Infant and Pre-birth Involvement With Child Protection Across Australia

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.

Citation:
O’Donnell M, Lima F, Maclean M, Marriott R, Taplin S. Infant and Pre-birth Involvement With Child Protection Across Australia. Child Maltreatmet. 2023

Keywords:
Child maltreatment; child protective services; infants; longitudinal research; path analysis; quantitative research

Abstract:
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.