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Restoration of Aboriginal children (also called reunification) is an under-researched area despite being the preferred permanency outcome for children. To investigate the rate of restoration for Aboriginal children, the factors that influence restoration, and to explore the experiences of parents whose Aboriginal children have been restored, and their children. Analyses were conducted using data from the NSW Department of Communities and Justice Pathways of Care Longitudinal Study (POCLS). The quantitative sample includes all Aboriginal children in NSW who were on final Children's Court care and protection orders by 30 April 2013. Qualitative data were extracted from the POCLS survey instruments. Of the 1018 Aboriginal children in the study, 15.2% were restored. Around 40 % of children entered care following just one (or no) substantiated Risk of Significant Harm reports. Children entering care under the age of 2 years were the least likely to be restored. Parents expressed dissatisfaction with child protection agencies and family support services both at the time their child was removed and in the restoration period. Parents and children expressed the importance of being supported to maintain family relationships while children are in care. Despite policy priorities to the contrary, few Aboriginal children are considered for restoration. More support is needed for Aboriginal parents interfacing with all stages of the care system and following restoration. Additional research is needed to understand the factors underlying decisions to remove Aboriginal children from their families and whether restoration to their family is considered or achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents findings from an Australian study of veteran homelessness (Hilferty, Katz et al. 2019). The AHURI Inquiry into Homelessness Amongst Australian Veterans was funded by the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) to estimate the number of homeless veterans and to examine veterans' pathways into homelessness, service usage patterns and ways that service responses may be improved. This article presents the prevalence findings and describes the method employed by the research team. Drawing on primary data and extrapolating results to a larger sample of veterans, the researchers estimate that approximately 5,800 contemporary veterans experience homelessness over a 12‐month period in Australia. This estimate – the first ever to be based on primary data – indicates that veteran homelessness is a much larger problem than previously estimated and deserves priority attention from policymakers and sectoral representatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, typologies have been developed to better understand the way in which different countries create systems to protect the interests of vulnerable children and their families. A child protection system typology is a classification of a set of characteristics that capture and define different approaches to child protection. Typologies are helpful in enabling comparisons of systems across international contexts, helping also to illuminate the various strengths and weaknesses of child protection systems. Typologies can also guide or redirect the development of a system, as they illustrate the varied ways in which children might be better protected. They explain how a cultural value base underpins approaches to child protection and can suggest alternative ways in which a system might evolve, based on the experiences of other countries. This article builds upon early typology building work and presents an international child protection system typology that has universal application. Country examples are used to illustrate the development of systems across two dimensions: whether they are oriented towards an individual or community focus; and whether systems are more, or less, regulated. Key Practitioner Messages: There are a number of different legitimate approaches to developing an effective child protection system, and countries develop their system according to their own circumstances, values and beliefs. No one way is necessarily the right way.Typologies of child protection systems can: help us to understand and compare the strengths and weaknesses of systems; guide or redirect the development of systems; and suggest alternative ways of developing systems to those already in existence.Typologies explain how a cultural value base underpins approaches to child protection and can suggest alternative ways in which a system might evolve, based on the experiences of other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the findings of an international literature review conducted to examine the factors that drive inter‐country adoption rates within both sending and receiving countries. The authors then consider the implications of these findings for inter‐country adoption policy reform in Australia. The evidence in the literature highlights a distinction between the factors that drive ICA in sending and receiving countries. Factors that drive the practice in sending countries relate to structural forms such as socio‐economic and political conditions. In contrast, it is the growing demand for a child from infertile couples that drives the practice in receiving countries. The article then considers the challenges of domestic policy reform undertaken to increase numbers of inter‐country adoptions in a context of global decline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A systematic literature review on child sexual abuse (CSA) and ethnic minority communities was conducted to help address the current gap in knowledge in the area. This article reports on one explored theme - aspects of service delivery models identified as effective, as the basis for developing a model for Australia. The findings indicate two key aspects of effective service delivery: (i) models should be ecologically grounded to the specific cultural context, and (ii) individuals should be placed at the center of intervention so their needs and experiences are not 'boxed in' by their ethnicity. The model proposed for the Australian context is guided by these two key principles. Service delivery models are important because they help guide practice and standardize treatment and support in the field. However, the model proposed here also values flexibility, cultural competency, a strengths-based approach, an empowerment-based approach, intersectionality, and a feminist framework. These model elements are particularly relevant in relation to the family cohesion and support that collectivist cultures offer; whether, to what extent, and how they act as a risk or protective factor, or even both, is best determined by the victim/survivor. The utility of the model for practitioners and clients requires rigorous evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A systematic literature review was conducted to address the immense national gap in knowledge on child sexual abuse (CSA) and ethnic minority communities in Australia, which necessarily borrowed from overseas. One theme explored within the review was that of prevention, and it was found that school-based programs are the most common type of prevention effort. The literature also calls for ‘culturally tailored’ programs to avoid homogenising victims' needs, however in Western multicultural countries like Australia there is a risk that such school-based programs heighten racism for ethnic minority children. Thus, program elements that are culturally sensitive could be incorporated into universal programs instead. Universal programs are also beneficial because they help reach many children regardless of their cultural background, help send the message that all children are equally valued and protected, help create unity and support among diverse victims, and can be further justified by three relatively stable cross-cultural findings: (i) that the prevalence of CSA is high worldwide, (ii) all children require protection irrespective of gender, and (iii) perpetrators are