Practitioners supporting children in out-of-home care are often faced with making difficult decisions about children’s needs. These decisions include where the child will live and how often a child has contact with their family of origin. Children’s attachment needs are one of the factors that are considered when making these decisions. This resource is intended...

Children and young people with disability are often absent in discussions about child sexual abuse as people with disability are left out of discussions about violence, abuse and neglect. This is due in part to individuals with disability being excluded from society, hidden away in institutions or in family homes. Community attitudes contribute to and...

Research shows that children and young people who have been abused or neglected are at greater risk of engaging in criminal activity and entering the youth justice system. A better understanding of the characteristics and pathways of children and young people who are both in the child protection system and under youth justice supervision can...

The transition from adolescence to adulthood—emerging adulthood—is now recognised as a significant stage in the life cycle in developmental, emotional and social terms. Young people leaving out-of-home care (OOHC) face this transition to adulthood without family support and with significant extra barriers such as poor mental health, intellectual and physical disabilities, and developmental delays. They...

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (the Royal Commission) is inquiring into how institutions have engaged with and responded to allegations and instances of institutional child sexual abuse. Key to this inquiry is the need to generate an understanding of the extent of child sexual abuse in Australia. Determining the prevalence...