Names of investigators
Dr Melissa O’Donnell
Professor Rhonda Marriott
A/Professor Stephanie Taplin
Project description
Removing a newborn baby from their parents is the highest level of intervention utilised by the Australian child protection system. It is used when a decision has been made that the baby cannot remain safely at home with their parents. Practitioners report that the number of newborns being removed is increasing in certain groups, particularly in Aboriginal communities, and that more mothers are experiencing the removal of multiple infants. The extent to which these reports are true, and whether they are associated with the recent introduction of prenatal reporting into the legislation of most Australian jurisdictions is not known. This study aims to increase knowledge about the nature, extent and impact of removals, repeat removals and entries of new babies into the care system, and to identify appropriate early intervention and prevention strategies, thereby preventing the need for babies to spend their childhood in care.
The study will be conducted in two Australian jurisdictions (NSW and WA). The study will use a mixed methods approach involving interviews, case studies, the examination of case law and court files, and the analysis of administrative data held by the child protections systems in both NSW and WA. Using administrative data, this study will identify the nature and extent of removals including the characteristics of these family and at what point child protection has intervened. It will also determine whether reunification has been changed and what characteristics and services are associated with reunification. Examination of court file data and case studies of families where a baby has been removed in infancy will provide additional detail about their characteristics and experiences, not available from the departmental administrative data. Comparisons will be made with the findings from parallel studies in England and USA, via the international collaborators on this project.
Plain language summary
Removing a baby from their parents is the highest level of intervention used by the child protection system, and one which some mothers experience on the multiple occasions. There is limited knowledge about its incidence and impacts, nor whether there are particular over-represented groups (e.g. Aboriginal mothers and babies) who would respond to targeted interventions. This study aims to increase knowledge about the nature, extent and impact of removals, repeat removals and entries of new babies into the care system, and to identify appropriate early intervention and prevention strategies, thereby preventing the need for babies to spend their childhood in care.
Funders of the project
Australia Research Council (ARC) Discovery Project
External collaborators
Professor Rhonda Marriott – Murdoch University, Western Australia
A/Professor Stephanie Taplin – Australian Catholic University, New South Wales