It does not examine the benefit or otherwise of adoption for children who cannot be safely restored to parental care as this issue has been extensively canvassed elsewhere. This article also highlights the US and English experience of adoption from care in order to place the New South Wales development in perspective. The article concludes with discussion of the issues adoption raises for the parents of a child who is being considered for adoption from care.

Refocusing on Early Intervention and Family Support: A Review of Child Welfare Reforms in New South Wales, Australia

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 303-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harriet Churchill ◽  
Barbara Fawcett
Keyword(s):  
Early Intervention ◽  
Child Welfare ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Resource Constraints ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Public Health Approach ◽  
Family Services ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Welfare Reforms

Since 2000, the New South Wales (NSW) Government in Australia has pursued major child welfare reforms. Responding to the ‘crisis in child protection’ and informed by a public health approach, key aims were to prevent child maltreatment and promote child welfare by ‘expanding and enhancing early intervention and family services’. This article critically reviews the aims, approach and main developments in NSW. The article argues that in several respects the reforms extended and enhanced early intervention and family services in cost-effective ways but suffered from implementation problems, limitations in service developments and major reform challenges which inhibited their scope and impacts. These limitations raise critical issues about the reform framework, resource constraints and ideological influences.

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