usually known to the victim. To help mobilise their role, service providers could co-deliver school-based programs especially to address institutional CSA within schools. They could also provide training to other health professionals to improve their identification of CSA and confidence to probe; a form of early intervention and therefore ‘secondary prevention’. Overall, this review argues that the importance of family reputation in collectivist cultures needs to be taken into account when designing and evaluating prevention programs so that delays in disclosure and help-seeking due to cultural pressure are not mistaken as evidence for their ineffectiveness. The findings are significant because they help progress the ‘prevention’ field in Australia where literature is essentially absent, particularly in the school and service system arenas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on child sexual abuse (CSA) among ethnic minority communities in Australia is essentially absent. To begin to address the gap, a systematic literature review was conducted; which necessarily borrowed from overseas to help inform the national context. A wide array of barriers to disclosure were identified, suggesting that this is a fundamental issue for ethnic minorities. The most significant of these barriers appears to be the need to protect family name. This also leads to non-supportive and protective responses from non-offending mothers, however this experience (although more intense) is shared with the Western mainstream. In comparison, fear of stigmatising their whole community is a unique barrier and highlights that racism is a significant and additional burden. The findings suggest that service worker training in Australia is critical for informing professionals of: the importance of family reputation for collectivist groups; the importance of responding supportively and protectively to child victims who have disclosed to them first; the cross-cultural complexities that surround construals of ‘child safety’; educating non-offending mothers about the importance of at least believing their child's disclosure (associated with mediating mental illness among victims, but also culturally appropriate because it acknowledges the protective role of family cohesion in collectivist cultures and the high motivation to avoid social exclusion – the most common reprisal for shaming the family name); exploring acculturation as a possible predictor of disclosure; and the risk of racism being overlooked or minimised. Overall, it is argued that practice informed by a well-developed national research agenda is critical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A systematic literature review was conducted to help address the gap in national and international knowledge about child sexual abuse (CSA) and ethnic minority communities. This paper reports the findings of that review in relation to the theme of community awareness. The results suggest that awareness of CSA may be low in ethnic minority communities due to misperceptions that it is ‘a Western problem’. This in turn may be associated with norms in the country of origin which are asserted to transfer after migration, such as CSA being seen as a private family matter that does not invite systematic intervention from the state, low media and research attention, widespread acceptance of myths about CSA, and prohibitive norms on discussing matters to do with sex including abuse. Such trends are seen to be the result of, but also then further protect and preserve, collectivist and patriarchal structures. They also make it challenging for raising community awareness. Nevertheless, genuine community engagement through outreach/educational/preventative programs that empower minorities through co-delivery, are high on cultural competency, tailored to specific groups, and use a feminist framework where appropriate, are seen as necessary; they represent investment in minority communities and child safety of children from minority communities. Overall, realistic goals about the effectiveness of outreach educational programs, combined with value for culturally meaningful constructions of child safety, are seen as key toward the success of awareness-raising programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One significant finding from an exhaustive literature review on child sexual abuse (CSA) and ethnic minority communities is that victims appear to be at higher risk for suicidality. This may be due to the many barriers to professional help-seeking in this group, most commonly associated with protecting the family's name. This makes their treatment needs particularly critical, after the barriers have finally been crossed. Of all their treatment needs, cultural competency is identified as essential. It asks for non-racist attitudes and practice, self-reflection and awareness, a ‘multicultural framework’ which recognises differences in power between mainstream and minority groups and respects the right to cultural differences, the provision of an interpreter trained in matters to do with sexual assault, choice about having an ethnically matched or non-matched service provider (and thus employment of workers from diverse backgrounds), the routine provision of training in cultural competency by management in service organisations, and mandatory data collection on variables related to ethnicity. A ‘multicultural framework’ is seen to be the most important of these elements, else it could lead to the vilification of collectivist and patriarchal cultures (which ethnic minority communities tend to be), threatening cultural safety. This adds trauma to the victim who has already suffered an abuse of power, and further alienates clients in critical need of clinical intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A year has passed since COVID-19 began disrupting systems. Although children are not considered a risk population for the virus, there is accumulating knowledge regarding children's escalating risk for maltreatment during the pandemic. The current study is part of a larger initiative using an international platform to examine child maltreatment (CM) reports and child protective service (CPS) responses in various countries. The first data collection, which included a comparison between eight countries after the pandemic's first wave (March–June 2020), illustrated a worrisome picture regarding children's wellbeing. The current study presents the second wave of data across 12 regions via population data (Australia [New South Wales], Brazil, United States [California, Pennsylvania], Colombia, England, Germany, Israel, Japan, Canada [Ontario, Quebec], South Africa). Regional information was gathered, including demographics, economic situation, and CPS responses to COVID-19. A descriptive analysis was conducted to provide an overview of the phenomenon. Across all of the countries, COVID-19 had a substantial negative impact on the operation of CPSs and the children and families they serve by disrupting in-person services. One year into the COVID-19 pandemic, new reports of CM varied across the regions. 1 1 The term regions is used rather than countries because in some countries child protection systems are governed by states or provinces rather than at the national level. In some, the impact of COVID-19 on CPS was low to moderate, while in others, more significant changes created multiple challenges for CPS services. COVID-19 created a barrier for CPS to access and protect children. The dramatic variance between the regions demonstrated how social, economic and structural contexts impact both CM reports and CPS responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the use of welfare conditionality, particularly income management, as a child protection tool in Northern Territory. Topics discussed include the coverage of income management including disengaged youth, Long-Term Welfare Payment Recipients, and Voluntary Income Management, the study on the impacts of such program on child protection, and significance of the program as tool to manage child neglect.

