000 02978nab a22003497a 4500
999 _c9171
_d9171
005 20250625151726.0
008 250313s2025 -nz|| |||| 00| 0 eng d
040 _aAFVC
100 _aKeddell, Emily
_94218
245 _a'If you thought it was going to make a difference, you'd do it straight away ’:
_bschool staff decisions to report to child protection
_cEmily Keddell, Sarah Colhoun, Pauline Norris and Esther Willing
260 _bWiley,
_c2025
490 0 _aChild & Family Social Work
500 _aChild & Family Social Work, 2025, First published online, 18 February 2025
520 _achool staff make reports of concern to child protection agencies when they have concerns about child abuse and neglect. This decision has significant consequences for children, parents and communities, and for the data reports generate. Decisions occur within an ecological system context containing external, organisational, case and decision-maker factors. This article reports on the findings of qualitative interviews with school staff in Aotearoa New Zealand regarding their reporting rationales. Findings show that judgement processes were embedded in the relationships participants had with parents and children. This improved information quality, the tailoring and acceptance of supports and understandings of risks and protective factors. Participants preferred to ‘support not report’ until a tipping point was reached. Perceptions of engagement, the availability of community support services and values influenced tipping points. Service availability differed by the socioeconomic position of the school, affecting threshold decisions. The threshold for report acceptance by Oranga Tamariki (statutory agency) was perceived as increasing, which, combined with bureaucratic problems, reduced confidence in reporting, created ethical conflicts and reduced reporting. A changing policy orientation towards family preservation has resulted in a reconstruction of the statutory role, but little increase of support service resources, nor a robust discussion about power, in the community sector. Implications for families, inequities, system design and research are discussed. (Authors' abstract). Record #9171
610 0 _97316
_aOranga Tamariki, Ministry for Children
650 _aATTITUDES
_970
650 _aCHILD ABUSE
_9103
650 _aKURA TUATAHI
_913798
650 _aKURA KAUPAPA MĀORI
_97623
650 _aMĀORI
_9357
650 _aPATU TAMARIKI
_95534
650 _aSCHOOLS
_9515
650 _aSOCIAL SERVICES
_9555
650 _aTOKO I TE ORA
_95247
651 _aNEW ZEALAND
_92588
700 _aColhoun, Sarah
_912761
700 _aNorris, Pauline
_912762
700 _aWilling, Esther
_912384
773 0 _tChild & Family Social Work, 2025, First published online, 18 February 2025
856 _uhttps://doi.org/10.1111/cfs.13285
_zdoi: 10.1111/cfs.13285 (Open access)
942 _2ddc
_cARTICLE
_hnews132