In Focus, May 2016

"Child maltreatment and the provision of effective child care and protection services are a topical issue worldwide. Child care and protection services are focused on responding to increasing demand and pressure on the system, and improving the outcomes of children in care. To address these issues, child care and protection services have undergone recent reforms that have changed their focus, function and delivery. This In Focus is based on a report prepared by the University of New South Wales – Modernising Child Protection in New Zealand: Learning from system reforms in other jurisdictions. It presents an overview of the key challenges and priority focus areas for child care and protection services in other jurisdictions (#5071). Child protection agencies included in this review have common issues and relatively similar responses to them. An opportunity for cross-jurisdiction learning exists. However, effective policy and service delivery responses must be tailored to meet the specific requirements of each jurisdiction. (From the publication). Record #5070