Lynne McPherson

Southern Cross University · Social Work, School of Arts and Social Sciences

This report describes the research process, findings and implications of a scoping review undertaken by academics from the Social Work and Community Welfare Discipline, Faculty of Health, Southern Cross University (SCU). The review was undertaken on behalf of UnitingCare and the Community Services Industry Alliance (CSIA). The purpose of the report...

Children with disabilities in out-of-home care (OOHC) are an overrepresented group in Australia, yet little is known about their circumstances, needs, and experiences within OOHC. Utilising a systematic scoping review methodology, we explored the state of knowledge about the experiences of children and young people with a disability in out-of-home...

This paper reports the findings of a project that conducted a rapid review of evidence regarding assessment and intervention approaches responding to children and young people who engage in harmful sexual behaviors. A literature review was conducted using a systematic search of academic databases and consultation with subject matter experts. The pr...

Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a significant public health problem, impacting individuals, families and communities across the lifespan. This systematic scoping review aimed to identify practices associated with the prevention of CSA before it happens using the PRISMA method (Moher et al., 2009). Nine databases were searched for empirical literature,...

Assumptions and worldviews shape social work research, particularly when influenced by settler colonialism in contemporary Australia. This article explores experiences from graduate research drawing on Ruch’s model of reflective learning and Fook and Gardner’s action-orientated approach to critical reflection. Written following PhD completion, it i...

Young people who are placed in out-of-home care are amongst the most vulnerable in our community. Removed from or rejected by their families, they must learn to live with carers who may be strangers. They may have experienced the trauma of abuse or neglect. Post care, they may experience further social isolation and marginalisation due to limited s...

Social work education is responsible for developing graduates who can practice resilience in an increasingly complex and stressful human services environment. Resilience is a frequently used concept in social work, however, its application is diverse, and meaning lacks clarity. In-depth interviews were undertaken with 23 Australian Master of Social...

When children cannot live at home with their parents, a placement with relatives or family friends has become a preferred first option in many Western countries in out-of-home care systems. Whilst practised by Indigenous communities for centuries, this is a relatively new model of out-of-home care in Western child welfare systems. Kinship care has...

This paper presents a case study that discusses the lived experiences of two LGBTIQA+ young people who have been in out-of-home care in Australia, focusing particularly on the influence of relationships on their developing sexual identity. Utilising a secure base theoretical perspective, we argue that how young people experience support, care and s...

This study explored the experiences of skilled African immigrants in Australia. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 27 individuals from different sub-Saharan African countries currently residing in South Australia. The findings report on the experiences of change, cultural identity, diasporic identities, employment, negotiating family dy...

More than three decades ago, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child signalled to an international audience that all children under the age of 18 years are to be regarded as having certain rights. These rights include the right to be actively involved in decisions that affect their lives. In spite of this international obligation,...

The devastating international health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is reported on a daily basis in terms of newly acquired infections and mortality rates. What is less visible are the social and emotional implications of the virus, in particular the impact of requirements to remain socially isolated and in some circumstances to self-isolate or se...

Social work practitioners are called on to be resilient in an increasingly complex and challenging human service environment. This study presents the results of a systematic scoping review aimed at understanding the role of social work education in developing students’ professional resilience in preparation for their future social work practice. Th...

Chronic staff shortages and high rates of turnover in child protection programs create opportunities for social work mobility across the world. Australian child protection departments actively recruit social workers from the United Kingdom and Ireland. This strategy may cause tension relating to the application of known Western social work practice...

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Australia noted that child sexual exploitation (CSE) was a significant issue of concern for children and young people in residential care, as increasing rates of sexual abuse and exploitation are continually reported. Employing a systematic scoping methodology, this review e...

The literature on how young people participate in decision-making in residential care identifies three main aspects of participation: being able to access information to take part in decisions that matter; having opportunities and capabilities to express their views freely; and having an impact on the outcome of the decision-making process (Bessell...

In Australia and internationally, Indigenous children are seriously overrepresented in the child welfare system. This article provides an overview of literature investigating the needs of Indigenous children in residential care facilities. The provision of culturally safe and trauma-informed therapeutic care to Indigenous children and young people...

This paper discusses two key strategies detailing how “relationship-focused” and “trauma-informed” intervention practices, which form the basis of an Australian therapeutic program called Treatment and Care for Kids (TrACK), made a difference in the lives of highly traumatised children. The TrACK program fosters highly traumatised children who, due...

This article explores the experience and influence of place amongst transnational social workers. The concept of ‘place’ may be perceived as quietly existing in the background of everyday social work practice. Yet, transnational social workers in this study tell a different story about what happens to the role of place when social workers become gl...

The experience of loss and grief affects migrating social workers who enter an unfamiliar child protection environment. This paper highlights themes that emerged from the narratives of 13 transnational social workers, who were educated and practised in the United Kingdom or Ireland before being recruited to Australia’s statutory child protection wo...

There is now considerable evidence to suggest that children placed in foster care experience greater levels of adversity compared to those in the general population. Early adversity has been shown to continue across the lifespan: those who have experienced the sustained trauma of threat or deprivation have a range of poor life outcomes including ho...

Based on the eight themes emerging from this study and an analysis of the available research evidence, an Integrated Model of Supervision has been developed that incorporates five critical dimensions of supervision. In the context of traumatising and at times chaotic frontline practice, effective supervision is that which holds the vulnerable child...

