Social Work - Research Publications

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    Domestic violence and child abuse
    HUMPHREYS, CATHY (Department for Education and Skills, 2006)
    The risks of harm to children caused by domestic violence have now been recognised. An amendment to the definition of harm in the Children Act 1989 now includes ‘impairment suffered from seeing or hearing the ill treatment of another’ (Adoption and Children Act, 2002). This reflects that children living with domestic violence are over-represented among those children referred to statutory children and families teams with concerns about child abuse and neglect, and represent up to two thirds of cases seen at child protection conferences. However, children’s experiences of domestic violence are more than a child protection issue. Research with children suggests it has implications for education, health, welfare, civil and criminal justice.
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    Pride and prejudice: a snapshot of parents with disabilities experience of the child protection system in Victoria
    SWAIN, PHILLIP ; Goodfellow, Jonathon ; Lee, Jeanette ; Cameron, Nadine ; Bennett, Wendy ( 2002-07)
    The Disability, Parenting and the Law Project developed as a result of concerns expressed by parents with disabilities who came into contact with the Victorian child protection system. The Disability Discrimination Legal Service (DDLS) and Yooralla's Parents with a Disability Community Project (YPWDCP) jointly developed a project proposal to research the experiences of parents with disabilities whose children became involved with the Victorian child protection system, and to explore whether this particular group of parents were experiencing discrimination as a result of their disability. Funding was sought from, and a grant of $16,248 provided by, the Victoria Law Foundation's Community Grants Program, with an additional contribution of $7,500 provided by the Department of Human Services Western Metropolitan Region (DHS WMR). This report, Pride and Prejudice: A Snapshot of Parents with Disabilities Experiences of the Child Protection System in Victoria, is the result of research and consultations conducted over an 18-month period. The findings and recommendations contained in this report are consistent with those of similar research being conducted around Australia and in other western countries.
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    Domestic violence and child protection: exploring the role of perpetrator risk assessments
    HUMPHREYS, CATHY (Blackwell Synergy, 2006)
    This article explores the issue of severity in relation to domestic violence and provides a number of reasons for the necessary engagement by workers with such a contentious issue. The specific role that the assessment of the risks posed by the perpetrator which has now developed in some police forces in the United Kingdom is examined, and its relevance to child welfare intervention discussed. A range of factors are identified that heighten the risks of increased violence. These include prior sexual assault; stalking and controlling behaviour; substance misuse and mental-health problems; separation and child contact disputes; pregnancy; escalation including the use of weapons and psychological abuse; attempts and threats to kill; child abuse; isolation and barriers to help-seeking. The ways in which perpetrator risk assessment can be used to inform the filtering of referrals to the statutory child care agency, enhance multi-agency working, provide a structure for the assessment of the perpetrator, enhance partnership-working with survivors (usually women) and inform the protection strategies for workers are explored.