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Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://anrows.intersearch.com.au/anrowsjspui/handle/1/19277
Record ID: 6da1698b-48cd-49b3-806d-2a99ca1babb7
Web resource: http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/52122/20050906-0000/www.ag.gov.au/agd/WWW/rwpattach.nsf/viewasattachmentPersonal/final%20report.pdf
Type: Report
Title: Children's contact services : expectation and experience : final report
Authors: Hunter, Rosemary
Ip, Regin
Sheehan, Grania
Carson, Rachel
Fehlberg, Belinda
Tomison, Adam
Dewar, John
Keywords: Policy;Impact on children and young people;Post-separation violence;Family law;Child protection
Year: 2005
Publisher: Griffith Law School, Griffith University, Nathan
Notes:  This report presents the results of the children’s contact services study that explored the role of children’s contact services (CCSs) in Australia, and the expectations of different parties with regard to the use of contact services.

The main method of collecting data was interviews, with a total of 142 in-depth interviews conducted. Observations were done on a small group of parents and children during supervised visits and changeovers. A client survey of 396 families (registered with the government-funded CCSs) was also utilised. Domestic violence and/or alleged child abuse had occurred in the majority (78%) of the families surveyed. These clients emerged as a ‘high risk’ group, with an above-normal chance that unsupervised contact or changeovers would place children’s welfare at risk through exposure to a range of stressors, ranging from verbal conflict between parents to witnessing domestic violence and child abuse. Indigenous clients (5%) and clients from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds (8%) made up a very small proportion of the services’ clientele.

The recommendation was made for policy and practice directions to focus on a dual role for CCSs in protecting both children and parents from future harm. It also found that the use of CCSs or any contact for children and families that involved severe child maltreatment, severe domestic violence and risk of child abduction was not in the best interests of the child.

Other recommendations looked at specialist CCS staff training on family violence in a post-separation context, and the impact of violent behaviour on children, other parents and staff.

Children’s reports of their experiences of supervised contact and changeovers are presented, with most of the interviewed children as reporting feeling safe while using the CCS. However, for those children that do not want to see their contact parent and are frequently frightened by their contact parent, it recommended that the CCS staff and the courts need to act swiftly to stop the contact visits. Recommendations for future service development and training issues are provided.
URI: https://anrows.intersearch.com.au/anrowsjspui/handle/1/19277
Physical description: 320 p.
Appears in Collections:Reports

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