2024 Annual Report : simplebooklet.com

Acknowledgment Of CountryWe respectfully acknowledge the Kaurna and Whadjuk NoongarAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and their Elders pastand present, who are the Aboriginal and Torres Strait IslanderTraditional Owners of the lands that are now home to the AustralianCentre for Child Protection’s offices in Adelaide and Perth. We are honoured to recognise our connection to the Kaurna andWhadjuk Noongar lands, and Aboriginal Peoples’ history, cultureand spirituality through these locations, and we strive to ensure thatwe operate in a manner which respects their Elders and ancestors. We also acknowledge the other Aboriginal and Torres Strait IslanderPeople of lands across Australia where we undertake our work, theirElders, ancestors, cultures and heritage.

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+249MEDIACOVERAGE+29NEW & CONTINUINGPROJECTS+1,921NEW LINKEDINFOLLOWERSAt this 20-yearmilestone, we believeour work to this pointdemonstrates the needto reimagine andtransform our childprotection systems thatare no longer fit forpurpose.From the DirectorThis year marked a significant milestone - 20 years ofthe Australian Centre for Child Protection (ACCP).In 2004, the Australian Government and the University of South Australiajointly established the ACCP, to be the national centre for creating andtranslating evidence into practice to better prevent and respond to childabuse and neglect. We have grown over the last 2 decades into Australia’slargest centre of its type, through cutting-edge research and new knowledgegeneration across policy, practice and workforce development. 2024 was not only a milestone for achieving 20 years of the ACCP but it wasalso another busy and successful year with the awarding of important newprojects including Dr Jacynta Krakouer’s Australian Research CouncilIndigenous Discovery Grant to investigate the rates of removals of Aboriginalchildren and Professor Melissa O’Donnell’s Discovery Grant focused onfamilies with multiple and complex needs. Amanda Paton also led workshopsin Singapore on Harmful Sexual Behaviours, our online courses continued tosupport workforces across Australia, and I continued to work with the SouthAustralian Government to lead the state child protection transformationagenda. Our work across these and many other areas continues into 2025 andbeyond.Professor Leah Bromfield,Director and Chair ofChild Protection03

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2024 New InitiativesLED displaycelebrating 20 years of theACCP on UniSA’s Bradley BuildingLaunch of ACCP LinkedInA new platform for connecting to ourpartners, friends and followers. By the endof 2024, we reached 1,921 followerslinkedin.com/ACCPUniSAIncreased Reach andAccessibility of EducationLaunched the online Professional Certificatein Understanding Childhood Trauma, to beaccessible to the workforce across Australia.Appointment of the SouthAustralian Child ProtectionExpert GroupChair Professor Leah Bromfield and 15national experts were appointed to assist theSouth Australian government in developingand driving a long-term vision to transformthe state’s child protection system, and towork towards improved outcomes forchildren and young people.Improved Reporting ofActivity & ImpactIntroduced quarterly reportingdemonstrating the activities, achievementsand impacts of the Centre through the year.20th Birthday Celebration &SymposiumFollowing our 20 Birthday celebrationevent, the Centre delivered our first everfull-day symposium, a world-class event withcontent across a wide range of topics,building on our two decades of work andimpact.thACCP National Advisory BoardA new Advisory Board structure wasintroduced to include external Boardmembers. We welcomed Anne Hollonds,National Children’s Commissioner, TimCrossier, Branch Manager, National Policy,Commonwealth Deparment of Social Servicesand Sarah Gun, CEO of the Gogo Foundationto the ACCP National Advisory Board. 04

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Prof Melissa O’Donnell acknowledged with the Wiley Top DownloadedArticle during its first 12 months in publication forParents’ experiences with child protection during pregnancy and post-birth in Child & Family Social Work.ACCP Awards & RecognitionCongratulations to the ACCP team who contributed to the centre’s success across 2024.UniSA Justice and Society Champion AwardsACCP nominees: · Prof Leah Bromfield for Established Academic – Leadership · Dr Jacynta Krakouer for Early Career Researcher – Impact · Amanda Paton for Professional Staff – Leadership · Jenny Macpherson for Professional Staff – Continuous Improvement. Congratulations to Prof Bromfield and Dr Krakouer for receiving the awardin their respective categories. Scholarship AwardDr Miriam Maclean was awarded a2024 Franklin Women Carer’sScholarship, which invests in thecareers of individuals in the health andmedical research sector who alsomanage unpaid caring responsibilities.2025 Australian of theYear for SouthAustraliaProfessor Leah BromfieldPhD AwardRachel Lever, PhD student, wasawarded a 2024 HealthyDevelopment Adelaide Travel andDevelopment Grant to support herattendance at the Child SexualAbuse and Harmful SexualBehaviours National Conference2024, held in Melbourne.UniSA Unstoppable AwardACCP Nominees · Prof Leah Bromfield: Senior-Career Researcher in the Researchand Enterprise Excellence Category, · Dr Jacynta Krakouer: Early-CareerResearcher in the Research andEnterprise Excellence Category, · Lisa McDonald: HEO8 and abovein the Professional Staff ExcellenceCategory, · Dr Michelle Fernando: MidCareer Teaching in the Teaching &Learning Category.Congratulations to Dr Krakouer andDr Fernando for receiving theaward in their categories.Media Award

