Mental health systems are built on imperfect foundations. Rather than reflect the “dark old days” of psychiatry, mental health systems, still, commit wide-spread breaches of mental health and human rights laws. During such time, mental health regulators have failed to adequately enforce mental health laws and respond to harms in ways that are transparent and include the community. The Victorian mental health system, with the Mental Health Complaints Commissioner as the principal regulator, provides a case-in-point. Following a Royal Commission into Victoria's Mental Health System, the state government will dissolve the current regulator and establish a new Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission, with enhanced powers. This paper argues that this new regulator should adopt a more conscious implementation of restorative justice and responsive regulation, termed here restorative and responsive regulation. Of particular value is the use of restorative practices such as conferences and an augmenting of sentencing circles within a broader responsive regulatory framework.
{"title":"Preventing and responding to harm: Restorative and responsive mental health regulation in Victoria","authors":"Simon Katterl","doi":"10.1002/ajs4.242","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ajs4.242","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Mental health systems are built on imperfect foundations. Rather than reflect the “dark old days” of psychiatry, mental health systems, still, commit wide-spread breaches of mental health and human rights laws. During such time, mental health regulators have failed to adequately enforce mental health laws and respond to harms in ways that are transparent and include the community. The Victorian mental health system, with the Mental Health Complaints Commissioner as the principal regulator, provides a case-in-point. Following a Royal Commission into Victoria's Mental Health System, the state government will dissolve the current regulator and establish a new Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission, with enhanced powers. This paper argues that this new regulator should adopt a more conscious implementation of restorative justice and responsive regulation, termed here restorative and responsive regulation. Of particular value is the use of restorative practices such as conferences and an augmenting of sentencing circles within a broader responsive regulatory framework.</p>","PeriodicalId":46787,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Social Issues","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2022-10-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42255792","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Lawrence J. Moloney, Nola Webb, Bruce M. Smyth, Robyn L. Murphy
In this article, we respond to commentary by Patrick Parkinson on our research into allegations of child sexual abuse in the Family Court of Australia (both published in AJSI, vol 56, 2021). Parkinson's primary focus was on two of our key findings: (a) that the child was deemed to be at an unacceptable risk of harm in only 12 per cent of fully contested cases; and (b) that in only 14 per cent of the fully contested cases were the allegations coded as being believed. Parkinson suggested that the fully contested cases are disproportionately those in which police, child protection department staff or independent evaluators have been unable to reach a clear view; and that typically these cases involve children under 7 years old. He concluded that the Family Court was in the “too hard basket” of the child protection system and that our findings were not necessarily indicative of systemic failure. We think both suggestions, as well as the “too hard basket” conclusion, are problematic and explain why. Parkinson's comments have stimulated us to reflect on how Australian family courts are managing this important and complex area of decision-making and what changes may be required into the future.
{"title":"Allegations of child sexual abuse in the Family Court of Australia: Response to Parkinson","authors":"Lawrence J. Moloney, Nola Webb, Bruce M. Smyth, Robyn L. Murphy","doi":"10.1002/ajs4.239","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ajs4.239","url":null,"abstract":"<p>In this article, we respond to commentary by Patrick Parkinson on our research into allegations of child sexual abuse in the Family Court of Australia (both published in AJSI, vol 56, 2021). Parkinson's primary focus was on two of our key findings: (a) that the child was deemed to be at an unacceptable risk of harm in only 12 per cent of fully contested cases; and (b) that in only 14 per cent of the fully contested cases were the allegations coded as being believed. Parkinson suggested that the fully contested cases are disproportionately those in which police, child protection department staff or independent evaluators have been unable to reach a clear view; and that typically these cases involve children under 7 years old. He concluded that the Family Court was in the “too hard basket” of the child protection system and that our findings were not necessarily indicative of systemic failure. We think both suggestions, as well as the “too hard basket” conclusion, are problematic and explain why. Parkinson's comments have stimulated us to reflect on how Australian family courts are managing this important and complex area of decision-making and what changes may be required into the future.</p>","PeriodicalId":46787,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Social Issues","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2022-10-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ajs4.239","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47147371","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Edgar Liu, Mariana T. Atkins, Rafal Chomik, Bruce Judd
This paper reflects on whether and how the World Health Organization (WHO) inspires age-friendly policymaking across different levels of government. This is done via a case study in which we analyse the policies of Australia's three-tiered federated government system against the WHO's eight core age-friendly cities domains. Findings suggest that membership of the Global Network of Age-Friendly Cities and Communities did not appear to overtly inspire the development of age-friendly policies across Australian governments. Content analysis shows there is an overwhelming policy focus on care and support services, with little attention to cultural diversity. This reflects an outdated portrayal of debilitation in later life and a lack of recognition of how diverse circumstances impact the ageing process and corresponding support needs. Our findings also reveal the challenges of a three-tiered federated system, where varying financial and authoritative capacities have influenced how different governments acknowledge and respond to population ageing. Notably, local governments—the main level of implementation targeted by the WHO—are invariably constrained in developing their own age-friendly policies and may opt to adopt those of higher levels of government instead. These challenges will likely impact other resource-limited governments in responding to the needs of their emerging ageing populations.