The latest wave of reforms of the child protection system in Australia have been based on attempts to provide support to all families with vulnerable children, rather than increasing surveillance of ‘at risk’ families and forensic responses to incidents of maltreatment. This includes a drive to widen the remit of child protection from the statutory child protection agency and involve other government agencies such as health and education as well as the non-government sector in child protection. This paper reports on the effects of one such reform, the NSW initiative Keep Them Safe. It focuses on the classification of families as needing either early intervention or intensive support, using thematic analysis of qualitative interview data. Method Interviews and focus groups were conducted with practitioners and managers from human service agencies (total n = 115), and discussed their perceptions of the initiative and the changes it had introduced to service delivery. Findings Practitioners discussed family needs in ways which contested the policy meanings of ‘early intervention’: whether families are conceptualised in terms of their needs or risk; whether engagement with services should be voluntary or mandated; and whether the agencies to support them should be the statutory agency or an NGO. The implications for these tensions, in terms of policy and practice, are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Governments in multiple countries have established redress schemes to acknowledge institutional responsibility for child maltreatment; to provide survivors with access to compensation, counselling and apologies; and to prompt better practice to prevent child maltreatment. Establishing a National Redress Scheme was recommended by Australia's Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. The Scheme commenced in 2018 and will run for a decade. This study sought to understand the ways survivors have experienced applying for redress under the National Redress Scheme, and how Scheme processes could be improved for survivors. Participants were 322 survivors of child sexual abuse who had applied for redress or considered doing so during the first two years of the Scheme's operation. Two thirds (68%) were aged 55 or over and over half (55%) were men. To provide feedback about their experiences and perceptions of the National Redress Scheme, participants completed closed and open-ended survey questions. Only a minority rated the Scheme as either good (16%) or very good (11%). Survey comments provide insight into the ways waiting has contributed to survivors' negative experiences of the Scheme. Survivors waited for the Scheme to be established, for institutions to opt-in, for decisions, and for direct personal responses. Waiting compounded uncertainty and was retraumatising for survivors. Some avoided seeking redress due to likely delays and risks of retraumatisation. Australia's National Redress Scheme is an ambivalent policy innovation which can both facilitate support and exacerbate harm. The design of redress schemes should pre-emptively address their potential to generate harm, including by recognising that rapid responses are essential to procedural justice, and particularly important for older survivors of child sexual abuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australia's research and knowledge base on cultural competency has been slow to develop. To help address this gap, the New South Wales (NSW) Department of Family and Community Services (FaCS) funded a large scale study in this area, which included a detailed literature review. The paper reports on key findings from that review including that collectivist values are at odds with 'child-centred' philosophies of child protection; there is an inherent tension between the right to equal protection from harm and the right for respect in cultural differences in parenting and family functioning ('cultural absolutism' versus 'cultural relativism'); there are factors that uniquely characterise 'the migrant context' (especially lack of awareness of child protection laws and systems, economic disadvantage, and fear of authority); and that cultural competency is separable from cultural awareness and cultural sensitivity, and also different from addressing language barriers. However, in reviewing the literature it became apparent that the specific roles and responsibilities of workers, agencies, and systems were not clearly delineated. Thus this paper also aimed to address this unmet need. Identifying their unique roles and responsibilities can help ensure that the delivery of child protection services are efficiently and effectively mobilised from both the 'top' and 'bottom' to benefit all ethnic minority families. Moreover, any implementation of cultural competency needs to move beyond the emphasis on culture and acknowledge the dimensions of inferiority and oppression to truly promote value for diversity and protect ethnic minority children from the dangers of systematic disadvantage that institutional racism represents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article analyzes 3 severe cases of child abuse that were widely discussed in the mass media in China in 2007 based on a framework used by the International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect in its official publicationWorld Perspectives on Child Abuse. The framework sets out the basic elements that must be included in systems of child protection: a) a responsible government or government-authorized organization; b) a set of institutional arrangements for reporting cases of child abuse, investigation, and intervening when necessary; and c) state guardianship or mechanisms to remove children from their parents’ care when necessary. By applying the framework to the 3 cases under analysis, the authors found that these basic elements are missing from the Chinese child protection system, and therefore, they recommend that a reform of the system to address these elements should be a priority for Chinese social policy. The article makes a number of recommendations for reform. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

To address the need for empirical evidence on how culture is and should be addressed in child protection work in Australia to ensure equity in service delivery, this study reviewed 120 case files of children from ethnic-minority, Aboriginal, and Anglo backgrounds and conducted 46 qualitative interviews with ethnic-minority client families and the caseworkers who service them. Overall, the results indicated that the issue of culture for ethnic-minority families receives less consideration than it does for Aboriginal families and more than it does for Anglo families, indicating that cross-cultural parity is yet to be achieved. To ensure equity in service delivery, it is important that culture is neither overlooked nor used to essentialize the needs and experiences of ethnic-minority families; balancing the amount of attention that culture receives in child protection work may help “normalize the novel”—that is, reduce the use of cultural stereotypes without reducing the significance of cultural factors in child protection work with culturally nonmainstream families. Mandatory consultation with “multicultural” caseworkers may help get the balance right and warrants future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines how the relationship between parents' educational achievement (a marker of their socio-economic status) and children's early developmental outcomes has evolved in Australia since the early 1980s. The specific focus of this paper is whether the gradient in children's early developmental outcomes by parents' education has changed since the 1980s. A comparative analysis of two surveys is undertaken that follows Australian cohorts of children through their early years -- the Australian Temperament Project (following children born in Victoria in the early 1980s) and the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (following a representative sample of children born in Australia in 1999). The analysis shows that the relationship between parental education and children's early developmental outcomes does not in general appear to have changed greatly over the years. The gradient associated with behaviour difficulties, persistence in behaviour difficulties over time, and in reading skills has either remained the same or strengthened somewhat, while the gradient associated with social skills has weakened. The paper concludes with a discussion of issues that might explain these trends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the author's views on a paper by K. Healy and colleague on comparative child welfare and children in out-of-home-care (OOHC). The author states that although there is a great deal of evidence about high levels of investment in early childhood services in Sweden, it is not necessarily borne out by figures offered in the paper.

This article summarises the key findings of the national evaluation of the Communities for Children (CfC) initiative. The evaluation of the CfC was undertaken as part of an evaluation of several area-based interventions known as the Stronger Families and Communities Strategy (SFCS). The study was undertaken by the Social Policy Research Centre (SPRC), University of New South Wales (UNSW), and the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) for the Australian Government Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction to the journal is presented in which the editor discusses the various articles published within the issue on topics which include emergency relief and employment, domestic violence, and child-aware practices in adult services.

There is growing recognition that investment by governments on children in their early years is an important part of social policy. However there is currently little information either about how much governments invest on children of different ages, or about what the optimum investment in the early years would look like. Using currently available Australian datasets, this article explores two approaches to estimate the adequacy of investment in early childhood; comparing government expenditure between countries, and analysing one country (in this case Australia) in terms of expenditure over time on children of different ages. We find that, overall, Australia spends more than the average of OECD countries on the early years, but that a much higher proportion of this expenditure is spent on cash transfers to parents rather than on early care and education. Furthermore, spending on the early years has grown proportionately to spending on older children over the past several years. The paper ends with a number of suggestions for further research which will refine the analysis of investment in the early years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article highlights the proposed child well-being and child protection reform in response to the child protection system in Australia. The author stated that high levels of statutory child protection activity may be justifiable if it can demonstrate that children actually benefited from their contact with the system. In addition, the potential disruption that structural change can bring to organisations and the costs of fundamental change must be recognized to achieve significant benefits from the systems change. Therefore, the process of change must be incremental rather than revolutionary and it must involve consultation and deliberation and must not lose focus from the ultimate goal.