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MProfessor Leah Bromfield wasUniSA’s top spokesperson forQ4 2024 with 249 mediaprofiles, mostly in relation toher award of 2025 Australianof the Year for South Australia,for her outstanding work inchild protection. Stories on ProfBromfield and the awardappeared in The Australian andmore than 100 other NewsCorp sites as well as Channel 9Adelaide, 5AA Radio, ABCRadio Adelaide and online, andThe Australian Women’sWeekly.MEDIA N1 Dec 2024: Prof Leah Bromfield was interviewed by The Australian’s NatashaBita for the article Mandatory reporting frightens families from seeking help. “It’s like saying go to the emergency department, rather than a GP, as thefirst step in help-seeking. It’s actually discouraging help-seeking because ourfamilies are afraid. This is a system that’s not fit for purpose.’’IN THE NEWS - SPOTLIGHTACCP in the media3 June 2024: Prof Melissa O’Donnell was interviewed by UniSA in relation to newresearch from the UniSA and Curtin University that found that up to 36% of youngpeople leaving out-of-home care in Australia become homeless – compared to lessthan 10% of the general youth population, “Increased risk of homelessness foryouth leaving out-of-home care”.06LINKEDIN HIGHLIGHTSINImpressions83,842Reactions2,001Comments140Reposts49

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ACCP ProjectsNational Clinical and TherapueticFrameworkOur project partners are based nationally and internationally, including:The Research Council of NorwayWestern Australia PoliceWA Dept. of Communities Perron FoundationCh7 Children’s Research FoundationDaniel Morcombe FoundationCatholic Education Western AustraliaCommonwealth GovernmentAttorney General DepartmentDept. for Child Protection (SA)Dept. of Families, Fairness &Housing (VIC)Griffith University (QLD)Department of Justice and Attorney-General (QLD)The ACCP, led by Deputy Director, Practice, Amanda Paton, inpartnership with Professor Simon Hackett, Durham University andACCP Adjunct, and Lumenia, have been working with the NationalOffice for Child Safety to establish a National Clinical andTherapeutic Framework for responding to children and youngpeople who have displayed concerning or harmful sexual behaviours.The framework will provide guidance and direction to support thedesign, development and operation of best practice, evidence-basedtherapeutic services for children and young people who havedisplayed harmful sexual behaviours.Evaluation of SA Family GroupConferencingDr Jacynta Krakouer, Dr Eden Thain, Dr Miriam Maclean, Dr OliviaOctoman and Dr Melissa Kaltner (Lumenia) undertook an evaluationof Family Group Conferencing in South Australia, which found theprogram is having a positive impact for participating children andfamilies, with high levels of satisfaction from families involved, andstrong outcomes related to its effectiveness. The independentevaluation is on the SA Department for Child Protection website.Improving practice when childprotection intervenes with pregnantmothers and newbornsThrough funding from the Stan Perron Charitable Foundation, theACCP has been working with the University of Western Australia ona project aiming to improve child protection intervention inperinatal practice with mothers, through the co-design andevaluation of evidence informed guidelines. The project brings theleading data expertise of Chief Investigator Prof Melissa O’Donnellwith a review of the evidence as well as engagement across livedexpertise interviews, focus groups and workshops.