{"title":"The World Health Organization's impacts on age-friendly policymaking: A case study on Australia","authors":"Edgar Liu, Mariana T. Atkins, Rafal Chomik, Bruce Judd","doi":"10.1002/ajs4.240","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ajs4.240","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This paper reflects on whether and how the World Health Organization (WHO) inspires age-friendly policymaking across different levels of government. This is done via a case study in which we analyse the policies of Australia's three-tiered federated government system against the WHO's eight core age-friendly cities domains. Findings suggest that membership of the Global Network of Age-Friendly Cities and Communities did not appear to overtly inspire the development of age-friendly policies across Australian governments. Content analysis shows there is an overwhelming policy focus on care and support services, with little attention to cultural diversity. This reflects an outdated portrayal of debilitation in later life and a lack of recognition of how diverse circumstances impact the ageing process and corresponding support needs. Our findings also reveal the challenges of a three-tiered federated system, where varying financial and authoritative capacities have influenced how different governments acknowledge and respond to population ageing. Notably, local governments—the main level of implementation targeted by the WHO—are invariably constrained in developing their own age-friendly policies and may opt to adopt those of higher levels of government instead. These challenges will likely impact other resource-limited governments in responding to the needs of their emerging ageing populations.</p>","PeriodicalId":46787,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Social Issues","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2022-10-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ajs4.240","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42101150","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Amy Conley Wright, Judith Cashmore, Sarah Wise, Clare Tilbury
While permanency planning has long been a feature of child protection policy and practice in Australia (Tilbury & Osmond, 2006), the concept has gained greater prominence in recent years through nationally coordinated efforts and legislative changes. Permanency planning is defined by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) as the ‘processes used by state and territory departments responsible for child protection to achieve a stable long-term care arrangement (which can be broadly grouped as reunification, third-party parental responsibility orders, long-term finalised guardianship/custody/care, and adoption)’ (2021b, p. 90). A central priority of the last National Framework for Protecting Australia's Children Fourth Action Plan (2018–2020) was ‘support[ing] better permanency options including…to reduce state guardianship for children who cannot be safely reunified with their families within a reasonable timeframe’ (Department of Social Services [DSS], 2019, p. 24).1 Over the last 5–10 years, states and territories have modified their child protection legislation to incorporate a range of legal orders, permanency hierarchies, and timeframes for decision-making about permanency options. These changes also appear in policy guidance.
