Definitions of competent practice which were developed by a team of child protection workers are reexamined in light of current debates about enterprise competency standards. Such definitions indicate that competence is more aptly analysed in terms of the nature of workers' process objectives and their capacity to work within tensions and contradictions than in terms of listings of specific skills and knowledge.

Particularly in western societies, the notion that children are biological property has been a strongly implicit idea for many generations. It has therefore also been an idea that has implicitly pervaded our child welfare legislation and practice for generations, despite frequent legal rhetoric about the rights of the child. In this paper, the author traces the negative effects on welfare practice that this notion of children as property has had over the last half century. In doing so, the author calls not only on his professional experience, but also on his personal experience as a foster, adoptive and permanent care parent. Some provisions within the new Victorian child protection legislation are examined to gauge their capacity to address the negative effects on practice of this persistent notion, and reason found for some guarded optimism.

This paper outlines the basic characteristics of intensive family preservation programs which have very recently been introduced into the child welfare systems of most Australian States. Typically these programs have been used to prevent placement or to assist families whose children are being returned to their care. Highly intensive and with 24 hour availability these short-term services draw on a range of theoretical approaches and are delivered in the family's home and natural environment. It is argued that Australia should avoid both the ‘cultural cringe’ and the ‘Tall Poppy Syndrome’ in assessing what intensive family preservation services may have to offer us.

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child was ratified by Australia in December 1990. The Convention contains 55 articles, 41 of which are substantive, the others being procedural.

The Convention has been analysed in legal and other literature in Australia. Its ratification was actively promoted by the National Children's Bureau of Australia and other bodies. Its implementation is the primary responsibility of the Federal and State governments. Periodic reports are required to be made to a Committee of the United Nations established for this purpose. It is foreseen that non-government organisations in each ratifying country will be invited to comment on the performance of their country. This surely means that the NCHA has a role in monitoring the implementation of the Convention.

The disproportionate number of Aboriginal juveniles in state corrective institutions is a matter of serious concern to Aboriginals, policy-makers and administrators alike. Although it is difficult to obtain accurate statistical information in this area, and hence to fully comprehend the nature and complexity of the problem, what data we do have suggest that juvenile delinquency and ensuing institutionalisation is reaching crisis proportions. It would seem that in comparison with the non-Aboriginal population, Aboriginal juveniles are more likely to be charged with an offence, to be convicted, and to be committed to a corrective institution. Moreover, recidivism rates for Aboriginal juveniles are significantly higher than for non-Aboriginals and substantial numbers do not have homes to go to on release and are transferred to institutions or permanent foster care as wards of the State.

This paper provides an overview of the state of the art in consultation at the close of the third decade of its existence as a major form of delivering mental health services in the United States of America, and its somewhat later introduction in Victoria, Australia. Gallessich’s framework for consultation (1983, 1985), amongst others, is compared with the Victorian model. Issues raised include the need for consultants to understand the boundaries of consultation, its limitations, the state of its knowledge base and the uniquely Victorian contribution of a framework of several levels which enables an integration of the knowledge borrowed from a range of sources to assist in the improvement of its practice. A later paper to be published in ‘Children Australia’ looks at the steps in the consultation process.

This article explores changes in the patterns of marriage and family formation which preceded and now accompany the growth in inter-country adoption in Australia since 1975. It also describes the major aims and the overall plan for a follow-up study of inter-country adoption in New South Wales.

Since November 1989 New Zealand has had new statutory care and protection and youth justice procedures. They differ substantially from the procedures under the old 1974 act. For the majority of cases, the disposition of the child, services provided and, in the case of offending, any penalties or restitution imposed are now the responsibility of the family rather than the Court.

This responsibility is exercised through a new official process called the Family Group Conference, at which the State is represented but in which the decision-making power is expected to rest largely with the family. Only if this fails or if the offence falls into the most serious of categories is the matter passed to the Court. A new group of officials has been created to co-ordinate the process. They are known as Youth Justice and Care and Protection Co-ordinators.

This paper is based on the latest findings of the Children's Bureau of Australia recently released study entitled Particular Care Reconsidered by Barbara Szwarc. The Study, being a follow-up to the 1979 Report by N.J. Smith and G. Gregory entitled Particular Care was based on an Australia wide survey conducted in June 1984 on all children living in Non-Government Childrens Homes and Foster Care. Particular concentration in the study has been given to children in disadvantageous positions.

Also referred to in this paper is another report by Barbara Swarcz on A Study Into The Victorian Children's Aid Society Respite Care Program During the 1985-86 Holiday Period. This report was based primarily on the perceptions of parents of the children who used the program.

Of particular concern in this paper is the amount of undue injustice and inequality that such children and their families suffer just because their children are disabled.

Got It! is an early intervention programme for children with emerging conduct problems offered to families in schools. This article builds on prior research and reports on outcomes and experiences for a cohort of participants two years after programme completion. Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) child conduct scores were obtained pre-intervention, and at three post-intervention time-points, and were used to map children's behaviour trajectories. Whilst statistically significant two-year post-intervention improvement was not found for the whole sample, qualitative parent interviews produced insights into experiences of children in different behaviour trajectory groups, including sustained improvement, no improvement and fluctuating child behaviour. The findings provide a better understanding of the role that Got It! can play in assisting families with young children with conduct concerns. The targeted group intervention appears to have a lasting impact for children who maintain a shift from the abnormal to normal behaviour bands. For the group of children who began and remained in the abnormal or borderline bands, however, Got It! also had a role to play in linking families with specialist follow-up services. The integration of Got It! within schools and the value of professional development and consultation for teachers is also indicated.

To promote the rights, well-being and development of the child, and for the benefit of families and the community, attachment should be a central focus of early childhood intervention (ECI) under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). ECI Key Workers have the opportunity to positively influence parent–child relationships and are encouraged to do so by the ECI national guidelines. This article identifies how elements of the NDIS design and implementation may be counterproductive to fostering attachment security in children. These elements can lead to delayed intervention; increased parental stress; reduced expertise of service providers; and financial disincentives for best practice in working with disadvantaged families. The article highlights the implications for children with a disability and their families in Australian society and identifies lessons for the design and implementation of social policy.

This is a call for action to protect and assist children of hoarding parents. Action that minimises harm to children living in hoarded homes also promotes family safety and health. Optimal care involves the whole family system, both children and parents. Prevention of harm through early identification and intervention for hoarding can reduce the burden of a disorder that often increases in severity over a lifetime and deprives humans of a full and safe life. Helping children and their parents severely affected by hoarding disorder is for the public good. Public policy and funded programmes can reduce long-term and immense costs to children, families and the many systems hoarding affects. Specifically, public policy can facilitate and fund outreach, education, coordination of providers of health, social and public services, and research-driven methods for assessment and intervention on behalf of children, individuals and families. Releasing people from the grips of hoarding disorder can enable them to devote generative resources to themselves, their families and their communities. Ultimately, prevention of hoarding through early assessment and intervention for minors and young adults is the most efficient, long-term and cost-effective method for minimising harm. When unidentified, hoarding disorder intensifies, people go into hiding, risk increases and opportunity for detection and intervention decreases. Informing the public about hoarding disorder must be followed with sufficient resources to address it, otherwise, helplessness ensues, and people will likely remain in the hidden world it governs.

A series of harrowing reports across the 1990s on the past removal of children, black and white, from their families have impacted on children and family policy in contemporary Australia, and on the way in which this is reported by the media and understood by the public. This paper briefly surveys some of these consequences and asks how we, as a community, can learn from the past with respect to questions of the welfare of children, without being burdened by that past.