Abstract: Water shortage has become a global issue and not only a problem relevant to arid zones. In the past decade desalination of sea and brackish water has been found to be a technically and economically acceptable solution for water shortage. More recently, desalination of wastewater effluents has also begun to be considered for sustainable water reclamation and reuse. Performance of membrane desalination processes, such as reverse osmosis (RO), is restricted by different fouling and clogging constraints, including inorganic scaling as well as organic fouling and biofouling. Utilization of effluents for desalination introduced to the membrane systems new feed water characteristics with reduced salinity but higher concentration of dissolved organic matter and predominant inorganic ions that are less common in sea water. Phosphate scaling is found to be a main obstacle for effluents desalination, mainly due to the lack of appropriate antiscalants to cope with its precipitation, especially at high recovery rates. This work was aimed to study the chemical coagulation of phosphate from wastewater effluents as a pretreatment for RO desalination. Based on preliminary jar test experiments, sodium aluminate (SAL) at concentrations of 20–30 mg/L, was found as an efficient coagulant for phosphate and turbidity reduction. SAL coagulation was tested either as simultaneous phosphate removal during membrane bioreactor (MBR) treatment or as postremoval of phosphate from secondary effluents from activated sludge process, followed by microfiltration. Both alternative treatments resulted in almost complete phosphate removal (≥99%). Batch desalination of both kinds of pretreated effluents showed also that calcium carbonate was a second scaling agent upon phosphate removal. The simultaneous MBR-coagulation, which in addition to complete phosphate removal displayed a significant reduction of alkalinity (75%), produced higher quality effluents and reduced the effect of calcium carbonate scaling, as compared to the post-coagulation of secondary effluents. Furthermore, the simultaneous MBR-coagulation process showed no detrimental effects on the MBR membrane performance or on the biological activity and avoided the need of an additional sedimentation or filtration step prior to RO. In conclusion, the MBR-chemical coagulation process seems to be a technically feasible pretreatment of domestic effluents for further desalination. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: On-site greywater reclamation is thought to enhance water usage efficiency and decrease urban water demand. Direct membrane filtration is an attractive approach for treatment of greywater in residential areas due to its small footprint and high reliability, as product quality is insensitive to fluctuations in inflow quality. The research evaluated coagulation or chlorination as possible pretreatments for ultrafiltration followed by RO desalination. The system was fed with “light” greywater (avg. TOC, TN and P — 24.9, 4.6 and 0.7 mg L−1; turbidity — 34 NTU). Direct filtration, without pretreatment, resulted in sharp decrease of the UF permeability, due to organic fouling and biofouling. The RO membrane was suspected for phosphate salt scaling. To overcome these drawbacks, coagulation and chlorination were evaluated as pretreatment options prior to UF. Chlorine demand of the greywater was 10–20 mg L−1. Applying this dose and controlling residual chlorine in the UF feed, lowered the fouling rate by 33%. Mass balances calculations indicated that chlorination inhibited microbial activity in the UF system. The partial oxidation of the organic matter, achieved by the chlorination pretreatment, may have changed the properties of the organic matter and thus its reactivity with the UF and RO membranes. Next, ferric chloride was tested as a coagulant. Dosing 50 mg L−1 ferric chloride reduced the UF flux decline rate by 43%, mainly due to a 38% decrease of the organic load. After coagulation, larger particles with narrower size distribution were observed in the feed (average size ~0.5 μm). This upward shift resulted in a more porous filtration cake buildup on the UF membrane, a finding which supports the enhanced performance. Although a positive synergistic effect could be anticipated, the combined coagulation-chlorination process increased fouling rate in the RO membrane probably due to the increase in the concentration polarization phenomenon, as a result of a rise in the concentrations of counter ions associated with the pretreatment reactants and possible surplus of the latter. The results indicate that greywater pretreatment is a prerequisite to hamper UF membrane biofouling. Coagulation was found to be superior to chlorination for the UF. Effluents produced by each of the membranal steps were of excellent quality that can be used for various purposes, being low in organic content, suspended matter and colloids (UF), or desalinated (RO). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The adsorption of dissolved organic matter (DOM) on granular-activated carbon (GAC) as a pretreatment to reverse osmosis (RO) desalination of membrane bioreactor (MBR) effluents was studied in lab- and pilot-scale columns. The pattern and efficiency of DOM adsorption and fate of the hydrophobic (HPO), transphilic (TPI) and hydrophilic (HPI) fractions were characterized, as well as their impact on organic fouling of the RO membranes. Relatively low DOM adsorption capacity and low intensity of adsorption were observed in batch studies. Continuous adsorption experiments performed within a range of hydraulic velocities of 0.9–12m/h depicted permissible values within the mass transfer zone up to 1.6m/h. The breakthrough curves within this range displayed a non-adsorbable fraction of 24±6% and a biodegradable fraction of 49±12%. Interestingly, the adsorbable fraction remained almost constant (∼30%) in the entire hydraulic range studied. Comparative analysis by HPO interaction chromatography showed a steady removal (63–66%) of the HPO fraction. SUVA index and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectra indicated that DOM changes during the adsorption phase were mainly due to elution of the more HPI components. GAC pretreatment in pilot-scale columns resulted in 80–90% DOM removal from MBR effluents, which in turn stabilized membrane permeability and increased permeate quality. FTIR analysis indicated that the residual DOM present in the RO permeate, regardless of the pretreatment, was mainly of HPI character (e.g., low-molecular-weight humics linked to polysaccharides and proteins). The DOM removed by GAC pretreatment is composed mainly of HPO and biodegradable components, which constitutes the fraction primarily causing organic fouling. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The structure and microbial communities of biofilms developing on cross-flow nanofiltration (NF) membranes at different temperatures (20, 25 or 34°C) and operation lengths (8h–24days) were studied. Feedwater comprised tertiary quality wastewater effluent or synthetic media mimicking effluents of intermediate quality. After each run, the membranes were autopsied for bacterial enumeration, bacterial community composition and microscopy visualization (SEM, CLSM and AFM/NSOM). Community composition was analyzed by polymerase chain reaction–denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR–DGGE) coupled with sequence analysis of 16S rRNA gene fragments from dominant bands. Deposition of polysaccharides and initial bacterial colonization were observed within 8h, whereas developed biofilms markedly affecting membrane permeability were evident from days 2–3 onwards. Regardless of applied conditions, the heterotrophic plate counts in the biofilm were 3–4×106 CFU/cm2 and the thickness of the biofouling layer was 20–30μm. From a total of 22 sequences obtained from 14 independent experiments, most species identified were Gram negative (19 of 22 sequences). Proteobacteria were found to be a prevalent group in all cases (16 of 22 sequences) and among it, the β-subclass was the most predominant (8 sequences), followed by the γ-subclass (5 sequences). Pseudomonas/Burkholderia, Ralstonia, Bacteroidetes and Sphingomonas were the dominant groups found in most cases. Even though the microbial population might be important with respect to biofouling patterns, membrane permeability decline seems to be more substantially influenced by the formation and accumulation of exopolymeric substances (EPS). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper looks at the range of differences within European child protection systems and considers the relationship between different approaches and the integration of children and family services. A distinction is made between structures that are child and family welfare focused, and those that are child protection focused. Some of the different structures of service delivery are described and the effect of these structures on the roles of the main stakeholders (and therefore on integration of services) is considered. Reference is made to a practice-based research project that considered co-operation and communication between health and welfare services in 12 countries. This research provides examples of different ways of integrating services and encouraging co-operation. It is not possible to construct ‘league tables’ of best performing structures and services cross-nationally because there are no reliably comparable statistics, but the research project gave indications of the factors that contributed to better communication and to better outcomes. Structure did not seem to be of primary importance, though it might help or hinder. However, with co-operation, very different structures could work effectively. In general, high levels of material resources helped. However, professional time was the most important resource, because time was needed to develop effective working relationships with other professionals. The factors that facilitated good interdisciplinary and interagency work point to the centrality of a professional and managerial culture that values the development of good working relationships both with families and with other professionals. Conflictual and defensive inter-professional relationships created problems, however well organized the system. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19 has become a worldwide pandemic impacting child protection services (CPSs) in many countries. With quarantine and social distancing restrictions, school closures, and recreational venues suspended or providing reduced access, the social safety net for violence prevention has been disrupted significantly. Impacts include the concerns of underreporting and increased risk of child abuse and neglect, as well as challenges in operating CPSs and keeping their workforce safe. The current discussion paper explored the impact of COVID-19 on child maltreatment reports and CPS responses by comparing countries using available population data. Information was gathered from researchers in eight countries, including contextual information about the country's demographics and economic situation, key elements of the CPS, and the CPS response to COVID-19. Where available, information about other factors affecting children was also collected. These data informed a discussion about between-country similarities and differences. COVID-19 had significant impact on the operation of every CPS, whether in high- income or low-income countries. Most systems encountered some degree of service disruption or change. Risk factors for children appeared to increase while there were often substantial deficits in CPS responses, and in most countries there was at a temporary decrease in CM reports despite the increased risks to children. The initial data presented and discussed among the international teams pointed to the way COVID-19 has hampered CPS responses and the protection of children more generally in most jurisdictions, highlighting that children appear to have been at greater risk for maltreatment during COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Six key themes emerged that characterise the trajectories of dual involved children. • A Developmental Cascade Framework highlights high-risk pathways for dual involved. • The relationship between risk factors and offending trajectory is context specific. • DST provides theoretical basis for identifying and diverting dual involved. • Cumulative Risk and ACE scores provide an empirical measure of dual involved pathways. Children who experience dual involvement by child protection and juvenile justice statutory systems have poorer life outcomes attributable to higher levels of disadvantage and more complex needs compared to single system involved children. Literature regarding dual involved children in high income, western, and democratic nations are largely based on US studies. Whilst child protection and juvenile justice systems across the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia have somewhat similar legislative systems, cohort outcomes and relationships between risk factors and offending trajectories for dual involved children are influenced by differing legislative, geographic, and demographic contexts. Compared to international literature, significant gaps exist regarding the Australian context. Further, within Australia, there are no evaluated specific responses and/or strategies directed towards supporting this highly vulnerable cohort towards increased long-term positive outcomes. This is the first comprehensive review of Australian studies that examines the characteristics of children who have had dual involvement with juvenile justice and child protection agencies within Australia. Using a thematic analysis twenty-five studies with dual involved samples were analysed, examining the individual, familial, environmental, and systemic factors that contribute to the likelihood of children becoming involved in both child protection and juvenile justice systems within Australia. Six thematic factors emerged that characterised the trajectories of dual involved children: cumulative and destabilising adversity; maltreatment timing and type; offending onset and context; educational disadvantage and disengagement; co-occurring challenges; and First Nations overrepresentation. Our findings are applied to Developmental Systems Theory, extending on previous literature to depict an Australian first developmental cascade framework illustrating the context specific pathways of dual involved children and opportunities for intervention in Australia. The discussion highlights and compares differences between Australian and international contexts with the intention of emphasising key areas for future research, and policy and practice reform. This is important because of the nuanced differences between dual involved characteristics across different legislative and geographic contexts, with particular relevance to the experiences of First Nations children and families. Future research, policy and practice would benefit from continued reforms that focus resources on co-ordinated system responses and cohort specific services; namely, culturally appropriate diversion strategies that promote behavioural de-escalation and educational engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been a limited understanding of the longitudinal trajectory and determinants of socio-emotional outcomes among children in out-of-home care (OOHC). This study aimed to examine child socio-demographics, pre-care maltreatment, placement, and caregiver factors associated with trajectories of socio-emotional difficulties of children in OOHC. The study sample (n = 345) included data from the Pathways of Care Longitudinal Study (POCLS), a prospective longitudinal cohort of children aged 3–17 years who entered the OOHC system in New South Wales (NSW) Australia, between 2010 and 2011. Group-based trajectory models were used to identify distinct socio-emotional trajectory groups based on the Child Behaviour Check List (CBCL) Total Problem T-scores completed at all four Waves 1–4. Modified Poisson regression analysis was conducted to assess the association (risk ratios) of socio-emotional trajectory group membership with pre-care maltreatment, placement, and caregiver-related factors. Three trajectories of socio-emotional development were identified: 'persistently low difficulties' (average CBCL T-score changed from 40 to 38 over time), normal (average CBCL T-score changed from 52 to 55 over time), and clinical (average CBCL T-score remained at 68 over time) trajectories. Each trajectory presented a stable trend over time. Relative/kinship