‘Permanency’ is a term used in out-of-home care services to convey different ways of belonging, through emotionally connected and stable relationships, a secure home and a right to one's culture (Wright & Collings, 2021). Multiple dimensions of permanency are highlighted in the literature (Sanchez, 2004). Relational permanency is conceptualised as the emotional connection between the child and their caregiver, including dimensions of caregiver commitment, child's sense of belonging and caregiver's support for on-going relationships with birth family (Pérez, 2017). Others hold a broader view of relational permanency as encompassing the child's set of enduring, lifelong relationships with family members and other caring adults, including ‘at least one adult who will provide a permanent, parentlike connection for that youth’ (Jones & Laliberte, 2013, p. 509). Physical permanency (also described as ecological permanency) is associated with a stable residence where the child has an on-going home, with consistency in their other ecological contexts (e.g. schools, neighbourhood and religious communities) and the norms that govern daily living (Stott & Gustavsson, 2010). Legal permanency highlights legal recognition of the relationship between the child and their caregiver/s, with associated parental responsibilities, signifying that the ‘state’ is no longer the child's legal guardian. This legal relationship may be achieved through reunification with a parent; third-party permanency orders vesting parental authority to age 18 with kin or fost
长期以来,永久性规划一直是澳大利亚儿童保护政策和实践的特点(蒂尔伯里&Osmond, 2006),近年来,通过国家协调的努力和立法变化,这一概念获得了更大的突出地位。澳大利亚卫生和福利研究所(AIHW)将永久性规划定义为"负责儿童保护的州和地区部门为实现稳定的长期照料安排(可大致分为团聚、第三方父母责任令、长期最终监护/监护/照料和收养)所使用的程序" (2021b,第90页)。上一份《保护澳大利亚儿童国家框架第四个行动计划》(2018-2020年)的核心优先事项是“支持更好的永久性选择,包括……减少对无法在合理时间框架内安全与家人团聚的儿童的国家监护”(社会服务部,2019年,第24页)在过去的5-10年里,各州和地区修改了儿童保护立法,纳入了一系列法律命令、永久性等级制度和永久性选择决策的时间框架。这些变化也出现在政策指导上。“永久”是一个用于家庭外护理服务的术语,通过情感联系和稳定的关系,安全的家庭和对自己文化的权利来传达不同的归属感方式(Wright &冷却,2021)。在文献中强调了持久性的多个维度(Sanchez, 2004)。关系持久性被定义为儿童与其照顾者之间的情感联系,包括照顾者承诺、儿童的归属感和照顾者对与出生家庭持续关系的支持等维度(p<s:1> rez, 2017)。另一些人则对关系的持久性持更广泛的看法,认为它包括了孩子与家庭成员和其他有爱心的成年人之间的一系列持久的、终身的关系,包括“至少有一个成年人将为那个年轻人提供永久的、父母般的联系”(Jones &Laliberte, 2013, p. 509)。身体永久性(也被称为生态永久性)与一个稳定的住所有关,在那里孩子有一个持续的家,与他们的其他生态环境(例如学校、社区和宗教社区)和管理日常生活的规范保持一致(Stott &Gustavsson, 2010)。法律永久性强调了对儿童与其照顾者之间关系的法律承认,以及相关的父母责任,这表明“国家”不再是儿童的法定监护人。这种法律关系可以通过与父母团聚来实现;第三方永久性命令授予18岁儿童与亲属或寄养照料者的父母权力;或者通过监护或收养与照顾者建立新的法律关系(Freundlich et al., 2006)。文化永久性是北美第一民族学者的工作中出现的一个概念,他们注意到非土著家庭中被收养的土著儿童所面临的身份冲突(Sinclair, 2007),以及家庭外护理儿童从家庭和社区长老那里学习语言和文化传统的重要性(Bennett, 2015)。永久性的文化维度承认文化联系是一种保护因素,对儿童的最佳利益和情感发展至关重要(Bamblett, 2006)。它肯定了儿童实践其语言、信仰、价值观、符号和规范的文化权利(Blackstock et al., 2020),促进了文化认同。虽然澳大利亚立法承认持久性的这四个方面,但主要的政策和实践重点是法律持久性。根据这一波强调法律永久性的立法变化,越来越多的家庭外照料儿童被置于称为第三方永久性命令的法律命令之下。这些命令可能是短期的,也可能是长期的,将“法律赋予父母的义务、权力、责任和权力转移给法院认为合适的指定人员”(AIHW, 2021b,第87页)。根据管辖权的不同,第三方法律命令也可称为监护令或永久照顾令。根据这些命令,儿童的父母在法律上仍然得到承认,但不再保留其子女的监护权或监护权。相比之下,收养切断了孩子和父母之间的法律关系,与收养家庭建立了新的法律关系。收养更进一步,改变了18岁以上的家庭(包括兄弟姐妹)的法律关系,包括继承权和其他权利,并重新签发出生证明,将养父母包括在内。 大多数已知的从家庭外收养的儿童是在新南威尔士州(NSW)收养的;例如,在2020-2021年期间,该州有67 / 100的此类收养(AIHW, 2021a)。