TY  - SER
AU  - O'Donnell, Melissa
AU  - Lima, Fernando
AU  - Maclean, Miriam
AU  - Marriott, Rhonda
AU  - Taplin, Stephanie
TI  - Infant and pre-birth involvement with child protection across Australia
PY  - 2023///
PB  - Sage, 
KW  - ABORIGINAL & TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER PEOPLES
KW  - CHILD ABUSE
KW  - CHILD PROTECTION
KW  - OUT OF HOME CARE
KW  - INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
KW  - INFANTS
KW  - IWI TAKETAKE
KW  - SOCIAL SERVICES
KW  - STATISTICS
KW  - INTERNATIONAL
KW  - AUSTRALIA
N1  - Child Maltreatment, 2023, First published online, 29 June 2023
N2  - Infants (<1 year old) are the age group in Australia with the highest rate of involvement with child protection. Many jurisdictions across Australia and internationally are implementing policies focused on prenatal planning and targeted support.

This study investigates Australian trends in prenatal and infant child protection notifications, substantiations and out-of-home care; and the extent of over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander infants. Data was provided by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare for the period 1 July 2012-30 June 2019. Univariate Poisson regression analysis was conducted, reporting the percentage change in the incidence rate ratios.
All Australian jurisdictions who collect and approved release of prenatal notification data experienced increases in the rates of children with prenatal notifications, with a 4% (IRR: 1.04(1.04–1.05)) overall increase per year across Australia. Approximately 33% of children had substantiated prenatal notifications. Rates of infant notifications and entry to care in Australia increased overall by 3% (IRR:1.03(1.03–1.04)) and 2% per year (IRR:1.02(1.01–1.03)), respectively.
With rising numbers of families reported prenatally and during infancy, greater evidence of the effectiveness of policies, interventions and outcomes for children and families is required. (Authors' abstract). Record #8263
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1177/10775595231186647
ER  -