care, as compared with foster care, was associated with the "persistently low" socio-emotional trajectory. Being male, exposure to ≥8 pre-care substantiated risk of significant harm (ROSH) reports, placement changes, and caregiver's psychological distress (more than two-fold increased risk) were associated with the clinical socio-emotional trajectory. Early intervention to ensure children have a nurturing care environment and psychological support to caregivers are vital for positive socio-emotional development over time among children in long-term OOHC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Restoring children from out‐of‐home care (OOHC) to their families is the preferred outcome for all children removed by child protection services, yet little is known about how restoration processes are experienced by families and services supporting them. This paper provides important insights about Aboriginal child restoration from 40 practitioners and stakeholders at a community forum led by Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations in regional New South Wales (NSW), Australia. This is one component of larger Aboriginal‐led research, which investigates child protection experiences and pathways to successful restoration in NSW and the data source for this paper. The community forum explored the issues for families navigating family preservation, OOHC and restoration within child protection and legal systems. Findings include the need for a continuum of support for families throughout their engagement with child protection systems and crucially following the removal of their children. Barriers to effective restoration practice included a lack of access to meaningful and ongoing preservation services, insufficient cultural care planning and family finding efforts that are often too late, the pressure on services to support families without adequate capabilities or enough resourcing, the lack of transparency and the complexities in navigating the restoration process, and the lack of culturally informed support for children and their families while children are in care. Implications for policy and practice are discussed. This paper contributes to understanding practice, processes and barriers for restoration, particularly focused on the perspectives of Aboriginal families and communities, with potential insights for practice within Australia and internationally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children with disabilities are known to have high rates of contact with child protection services. However, little is known about child protection contacts for a broader group of children with special healthcare needs (SHCN; i.e., special needs or other impairments of concern that affect learning). This study examined the characteristics of contact with child protection services (prior to the age of 6 years) for children with SHCN identified at school entry using the 2009 Australian Early Development Census, using administrative data from more than 65,000 children in the New South Wales Child Development Study. Child protection contacts prior to age 6 years were more prevalent among children with SHCN compared with those without; in particular, children with SHCN had higher odds of a history of exposure to neglect and physical abuse, and higher odds of being placed in out‐of‐home care, compared with their typically developing peers. Understanding the characteristics of child protection contacts among children with SHCN, with consideration of factors that may influence their patterns of contact with these and other human services agencies, will inform the development of appropriate social policy initiatives to fulfil Australia's obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children with disability are over-represented in out-of-home care (OOHC) in Australia and internationally. Yet we know little about their circumstances, placement types, support needs, and the outcomes of their trajectories and wellbeing through care. We examine the wellbeing and outcomes of children with and without disabilities in OOHC. We use panel data from waves 1–4 of the Pathways of Care Longitudinal Study (POCLS) collected between June 2011 and November 2018 by the New South Wales (NSW) Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ), Australia. The POCLS sampling framework covers all children aged 0–17 years who entered OOHC in NSW for the first time between May 2010 and October 2011 (n = 4126). A subset of these children (n = 2828) had final Children's Court orders by 30 April 2013. Among these, caregivers of 1789 children agreed to participate in the interview component of the POCLS. We employ a random effects estimator to analyse the panel data. This is standard practice to exploit a panel database when some of the key explanatory variables are time invariant. Children with disability have poorer wellbeing than children without disability across the three domains of physical health, socio-emotional wellbeing, and cognitive ability. However, children with disability have fewer difficulties at school and better school bonding. The type of placements – namely relative/kinship care, restoration/adoption/guardianship, foster care and residential care – have little or limited association with wellbeing of children with disability. Children with disability tend to have lower levels of wellbeing in OOHC than children without disability, and this is driven mainly by their disability status rather than care factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many child protection systems struggle to implement effective models of frontline practice in the context of high caseloads, increasing costs, and compliance‐focused bureaucratic cultures. This article discusses changes brought about by "Practice First," a framework for practice introduced to improve the quality and effectiveness of child protection work in New South Wales, Australia. Findings drawn from quantitative and qualitative research with practitioners show that the initiative was effective in changing cultures of practice. It enabled workers to spend more face‐to‐face time with families and build relationships and was perceived to improve the quality of decision‐making. At the same time, the article highlights difficulties in attempting to embed change in practice cultures when broader systemic challenges persist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public health efforts to lift childhood vaccination rates can be supported or undermined by media representations of parents. Polarising representations neglect the large range of ‘middle-ground’ positions people occupy, potentially alienating parents. In recent years, Australian public health actors have tried to better engage journalists to avoid this. As these efforts have unfolded, the main national immunisation policy lever has become more punitive. This paper examines whether Australian newspaper representations of parents have changed, by comparing 153 newspaper articles from two periods: 1997-1998 (prior to the development of a public health lobby targeting the media; when the first national childhood immunisation policy was introduced) and; 2015-2016 (5 years after advocacy groups began working with the media; and when the national policy took a punitive turn). We analyse patterns and shifts (between 1997-1998 and 2015-2016) in the portrayal of parents as complacent, alternative, hesitant and as choosing. Australian newspaper portrayals of parents are broadly aligned with the policy targets of the day. In 2015-2016, there was less negative representation of parents who occupy the ‘middle-ground’ between vaccine acceptance and rejection. However, coverage of alternative parents (vaccine objectors) intensified in quantity and negativity. Concurrently, there were new (minority) portrayals of vaccine objectors as invisible, and as victims being denied choice. This signals that reporting may simultaneously align with national policy targets and destabilise public health efforts to avoid polarising misrepresentations of parents, characterisations likely to undermine trust in public health. Rather than ‘blame the media’, this analysis illuminates conflicts within public health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article about the development of Feldenkreis Method that was published in the previous issue.