第三方永久性命令在各个司法管辖区比收养更为常见。截至2021年6月30日,46 200名儿童接受家庭外照料,9900名儿童接受第三方长期照料。在全国范围内,土著和托雷斯海峡岛民儿童接受家庭外照料(每1000人中有58人),比率是非土著儿童(每1000人中有5人)的10倍。土著和托雷斯海峡岛民儿童也比非土著儿童更有可能接受第三方订单:新南威尔士州的可能性几乎是8倍(10.1比1.3 / 1000)和维多利亚州(16.5比2.2 / 1000),昆士兰州的可能性是6倍(6.2比1.0 / 1000)(AIHW补充表T3, 2022)。大多数儿童(74.6%)来自人口最多的新南威尔士州(NSW)、昆士兰州和维多利亚州,这些州也占2021-22年所有第三方订单儿童的85% (AIHW, 2022)。尽管澳大利亚越来越多地使用第三方永久命令,但人们对这些法律命令对儿童的影响知之甚少。根据新的全国统一的计数规则,接受第三方订单的儿童不再被计入家庭外护理(AIHW, 2022),尽管通过法定的儿童保护干预剥夺了他们的家庭环境。一旦这些孩子退出正规教育体系,就很少或根本没有关于他们的数据。具体而言,虽然第三方永久性命令赋予照顾者法律责任,但很少有研究调查这在多大程度上导致儿童的长期照顾关系、连续性和文化联系(Rolock et al., 2018)。永久性的立法变化是在过去实践的阴影下发生的。强迫收养和“被偷走的一代”的明显破坏性后果突出表明,迫切需要了解第三方订购儿童的影响,并认识到对土著和托雷斯海峡岛民儿童和家庭的不成比例的影响。被收养的人受到强制态度和被称为强迫收养的做法的影响,他们报告了心理困扰和身份问题(Kenny et al., 2013)。以关心儿童福祉为幌子的“被偷走的一代”政策造成了个人和集体的创伤,并失去了与家庭和文化的联系(人权和平等机会委员会,1997年;牛顿,2019;Turnbull-Roberts et al., 2022)。“家庭事务”运动批评了立法对法律永久性的狭隘关注,而不是关系永久性和文化权利(SNAICC, 2021年)。《家庭即文化》报告还强调了新南威尔士州永久性立法缺乏对文化差异和土著亲属制度背景的认识(Davis, 2019年)。具体来说,土著亲属制度更具流动性和复杂性,分散了家庭和亲属之间照顾儿童的集体责任,为土著儿童提供了“在‘不同时间由许多亲戚和亲属’照顾时的永久性和稳定性”(戴维斯,2019年,第16页)。学者们质疑第三方永久订单提供与土著儿童福祉至关重要的家庭、社区和文化联系的能力(Krakouer等人,2018)。澳大利亚卫生和福利研究所报告了由非土著照料者照料的土著和托雷斯海峡岛民儿童的家庭外照料百分比(AIHW, 2021c),但没有报告接受第三方永久照料的儿童的百分比。本文对新南威尔士州、昆士兰州和维多利亚州关于第三方法律命令的儿童保护立法进行了比较分析,重点关注与获得支持、与亲生亲属联系以及与亲戚/亲属或寄养照料者安置有关的规定。它探讨了这些规定如何影响儿童生活的考虑因素,并为未来的研究提出了问题。在过去几年中,新南威尔士州、昆士兰州和维多利亚州的重大立法变化改变了关于家庭外照料儿童的法律永久性的规定。家庭保存或团聚(在新南威尔士州称为“恢复”)是优先选择,其次是向亲属或其他照顾者发出的第三方永
{"title":"Comparative analysis of third-party permanency orders legislation in Australia","authors":"Amy Conley Wright, Judith Cashmore, Sarah Wise, Clare Tilbury","doi":"10.1002/ajs4.237","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ajs4.237","url":null,"abstract":"<p>While permanency planning has long been a feature of child protection policy and practice in Australia (Tilbury & Osmond, <span>2006</span>), the concept has gained greater prominence in recent years through nationally coordinated efforts and legislative changes. Permanency planning is defined by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) as the ‘processes used by state and territory departments responsible for child protection to achieve a stable long-term care arrangement (which can be broadly grouped as reunification, third-party parental responsibility orders, long-term finalised guardianship/custody/care, and adoption)’ (<span>2021b</span>, p. 90). A central priority of the last <i>National Framework for Protecting Australia's Children Fourth Action Plan</i> (2018–2020) was ‘support[ing] better permanency options including…to reduce state guardianship for children who cannot be safely reunified with their families within a reasonable timeframe’ (Department of Social Services [DSS], <span>2019</span>, p. 24).<sup>1</sup> Over the last 5–10 years, states and territories have modified their child protection legislation to incorporate a range of legal orders, permanency hierarchies, and timeframes for decision-making about permanency options. These changes also appear in policy guidance.