Protocol for a Systematic Review: Child Protection Training for Professionals to Improve Reporting of Child Abuse and Neglect

Child abuse and neglect affects approximately 42 500 children in Australia each year. Parliaments in all Australian states and territories have introduced mandatory reporting into child protection legislation to protect vulnerable children by requiring certain individuals to report suspicions of abuse or neglect. However, lawyers are prevented from reporting because of the rules governing legal professional privilege and confidentiality. This article begins by examining the problem of child abuse and neglect in Australia and outlines the current legislative framework of mandatory reporting laws in Part II. Part III discusses the current rules governing lawyers and examines legal professional privilege and the duty of confidentiality. Part IV provides arguments for and against requiring lawyers to report suspected abuse and also considers the lawyer-client relationship and the special position of domestic violence victims. Part V offers recommendations for the proposed legislative reform. This article concludes that lawyers should be required to report child abuse and neglect.

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Interventions for Expectant and New Parents Designed to Prevent Child Abuse and Neglect in at-risk Families: Protocol for a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

10.21203/rs.3.rs-801036/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Hiroki Tamon ◽

Maiko Suto ◽

Kunio Ogawa ◽

Kenji Takehara ◽

Yoshiyuki Tachibana

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

At Risk ◽

Child Abuse ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Child Abuse And Neglect ◽

Intervention Programs ◽

Controlled Trials ◽

Evidence Based ◽

Abuse And Neglect ◽

Prevent Child Abuse

Abstract Background: The prevention of child abuse and neglect is an urgent matter, as abuse and neglect are associated with serious effects even into adulthood, and as there is an increased risk of the offspring of abused children being abused themselves. Intervening as early as possible may prevent abuse that can begin in infancy. Although several systematic reviews and meta-analyses have investigated the effects of interventions on populations at risk for child abuse and neglect, few studies have focused on at-risk women or interventions that start during perinatal periods. This study aims to describe a systematic review to examine the effects of interventions to prevent child abuse and neglect that begin during pregnancy and just after childbirth (less than one year). The study will involve performing a systematic review and meta-analysis based on the latest research articles up to and including November 2020 and a broader literature search.Methods: The protocol was prepared using the 2015 statement of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols. The review will follow Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis guidelines/statements. The literature search will be performed using the MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Embase, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials databases from inception onward. Randomized controlled trials of interventions that begin during pregnancy or the first year postpartum and are designed to prevent child abuse and neglect in at-risk families will be included. Data collection, quality assessment, and statistical syntheses will be conducted by following methods in the protocol that are defined in advance.Discussion: The findings of this systematic review and meta-analysis will be important in clinical and political settings for the prevention of child abuse and neglect. The results of this study will provide a basis for the development of evidence-based intervention programs for expectant and new parents and child abuse prevention policies. Additionally, this study will encourage future studies to conduct more evidence-based intervention programs and illuminate the direction of research on the prevention of child abuse and neglect.Systematic review registration: PROSPERO CRD42021266462

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Barriers and Facilitators Associated With Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Among Child Care Professionals: A Systematic Review

Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services ◽

10.3928/02793695-20210324-01 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 59 (6) ◽

pp. 14-22

Author(s):

Ingrid A. Wilson ◽

Jongwon Lee

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Child Abuse ◽

Child Care ◽

Child Abuse And Neglect ◽

Barriers And Facilitators ◽

Abuse And Neglect ◽

Child Care Professionals

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Reporting to Child Protection Services

Child Abuse and Neglect in Canada ◽

10.1093/oso/9780190083472.003.0010 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 175-186

Author(s):

Lea Tufford

Keyword(s):

Child Abuse ◽

Child Protection ◽

Child Abuse And Neglect ◽

Organizational Policies ◽

Child Protection Services ◽

Emergency Situations ◽

Abuse And Neglect ◽

Types Of Information ◽

And Function ◽

Role And Function

This chapter discusses the steps mandatory reporters take when contacting Child Protection Services. Included in this chapter is information regarding to whom the report is made, the types of information that Child Protection Services may require, timelines for reporting, how to handle emergency situations, and organizational policies for reporting. The chapter also includes attention to reporting anonymously and challenges for mandatory reporters who attempt to function as child protection investigators. Objectives include understanding the role and function of Child Protection Services, exploring what information is required by Child Protection Services when making a report regarding a suspicion of child abuse and neglect, appreciating the rationale behind an anonymous report to Child Protection Services, identifying the benefits and challenges of reporting in the workplace, and summarizing how to protect client confidentiality when reporting.

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The Reporting of Child Abuse and Neglect in Ireland in an International Context

International Journal of Law Policy and the Family ◽

10.1093/lawfam/ebaa003 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 34 (2) ◽

pp. 145-167

Author(s):

Conor Hanly

Keyword(s):

Child Abuse ◽

Child Protection ◽

Child Neglect ◽

Church And State ◽

Child Abuse And Neglect ◽

Mandatory Reporting ◽

International Context ◽

Abuse And Neglect ◽

Children First ◽

New System

Abstract Starting in the early 1990s, reports published over a quarter of a century detailed shocking levels of child abuse and child neglect in Ireland, along with failures by Church and State officials to take effective action. These revelations, supported by international research, made a compelling case for the introduction of some form of mandatory reporting. Yet until 2015, Ireland’s child protection system relied upon the discretion of those who suspected incidents of child abuse. The Children First Act 2015 introduced a new system of mandatory reporting that applies to professionals working in the health, education, childcare and law enforcement fields, a system that became active at the end of 2017. This article reviews the development of the reporting system in Ireland, and analyses the new obligations created by the 2015 Act. The article also analyses some initial figures for 2018, which show a substantial increase in the number of reports of child abuse and neglect made in that year. Additionally, the article argues for the insertion into the new system of some nuance in order that victim autonomy might be better respected.

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Re-referral for Complex Child Abuse and Neglect Concerns: The Influence of Family and Child Factors in a 25 Year Data Set

Children Australia ◽

10.1017/cha.2012.45 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 38 (1) ◽

pp. 15-21

Author(s):

Melissa Kaltner

Keyword(s):

Child Abuse ◽

Child Protection ◽

Child Abuse And Neglect ◽

Complex Case ◽

International Studies ◽

Parental History ◽

Data Set ◽

Abuse And Neglect ◽

Child Factors ◽

Complex Cases

ObjectiveThe study reviewed a 25-year dataset of child abuse and neglect concerns, examining child and family factors associated with re-referral.MethodsSuspected child abuse and neglect data collated from a variety of sources including child protection, health, police and education by a multidisciplinary Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect team for the 25-year period of 1980 to 2005 was entered for analysis. Case referral criteria for the team included clinician perception of the case as being complex and necessitating multidisciplinary case planning. The dataset contained 6669 cases of child abuse and neglect concerns, relating to 5943 unique children.ResultsThe majority of children (90.5%) experienced only one referral to the team, with the remaining experiencing between 2–6 referrals. Through the utilisation of regression analysis, the factors of number of abuse types present at the initial concern, parental abuse as a child, parental intellectual disability, parental history of violence, perpetrator of intrafamilial origin, disabled children in family, and financial stress in family were found to significantly predict complex case re-referral respectively.ConclusionsChildren within this Australian sample of complex cases experienced rates of re-referral similar to those reported internationally. Family and child factors identified as predictors of re-referral in this 25-year dataset support previous international studies on statutory child protection re-referral, and evidence for the association between previously unstudied variables and re-referral likelihood for complex cases.

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