The link between children's services and child protection

• Karen R. Fisher, Marilyn McHugh, Cathy Thomson
• The Social Policy Research Centre, University of New South Wales

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01 February 2000Research suggests that access to children's services may be an important factor in preventing young children at risk of harm from moving further into the welfare system. However, there is little empirical evidence available to indicate whether the use of such services prevents children at risk from moving further into the welfare system. The Department of Community Services (DoCS) Office of Childcare commissioned this project to examine the relationship between children's services for children under school age in NSW and DoCS child protection
function. More specifically, the aim was to examine the effectiveness of children's services as a strategy in the area of child protection and the prevention of abuse and neglect. Children's services in the context of this project include pre-school, long day care centres, family day care, home-based care, occasional care and mobile children's services.