</p><p>‘Permanency’ is a term used in out-of-home care services to convey different ways of belonging, through emotionally connected and stable relationships, a secure home and a right to one's culture (Wright & Collings, <span>2021</span>). Multiple dimensions of permanency are highlighted in the literature (Sanchez, <span>2004</span>). <i>Relational permanency</i> is conceptualised as the emotional connection between the child and their caregiver, including dimensions of caregiver commitment, child's sense of belonging and caregiver's support for on-going relationships with birth family (Pérez, <span>2017</span>). Others hold a broader view of relational permanency as encompassing the child's set of enduring, lifelong relationships with family members and other caring adults, including ‘at least one adult who will provide a permanent, parentlike connection for that youth’ (Jones & Laliberte, <span>2013</span>, p. 509). <i>Physical permanency</i> (also described as <i>ecological permanency</i>) is associated with a stable residence where the child has an on-going home, with consistency in their other ecological contexts (e.g. schools, neighbourhood and religious communities) and the norms that govern daily living (Stott & Gustavsson, <span>2010</span>). <i>Legal permanency</i> highlights legal recognition of the relationship between the child and their caregiver/s, with associated parental responsibilities, signifying that the ‘state’ is no longer the child's legal guardian. This legal relationship may be achieved through reunification with a parent; third-party permanency orders vesting parental authority to age 18 with kin or fost","PeriodicalId":46787,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Social Issues","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2022-09-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ajs4.237","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44713262","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The Australian disability workforce has grown, and there is compelling evidence that peer work has a number of valuable impacts. Despite these apparent opportunities, there continue to be high levels of unemployment among people with disability and failure to draw on the assets of people with disability in Australian workplaces. To understand these ostensible missed opportunities, this study examined the ways in which lived experience was described as an asset in disability workforce recruitment. Advertisements for positions in New South Wales, Australia, that referred to lived experience or peer work and disability were collected over a 3-month period. Through a process of content analysis, we found that there were more employment opportunities for people with lived experience of mental illness than for other types of disability. Community engagement was a key function, and peer workers were described as complementary to professionals. Recruitment processes for lived experience jobs were not necessarily accessible. We recommend systemic reforms to facilitate recognition of lived experience as a valuable criterion for disability sector employment and to harness the benefits of a disability peer workforce.
