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 Editor: Justin Healey Price:
Print book $24.00 |
Children and Young People at Risk Many Australian children and young people are at significant risk of abuse and neglect. The reported prevalence of child maltreatment (neglect, and physical, emotional and sexual abuse) is at alarming levels. New figures show the number of children in the care and protection system has increased by almost 10% since 2008. Nearly 35,500 children were placed under protection orders in 2009 and more than 34,000 were placed in out-of-home care. Vulnerable families require intensive support from an overburdened system struggling to respond to mandatory reporting requirements. When is a child in need of protection and when do ‘abusive and neglectful behaviours’ become ‘abuse’ and ‘neglect’? There is a range of factors that expose children and young people to greater risk of disadvantage, including family stressors like financial stress, domestic violence, social isolation, mental health and substance abuse. Foster care does not always protect young people from risk, and may even cause more problems than it seeks to solve. Who is at risk, and what is happening to children being removed from their families into out-of-home care? What assistance is available to vulnerable families experiencing abuse and neglect?
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