Event Details

DSI Distinguished Speaker Talk - Stephanie Taplin and Melissa O'Donnell Title: Using multiple data sources to explore child protection involvement in pregnancy and infancy in Australia

Abstract Perinatal child protection is a highly complex and emotive issue in Australia and internationally. The SIB (State Intervention with Babies) study was undertaken to help our understanding of the nature, extent and impact of prenatal reporting and infant removals in Australia. Multiple data sources were accessed and collected as part of this study. We conducted qualitative interviews with parents who were involved with child protection from pregnancy, and their service providers; we extracted and analysed court file records where infants had been removed; we accessed linked data from a longitudinal study of infants entering the care system: and analysed national administrative data on prenatal reports and infant removals. The use of these multiple data sources has produced a detailed picture of parents and infants in the care system, has included the voice of those affected by child protection processes, allows for policy and practice implications to be explored, and for comparisons of the similarities and differences with the UK and elsewhere. Our presentation will discuss these issues and findings from the study.

Associate Professor Melissa O’Donnell - Deputy Director, Australian Centre for Child Protection

Associate Professor Melissa O’Donnell is Deputy Director at the Australian Centre for Child Protection, University of South Australia. Melissa is an internationally recognised researcher in the area of child maltreatment and children and families facing adversity. Melissa collaborates with both government and non-government agencies to provide evidence to inform policy and practice to improve child and family outcomes.

Dr Stephanie Taplin - Adjunct Associate Professor, School of Public Health, University of Technology Sydney

Friend of the Data Science Institute, Lancaster University

Associate Professor Stephanie Taplin has an Adjunct appointment in the School of Public Health and is a friend of the Data Sciences Institute. She was most recently an Associate Professor at ACU's Institute of Child Protection Studies. Stephanie is recognised for her research in the child protection field, in particular: (i) parental substance-using and other at-risk mothers, and their involvement with the child protection system, (ii) prenatal reporting and infant entries to out-of-home care (OOHC), and (iii) parental contact with children in OOHC. Stephanie has also undertaken research exploring decision-making in relation to children participating in research studies. Her research focuses on contributing to the research evidence, and on improving policy and practice in child protection.