{"title":"(Under)valuing lived experience in the disability workforce: A snapshot of Australian job recruitment","authors":"Kate Davies, Katie Butler","doi":"10.1002/ajs4.238","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ajs4.238","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The Australian disability workforce has grown, and there is compelling evidence that peer work has a number of valuable impacts. Despite these apparent opportunities, there continue to be high levels of unemployment among people with disability and failure to draw on the assets of people with disability in Australian workplaces. To understand these ostensible missed opportunities, this study examined the ways in which lived experience was described as an asset in disability workforce recruitment. Advertisements for positions in New South Wales, Australia, that referred to lived experience or peer work and disability were collected over a 3-month period. Through a process of content analysis, we found that there were more employment opportunities for people with lived experience of mental illness than for other types of disability. Community engagement was a key function, and peer workers were described as complementary to professionals. Recruitment processes for lived experience jobs were not necessarily accessible. We recommend systemic reforms to facilitate recognition of lived experience as a valuable criterion for disability sector employment and to harness the benefits of a disability peer workforce.</p>","PeriodicalId":46787,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Social Issues","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2022-09-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ajs4.238","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41664927","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
School closures across Australia in response to COVID-19 have persisted since 2020, with rising mental health problems in children and adolescents, alongside rising negative family health and socioeconomic outcomes. Further, some children and young people who were already experiencing disadvantage pre-pandemic may be at heightened risk of poorer educational outcomes. Therefore, the aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review of the literature to identify the factors for poorer educational outcomes that may be exacerbated by COVID-19 amongst disadvantaged school students. Key development stages of disadvantage were identified: young children who started school behind, older students already at risk of disengagement from school and children and young people who have had contact with the child protection system. Five databases were systematically searched, across two search periods. A total of 69 Australian, peer-reviewed articles, published in 2005–2021, examining risk factors for poor educational outcomes for children attending school met the inclusion criteria and were included in final analyses. Our findings provide evidence of key risk factors that make these populations susceptible to worsening outcomes resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, and of the critical importance of ongoing research to guide policy and practice support for these at-risk groups.
{"title":"Identifying factors for poorer educational outcomes that may be exacerbated by COVID-19: A systematic review focussing on at-risk school children and adolescents","authors":"Laetitia Coles, Melissa Johnstone, Cassandra Pattinson, Karen Thorpe, Olivia Van Halen, Zhaoxi Zheng, Olivia Bayliss, Nicole Lakeman, Mark Western, Jenny Povey, Sally Staton","doi":"10.1002/ajs4.236","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ajs4.236","url":null,"abstract":"<p>School closures across Australia in response to COVID-19 have persisted since 2020, with rising mental health problems in children and adolescents, alongside rising negative family health and socioeconomic outcomes. Further, some children and young people who were already experiencing disadvantage pre-pandemic may be at heightened risk of poorer educational outcomes. Therefore, the aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review of the literature to identify the factors for poorer educational outcomes that may be exacerbated by COVID-19 amongst disadvantaged school students. Key development stages of disadvantage were identified: young children who started school behind, older students already at risk of disengagement from school and children and young people who have had contact with the child protection system. Five databases were systematically searched, across two search periods. A total of 69 Australian, peer-reviewed articles, published in 2005–2021, examining risk factors for poor educational outcomes for children attending school met the inclusion criteria and were included in final analyses. Our findings provide evidence of key risk factors that make these populations susceptible to worsening outcomes resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, and of the critical importance of ongoing research to guide policy and practice support for these at-risk groups.</p>","PeriodicalId":46787,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Social Issues","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2022-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ajs4.236","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45425560","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Elroy Dearn, Paul Ramcharan, Penelope Weller, Lisa Brophy, Katherine Johnson
A policy norm enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2006 reflected in Australia's National Disability Insurance Scheme is for people with psychosocial and other disabilities to have choice and control over their lives and not to live in institutional settings. In Australia, private congregate care settings remain in most states and territories, yet are not recognised as institutional settings in policy or academic literature. This recognition is long overdue and is the focus of this article. The article reports on findings from an ethnographic study in a type of private congregate care setting in Victoria—supported residential services (SRS). Adopting criteria adopted by Davies (1989) from Goffman's notion of “total institution,” observations and interviews with 12 residents with psychosocial disability are analysed. These settings are found to meet many of the criteria for total institution. This finding has two critical implications for policy and practice. First, the extent to which institutionalisation in SRS impacts on the choices residents are able to make. Second, the extent to which independent support and advocacy are needed to ensure residents can exercise choice and control over their lives to find pathways out of SRS.
