Developing child-informed indicators of quality in child protection and MAP

Investigators

Associate Professor Tim Moore, Dr Mary Ann Powell, Lottie Harris (Institute of Child Protection Studies, Australian Catholic University)

Funding

ACT Community Services Directorate

Aims

• Develop indicators that reflect children's perspectives and experiences within child protection services.
• Assess child protection outcomes, including wellbeing, safety, and family engagement.
• Enhance accountability, transparency, and continuous improvement in child protection practices.

Background

Child protection services often prioritise procedural metrics over measuring long-term outcomes for children in state care. Traditional measures lack the inclusion of children's perspectives, which are critical for meaningful reform. This project seeks to address these shortcomings.

Project details

The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Government Community Services Directorate engaged the Institute of Child Protection Studies to develop indicators informed by the insights and needs of children and their families, to use in the assessment and improvement of quality of child protection services, thereby fostering a child-centred and effective service model.

Insights learned from stakeholder workshops and interviews and a range of other activities (see methods below) will deepen our understanding of quality in child protection service delivery and identify the utility and feasibility of child-informed indicators.

Method

1. Project establishment: Define project scope, gain approvals, engage stakeholders and form Project Steering Committee.
2. Literature review and stakeholder interviews: Identify innovative models of child and youth participation and explore best practices for child-informed methodologies.
3. Literature review: Identify and analyse indicators that are most effective in guiding and monitoring quality in child welfare practice.
4. Mapping of existing indicators used in child protection service delivery, across Australian State and Territory jurisdictions and in other relevant fields.
5. Conduct interviews, surveys, and focus groups: Engage with children, youth, and families to gather perspectives on service quality and improvements.
6. Indicator development: Synthesize findings to create reliable and actionable child-informed indicators of quality in collaboration with stakeholders.

Projected community impact

We hope that this project will lead to a number of important outcomes, including:

• Child protections agencies, service providers and policymakers will gain a validated set of child-informed indicators tailored for child protection services, for use to enhance service quality and foster greater accountability.
• Children and young people will be empowered as active contributors to their care decisions.
• Ultimately, improved wellbeing and satisfaction among children and families engaged with child protection systems.

Publications

Expected outputs include journal articles, research reports and guidance for implementing child-informed indicators to improve child protection service delivery.

Project timeline

Began in 2023 and in progress

Contact

For more information contact: icps@acu.edu.au