The processes facilitating resilience are likely to be influenced by individual, familial and contextual factors that are dynamic across the life-course. These factors have been less studied in relation to resilience profiles evident in the developmental period between early to middle childhood, relative to later periods of adolescence or adulthood. This study examined factors associated with resilience in a cohort of 4,716 children known to child protection services by age 13 years, in the Australian State of New South Wales. Latent profile and transition analyses were used to identify multi-dimensional profiles of resilience as evident in social, emotional and cognitive functioning when assessed in early childhood (time 1 [T1], age 5–6 years) and middle childhood (time 2 [T2], age 10–11 years). Logistic regression models were used to investigate factors associated with two types of resilience identified: a transition profile of stress-resistance (i.e., represented by a typically developing profile at both T1 and T2) delineated in the largest subgroup (54%) of children, and a smaller subgroup (13%) with a profile of emergent resilience (i.e., typically developing at T2 following a vulnerable profile at T1). Factors associated with resilience profiles included being female, and personality characteristics of openness and extraversion; other factors associated with stress-resistance, specifically, included higher socioeconomic status, non-Indigenous background, higher perceived port at home and at school, and not having a parent with a history of criminal offending. Resilience processes appear to involve a complex interplay between individual, family, and community characteristics requiring interagency support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores neighborhood-built environment features related to 'better than expected' and 'as expected' early childhood development outcomes (ECD) in 14 Australian disadvantaged communities. This paper draws from mixed methods data collected in the Kids in Communities Study – an Australian investigation of community effects on ECD – in communities across five states and territories. In total, 93 interviews and 30 focus groups were conducted with service providers and parents, and geographic information systems were used to create built environment measures for each local community. Housing factors (e.g. better affordability, tenure, less high-density public housing) were consistently related to disadvantaged local communities with 'better than expected' ECD outcomes. Physical access to services and public transport, living in a walkable area, having high-quality public open space, and a mix of local destinations was perceived to be consistently important by community members in disadvantaged communities regardless of ECD outcomes. Findings may help policymakers to consider neighborhood features that contribute to better ECD outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children enter out‐of‐home care (OOHC) having experienced significant childhood adversities and trauma. Little is known about the short‐term impacts of the COVID‐19 pandemic on this vulnerable group. To gain some insights, we analysed the early impacts on the well‐being and experiences of children in OOHC and their carers using the Pathways of Care Longitudinal Study data prior to and post the first lockdown restrictions. A total of 862 children, young people and their carers were interviewed either pre‐COVID‐19 restrictions (n = 567) (April 2019–March 2020) or post‐COVID‐19 restrictions (n = 295) (June–December 2020). While the two groups showed no significant differences in socio‐emotional well‐being, both the pre‐ and the post‐COVID‐19 restriction groups of children in OOHC had slight reductions in socio‐emotional well‐being. The interviews with the post‐COVID‐19 group showed that the pandemic restrictions affected children's well‐being and behaviour, education, social and physical activities, as well as time spent with their birth family. Likewise, interviews with carers post‐COVID‐19 found a negative effect on carers' well‐being, their ability to manage financially and their capacity to care and access services and support. The article contributes new evidence to inform OOHC policy and practice to support service systems facing unique challenges arising from a pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Socio-environmental factors, including the neighbourhoods in which children live and grow, are key determinants of children's developmental outcomes. Thus, it is important to examine and consider the relationships between these factors and the multiple contexts that influence children. Drawing on a broad disciplinary range of existing research, we aimed to develop a conceptual model of neighbourhood effects influencing early childhood development. The neighbourhood effects literature was reviewed with a specific focus on existing models and frameworks. This review was then further expanded through consultation with our cross-disciplinary research collaboration (Kids in Communities Study Collaboration). From this a theoretical model specific to early childhood development was developed. The hypothesised model comprised five interconnected domains: physical, social, service, socio-economic, and governance. A small trial of indicator measurement was conducted and findings were used to make a series of recommendations regarding measures or indicators which might provide useful and effective for neighbourhood effects research. The proposed model provides a useful and novel conceptual framework for classifying neighbourhood effects research. By synthesising disparate but related areas of research, the resultant five domains provide a useful approach to understanding and measuring child development in the context of community and environment, therefore advancing knowledge in this area. Expanding the current neighbourhood effects paradigm to accommodate broader constructs appears critical in considering the multiple environments that may act as key determinants of children's wellbeing and psychosocial outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

THIS PAPER REVIEWS AUSTRALIAN and international literature to examine the effect of poverty on children's readiness to learn. It includes a discussion of how children's readiness and ability to learn can be nurtured from birth, and how poverty places a child's healthy developmental pathway at risk. The paper concludes with a discussion of the barriers to the introduction of successful early intervention programs in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is increasing international interest in place-based approaches to improve early childhood development (ECD) outcomes. The available data and evidence are limited and precludes well informed policy and practice change. Developing the evidence-base for community-level effects on ECD is one way to facilitate more informed and targeted community action. This paper presents overall final findings from the Kids in Communities Study (KiCS), an Australian mixed methods investigation into community-level effects on ECD in five domains of influence–physical, social, governance, service, and sociodemographic. Twenty five local communities (suburbs) across Australia were selected based on 'diagonality type' i.e. whether they performed better (off-diagonal positive), worse (off-diagonal negative), or 'as expected' (on-diagonal) on the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) relative to their socioeconomic profile. The approach was designed to determine replicable and modifiable factors that were separate to socioeconomic status. Between 2015–2017, stakeholder interviews (n = 146), parent and service provider focus groups (n = 51), and existing socio-economic and early childhood education and care administrative data were collected. Qualitative and quantitative data analyses were undertaken to understand differences between 14 paired disadvantaged local communities (i.e. on versus off-diagonal). Further analysis of qualitative data elicited important factors for all 25 local communities. From this, we developed a draft set of 'Foundational Community Factors' (FCFs); these are the factors that lay the foundations of a good community for young children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• There are many young people with cognitive impairment in out of home care. • Young people make significant decisions when leaving