{"title":"Supported residential services as a type of “total institution”: Implications for the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)","authors":"Elroy Dearn, Paul Ramcharan, Penelope Weller, Lisa Brophy, Katherine Johnson","doi":"10.1002/ajs4.233","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ajs4.233","url":null,"abstract":"<p>A policy norm enshrined in the United Nations <i>Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2006</i> reflected in Australia's National Disability Insurance Scheme is for people with psychosocial and other disabilities to have choice and control over their lives and not to live in institutional settings. In Australia, private congregate care settings remain in most states and territories, yet are not recognised as institutional settings in policy or academic literature. This recognition is long overdue and is the focus of this article. The article reports on findings from an ethnographic study in a type of private congregate care setting in Victoria—supported residential services (SRS). Adopting criteria adopted by Davies (1989) from Goffman's notion of “total institution,” observations and interviews with 12 residents with psychosocial disability are analysed. These settings are found to meet many of the criteria for total institution. This finding has two critical implications for policy and practice. First, the extent to which institutionalisation in SRS impacts on the choices residents are able to make. Second, the extent to which independent support and advocacy are needed to ensure residents can exercise choice and control over their lives to find pathways out of SRS.</p>","PeriodicalId":46787,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Social Issues","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2022-09-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ajs4.233","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47519773","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Changes in the working, study and social lives of emerging adults due to the COVID-19 pandemic have led to greater need for external supports. Many who lived independently may have sought that support by returning to live with parents. This study identifies factors associated with returns made between 2019 and 2020. It describes supports needed and obtained, relationships between parents and their resident emerging adults and identifies correlates of poor coping and high psychological distress. Data from the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth and the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children were used and showed half of the emerging adults who moved did so due to COVID-19 restrictions. Loss of work and increased need for emotional and financial support were key drivers of moves. Nineteen per cent who returned found spending more time with family difficult and over half did not have their support needs fully met, increasing their odds of poor coping at that time (OR = 2.9, 4.3, respectively) and subsequent psychological distress (OR = 6.0). Families were an important source of support but could not necessarily mitigate all challenges; for some emerging adults, returning to live with parents gave rise to additional difficulties which negatively affected mental health.
{"title":"Returning to the nest: Emerging adults living with parents during the COVID-19 pandemic","authors":"Jennifer Prattley, Tracy Evans-Whipp, Karlee O'Donnell, Clement Wong, Brendan Quinn, Bosco Rowland","doi":"10.1002/ajs4.235","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ajs4.235","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Changes in the working, study and social lives of emerging adults due to the COVID-19 pandemic have led to greater need for external supports. Many who lived independently may have sought that support by returning to live with parents. This study identifies factors associated with returns made between 2019 and 2020. It describes supports needed and obtained, relationships between parents and their resident emerging adults and identifies correlates of poor coping and high psychological distress. Data from the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth and the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children were used and showed half of the emerging adults who moved did so due to COVID-19 restrictions. Loss of work and increased need for emotional and financial support were key drivers of moves. Nineteen per cent who returned found spending more time with family difficult and over half did not have their support needs fully met, increasing their odds of poor coping at that time (OR = 2.9, 4.3, respectively) and subsequent psychological distress (OR = 6.0). Families were an important source of support but could not necessarily mitigate all challenges; for some emerging adults, returning to live with parents gave rise to additional difficulties which negatively affected mental health.</p>","PeriodicalId":46787,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Social Issues","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2022-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9538216/pdf/AJS4-9999-0.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"33514749","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Young people tend to bear the brunt of adverse employment consequences of a crisis due mainly to the precarious nature of their job and their over-representation among jobseekers who are having to find employment when jobs are scarce. Using quarterly welfare payment data for the period 2019–2021 from the Department of Social Services, we noted a marked increase in the percentage of 16- to 21-year-olds who received youth allowance (other) payments. While a greater proportion of Indigenous youth than non-Indigenous youth received the payments from 2019 to 2021, the gap widened following the outbreak of the pandemic. Further, applying regression analysis to data from the 2019 and 2020 waves of the 2015 Cohort of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Youth (LSAY), we find no statistically significant change in individual-level labour force status between 2019 and 2020. However, pandemic-induced labour market crises appear to have been associated with reduced work hours, heightened career concerns and sustained nonemployment, where potential impacts are larger among traditionally vulnerable youth groups such as female, Indigenous and overseas-born young persons. The study highlights the need for recognising the intersectionality of youth and other forms of identity (such as gender, Indigenous status and nativity) while designing labour market policies.
