Professor Shurlee Swain’s third paper for the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse is a fascinating survey of previous royal commissions and other official inquiries in Australia. “The History of Australian inquiries reviewing institutions providing care for children” (2014) identifies 83 Australian inquiries. Download the paper here. The first, a NSW Select Committee on Destitute […]
History of institutions providing out-of-home residential care for children
This is the 2nd of Prof Shurlee Swain’s three research papers for the Royal Commission It can be downloaded here This will prove to be the most fascinating of the Swain papers for those who are new to this area. It explains the many different types of institutions offering out-of-home ‘care’ for children in Australia from […]
Child Protection – A History of Australian Laws
The History of Child Protection Legislation in Australia Shurlee Swain’s first paper for the Royal Commission (I’m not sure the three papers are meant to be read in any set order) surveys the legislation relating to the out-of-home care of children. The paper can be downloaded here. Reminding us that child welfare in Australia was […]
Foster Care in Crisis
I wish we didn’t need so many kids to be placed in the care of foster families. But, with more than 40,000 Australian kids unable to be looked after by their parents because of poverty, family breakdown, drug and alcohol issues and violence – and lack of support in a crisis – things are in a very bad […]