Effective child protection supervisors are involved in maximising the potential of their supervisees by inspiring them to learn and strengthening their capacity. In the IMS, knowledge and skill development encompass themes of learning and growth, expert theoretical knowledge of practice, supervision and leadership, knowing policy and procedure and...

Here we look at definitions of supervision and the way in which it has been conceptualised across the helping professions, in social work and in child protection. A critique of the context within which contemporary supervision takes place follows and will enable readers to locate their workplace issues within contemporary paradigms. Four key themes...

Evidence has shown that effective supervision is facilitated by a “safe” supervisory relationship. This fifth dimension of the IMS is also underpinned by developing knowledge about the neurobiology of relationship, which highlights the need to build trust between the supervisor and supervisee, and minimise perceived or actual threat. The guiding pr...

Advocacy is a proactive function involving the identification and analysis of critical practice, personnel and policy issues that require the supervisor to act as an “agent of change”. This chapter defines advocacy within the context of the IMS, outlining three levels of advocacy through which supervisors can establish themselves as effective in th...

The IMS is a model that fundamentally builds on professional values, including respect for human dignity and worth, professional integrity and the importance of social justice and fairness. These core values are implicit to social work practice broadly and to child protection in particular. In this final chapter we reflect on the model and its appl...

Supervisor leadership behaviours that facilitate good practice were identified by research respondents as inspirational and sustaining, especially leadership behaviours that promoted social justice, and hence social work, values. As managers, effective supervisors create and maintain efficient operating systems, striving to balance the five dimensi...

This chapter summarises the findings of this research, introducing eight key themes highlighting “what works” in supervision. The voices of the research participants offer their wisdom in this chapter, bringing hope and inspiration, and illuminating the themes as they are presented.

The primary objective of supervision, to focus on the child, is also the first dimension of the IMS, placing the child at the heart of the supervisory relationship. However, the child is not viewed in isolation, but in the context of their family and community. Whilst the other four dimensions of supervision focus on creating safety, developing kno...

Supervisors of child protection practice face challenges stemming from the inevitable role tension, role ambiguity and demands from key stakeholders for ‘evidence based’ practice. The emotionally charged nature of the work adds a dimension of complexity to supervision. The Integrative Model of Supervision is introduced as a framework which identifi...

Internationally, child welfare services experience chronic workforce shortages and high rates of staff turnover. One strategy adopted to fill critical workforce gaps is the international recruitment of social workers. Child welfare employers in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom have a shared tradition of recruiting transnational social...

This article examines the risks associated with conceptualizing the child athlete’s body primarily in aesthetic terms and as an instrument of sporting victory, and develops a concept of “athletic objectification.” It draws on a recent research project involving Australian males and females aged between 18 and 25 who participated in organized sport...

How best to support children and young people in foster care remains a challenge for child welfare. There has been little Australian research on the outcomes for children and young people placed in therapeutic foster care (TFC). This article aims to address this knowledge gap, presenting the evaluation of a state-wide model of TFC known as the Circ...

Child and family practice and child protection are extraordinarily complex. They require in-depth understanding of intra- and inter-personal skills and intricate service systems, and capacity to operate in a constantly changing policy environment. One way of meeting the needs of such practitioners is facilitating their access to experts working acr...

Over the past two decades there has been a growing awareness that sport may not be a positive experience for all children. For example, we know that some children experience sexual abuse in the context of organised sport, and that these offences are often committed by trusted adults, including coaches and club officials. However, less attention has...

A significant proportion of young people in Australia are currently not being engaged in school and other social systems. This article presents the results of a mixed-methods study of a pilot Family Wellbeing intervention designed to enhance the social and emotional wellbeing (SEWB) of young Aboriginal men and improve engagement in education, emplo...

Australia is known as a ‘sporting nation’ and sport is central to its cultural identity. Children’s participation in leisure activities, including sport, is considered to be of such importance that it is enshrined as an international human right. There is a growing awareness, however, that children’s experience of sport is not always positive and t...

Internationally, children's participation in leisure activities, including sport, is considered to be of such importance that it is enshrined as a human right. However, there is a growing awareness that children's experience of sport is not always benign; abuse and harm frequently occur within a broad range of organised sport contexts. This systema...

Child and family practice is recognised as a field of social work that has become increasingly complex. While evidence is growing in relation to effective supervision, there has been little research about the attributes of an effective supervisor, or the components of effective supervision. This paper reports on research undertaken in Victoria, Aus...

Kinship-care placements in Australia are now more prevalent than foster care and are the fastest growing form of out-of-home care in this country (AIHW, 2014). On 30 June 2013, 93% of Australian children in out-of-home care were in home-based care, with 43% of these in foster care and 48% in relative/kinship care (AIHW, 2014). The past decade has s...

International adoption has been a significant part of South Korea’s response to displaced or unwanted children since the 1960s. This paper discusses the growing concern prompted by Korea’s continuing reliance on international adoption, and highlights the emerging range of alternative options for children’s care. The paper explores the impact of tra...

This research contributes to new knowledge on the demonstrable effectiveness of therapeutic approaches to foster care

Statutory child protection is arguably one of the most complex and challenging areas of work within the welfare sector. In the state of Victoria, Australia, the child protection service is delivered by a state government department, the Department of Human Services, employing over 900 staff. A significant proportion of its recruitment is achieved t...

Working from a background in child protective intervention and staff training and development, the authors sought to address two commonly reported deficits in child protection – the lack of a risk management framework and failures in interagency collaboration. This paper reports their approach to locating a risk and safety factor matrix and their e...