{"title":"Young Australians' labour market engagement and job aspiration in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic","authors":"Yonatan Dinku, Mandy Yap","doi":"10.1002/ajs4.234","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ajs4.234","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Young people tend to bear the brunt of adverse employment consequences of a crisis due mainly to the precarious nature of their job and their over-representation among jobseekers who are having to find employment when jobs are scarce. Using quarterly welfare payment data for the period 2019–2021 from the Department of Social Services, we noted a marked increase in the percentage of 16- to 21-year-olds who received youth allowance (other) payments. While a greater proportion of Indigenous youth than non-Indigenous youth received the payments from 2019 to 2021, the gap widened following the outbreak of the pandemic. Further, applying regression analysis to data from the 2019 and 2020 waves of the 2015 Cohort of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Youth (LSAY), we find no statistically significant change in individual-level labour force status between 2019 and 2020. However, pandemic-induced labour market crises appear to have been associated with reduced work hours, heightened career concerns and sustained nonemployment, where potential impacts are larger among traditionally vulnerable youth groups such as female, Indigenous and overseas-born young persons. The study highlights the need for recognising the intersectionality of youth and other forms of identity (such as gender, Indigenous status and nativity) while designing labour market policies.</p>","PeriodicalId":46787,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Social Issues","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2022-09-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45303406","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-09-01Epub Date: 2022-05-30DOI: 10.1002/ajs4.220
Bruce Keith Tranter
While many Australians agree with the need for COVID-19 restrictions and lockdowns, a vocal minority of citizens loudly voice opposition to government restrictions, characterised as impositions on 'free speech' and impacting the Australian economy. National data from the 2020/21 Australian Survey of Social and Attitudes and Tasmanian survey data enable an examination of those who support or oppose health initiatives aimed at minimising the impact of the pandemic. The majority of Australians believed government imposed restrictions were 'about right', although women were more likely than men to be concerned about the health implications of COVID-19. Tasmanian data show that controlling for social background, those who prioritise the economy are less likely than those concerned about the health implications of COVID-19 to wear masks in public, less likely to be tested in case they have to self-isolate, less likely to check in, and less likely to be vaccinated. Alternatively, higher trust in university research, and trust in scientists as a source of information about COVID-19 was positively associated with attitudes and behaviour designed to reduce the transmission of COVID-19.
{"title":"Your money or your life? Public support for health initiatives during the COVID-19 pandemic.","authors":"Bruce Keith Tranter","doi":"10.1002/ajs4.220","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ajs4.220","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>While many Australians agree with the need for COVID-19 restrictions and lockdowns, a vocal minority of citizens loudly voice opposition to government restrictions, characterised as impositions on 'free speech' and impacting the Australian economy. National data from the 2020/21 Australian Survey of Social and Attitudes and Tasmanian survey data enable an examination of those who support or oppose health initiatives aimed at minimising the impact of the pandemic. The majority of Australians believed government imposed restrictions were 'about right', although women were more likely than men to be concerned about the health implications of COVID-19. Tasmanian data show that controlling for social background, those who prioritise the economy are less likely than those concerned about the health implications of COVID-19 to wear masks in public, less likely to be tested in case they have to self-isolate, less likely to check in, and less likely to be vaccinated. Alternatively, higher trust in university research, and trust in scientists as a source of information about COVID-19 was positively associated with attitudes and behaviour designed to reduce the transmission of COVID-19.</p>","PeriodicalId":46787,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Social Issues","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2022-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9348312/pdf/AJS4-57-544.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40612262","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}