out of home care. • Young people in out of home care may not have opportunities to develop capacity to make decisions. • We talked to young people with cognitive impairment, their parents, and to other stakeholders about how they supported evolving capacity to make decisions. • The study shows close supports can enable evolving capacity, while broader systems can be barriers to evolving capacity. Young people living in out-of-home care (OOHC) are required to make significant decisions when transitioning from care. Without measures to support participation in the planning process, young people, particularly those with cognitive impairment, are at risk of having decisions made for them 'in their best interests' by others and, without capacity to identify will and preference, are at increased risk of being placed under a guardianship order for decision-making. Little is known about (1) how young people with cognitive impairment are supported to develop autonomy in decision-making over time, and (2) what systems and services support the evolving capacity of young people with cognitive impairment in OOHC to participate in transition planning. We undertook a qualitative study to address this knowledge gap and contribute to practice. We interviewed 17 Young people with cognitive impairment (15–30 years old), 13 parents of young people with cognitive impairment, and 22 other stakeholders supporting young people with cognitive impairment, and analysed results thematically using a human rights framework and Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory. We found support for evolving capacity is an active process provided by those close to the young person – family, paid support workers and friends. These supports may not be available to all young people in OOHC. We also found broader systems appear to be barriers to rather than enablers of evolving capacity. This study highlights the opportunity to provide greater support for evolving capacity around young people in OOHC across different systems to support their transition from OOHC and transition to adulthood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Like in many countries, the Australian Government has conducted an inquiry into child sexual abuse that occurred in institutional settings (The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse). Drawing on the findings from a qualitative study commissioned by the Royal Commission, this paper explores the perceptions of victim/survivors1 of the ways in which institutions (or individuals within them) responded supportively when sexual abuse was reported. While researchers and inquiries have reported on inadequacy of institutional responses, this paper addresses a research gap by investigating responses that victims/survivors perceived as helpful, while mindful of the overwhelmingly negative nature of their experiences. The paper contributes to the literature on institutional responses to child sexual abuse methodologically – by reporting on the challenges of a study of this type – and theoretically, by proposing a framework indicating how different helpful elements of an institutional response to child sexual abuse relate to each other in the victim/survivors' experiences. The findings are relevant for research on best practice in institutional responses to child sexual abuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adult psychosocial difficulties, including psychiatric disorders, are often preceded by childhood psychosocial vulnerabilities, presenting critical windows of opportunity for preventative intervention. The present study aimed to identify longitudinal patterns (representing transitions between profiles) of childhood socio-emotional and cognitive vulnerability in the general population from early to middle childhood, in relation to key risk factors (e.g. parental mental illness and offending). Data were drawn from the New South Wales Child Development Study, which combines intergenerational multi-agency administrative records with cross-sectional assessments using data linkage methods. We analysed data from childhood assessments of socio-emotional and cognitive functioning at two time points (ages 5–6 and 10–11 years) that were linked with administrative data from government departments of health, child protection, and education for 19,087 children and their parents. Latent profile analyses were used to identify socio-emotional and cognitive profiles at each time point, and latent transition analyses were used to determine the probability and potential moderators of transition between profiles at each age. Three developmental profiles were identified in early childhood, reflecting typically developing, emotionally vulnerable, and cognitively vulnerable children, respectively; two profiles were identified in middle childhood, reflecting typically developing and vulnerable children. Child's sex, child protection services contact, parental mental illness, and parental offending influenced children's transitions between different vulnerability profiles, with the strongest effects for parental mental illness and child protection contact. Early detection of vulnerable children and factors promoting resilience are important steps in directing future health and social policy, and service planning for vulnerable children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Child protection systems often contend with domestic and family violence (DFV) as a maltreatment concern, yet few large-scale studies have explored how child protection services (CPS) systems respond to DFV compared with other concerns. Secondary longitudinal analysis of administrative data from three Australian State CPS systems finds that the number of DFV reports increased faster than notifications for other concerns, and children reported for DFV also tended to be reported for emotional and physical abuse. Children reported for DFV were slightly less likely to transition from report to formal child maltreatment investigation. Overall, system responses to maltreatment concerns appear to be similar across concern types despite substantial differences in their aetiologies and options for effective interventions. Future CPS policy and practice development should involve consideration of the specific aetiologies and service needs of each type of maltreatment concern, and the CPS response should reflect these differences. Information about the specific service response (e.g., intervention type, quality, and extent of services) should be collected and used to inform improvements in the CPS system. Data linkages between systems should be strongly considered in order to monitor and improve multisystem service responses to DFV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cross-agency administrative data can improve cost-effective triage systems for child protection and other human service delivery. To determine the minimum set of cross-agency indicators that could accurately classify placement in out-of-home-care (OOHC) before age 13–14 years. Participants were 72,079 Australian children (mean age = 13.16 years; SD = 0.37; 51.4% male) and their parents, for whom linked administrative records spanning the years 1994–2016 were available for analysis within the 'New South Wales Child Development Study'. First, a series of logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine associations between cross-agency (health, justice, education) risk indicators and membership of the sub-cohort of 1239 children who had an OOHC placement prior to age 13–14 years, relative to (1) the sub-cohort of 55,473 children who had no previous contact with child protection services, and (2) the sub-cohort of 15,367 children who had been reported to child protection services but had no record of OOHC placement. We then explored the classification characteristics associated with a smaller combination of risk factors, and the utility of specific familial risk factors, for classifying membership of the OOHC subgroup. A combination of six risk indicators evident before OOHC placement can classify children placed in OOHC with approximately 95% accuracy, and the presence of at least four of these risk indicators provides excellent specificity (99.6%). A combination of risk factors observable in administrative datasets held by multiple government agencies may be used to target support services to prevent entry into OOHC for children from vulnerable families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]