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Fantastic readings of a realintellectual quality, relevant andthought-provokingACCP Online Courses08of students enrolled across fourintakes in the ProfessionalCertificate in UnderstandingChildhood Trauma in 2024 successful completion93%The ACCP has continued over 2024 to bring excellence in research and practice todevelop course offerings which support the sector workforce, for both partnerorganisations as well as ACCP online courses. ACCP courses include the ProfessionalCertificate in Understanding Childhood Trauma and Graduate Certificate inChildhood Trauma. Both have been designed by experienced practitioners and informed bycontemporary research from the ACCP, to support professionals currently workingwith children and young people impacted by abuse and neglect to develop atrauma-informed understanding of child abuse and neglect. The interactive nature of this coursewith lots of different resourcesavailable. Very practical and will beeasy to apply to my work

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Sector resources,influence &disseminationCELCIS Centre for Excellence forChild's Care and PreventionConference. Glasgow, ScotlandKids Count: the 3 National ChildWelfare Data Exchange Meeting,Montreal, CanadardWorkshop and Masterclasses forProfessional Development inChild Abuse and Trauma andHarmful Sexual Behaviours.Ministry of Home Affairs,SingaporeASEAN ICT Forum on Child OnlineProtection. Indonesia 5 InternationalInvitationsNotable invitations include:Association of Children's WelfareAgencies National ConferenceAustralian Institute of FamilyStudies ConferenceAustralasian ResearchManagement Society ConferenceAustralian Public HealthConferenceRoyal Commission into Domestic,Family and Sexual ViolenceChild Sexual Abuse and HarmfulSexual Behaviours NationalConference22 NationalInvitationsNew ACCP sector resources included:Practice Guide - LayeredTherapeutic Assessment andTreatment Mapping Approach forHarmful Sexual Behaviours.Evidence Based Review ofTherapeutic Residential CareModels.Practice Guide - UnderstandingHSB: A Layered Continuum. ResourcesIn 2024, staff and students fromthe ACCP contributed to thefollowing conferences,presentations & other forums:On Thursday 24 October 2024, the ACCP streameda full day program of research and practicepresentations, sharing the latest researchoutcomes and policy and practice solutions withthe sector. More than 700 individuals and groupstuned in over the course of the day, acrossAustralia and internationally.The keynote speakers featured guest ProfBarbara Fallon and Prof Leah Bromfield onrethinking child protection in Australia andglobally. ACCP Adjunct Prof Simon Hackettand Amanda Paton spoke on harmful sexualbehaviours; issues, responses and resources,and Prof Melissa O’Donnell presented herwork on preventing infant removals.The Symposium covered a wide range ofadditional topics including:Enhancing perinatal careLeading models for Aboriginal-led andLived Experience co-designNew insights from linked administrativedataNew evidence and resources to enhancepracticeWorking across sectorsInterdisciplinary practice20th Birthday Symposium

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Publications10The ACCP team contributed to more than 30 reports and publications in 2024.Prof Melissa O’Donnell was acknowledgedwith Wiley Top Downloaded Article duringits first 12 months in publication. Parents’ experiences with child protectionduring pregnancy and post-birth in Child &Family Social Work.Top Downloaded ArticleChikwava, F., Cordier, R., Ferrante, A., O'Donnell, M., & Pakpahan, E. (2024).Trajectories of homelessness and association with mental health and substanceuse disorders among young people transitioning from out-of-home care inAustralia. Child Abuse & Neglect. This study demonstrates that subgroups ofyoung people transitioning from care exit with distinct longitudinal trajectoriesof homelessness, and these are associated with different risk factors. Earlyintervention and different approaches to tackling homelessness should beconsidered for these three distinct groups before transitioning from care andduring the first few years after leaving care.Maclean, M., Lima, F., & O'Donnell, M. (2024). Positive reading achievementoutcomes in children who experience out-of-home care: Characteristics andpredictors. Child Abuse & Neglect. This study’s results indicate potentialinterventions could target cognitive ability, wellbeing and environmentalfactors, and involve interventions directly with children and via carers to helpimprove student outcomes.Paton, A., Burgess, S. & Bromfield, L. (2024) Key elements to consider whenchoosing an assessment tool for understanding risk related to harmful sexualbehaviours. Children Australia. This paper takes a critical practice lens toexamine the challenge of selecting a fit-for-purpose tool to assess children andyoung people who have displayed harmful sexual behaviours.Notable publications

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Child Protection StrategicFrameworkAcross 2024, the ACCP’s strategic framework 2022-2027 continued to lead the Centre’spriorities, ambitions and commitments in taking on the critical challenges impactingthe safety and wellbeing of vulnerable children and families.11Supporting research excellence inthe field by undertaking researchand dissemination, whilesupporting and developing existingand future researchers to specialisein preventing and responding tochild abuse and neglect.Research &DisseminationSupporting the development andimplementation of fit for purposepolicy and practice solutionsthough consultation andcollaboration - working with or onbehalf of our partners.Policy and PracticeSolutionsSupporting the development ofnew knowledge and practice skillsto undergraduates, graduates andexisting practitioners througheffective models which areinnovative, engaging andaccessible. Teaching & WorkforceDevelopment The ACCP has and continues toplay a pivotal role in leading andsupporting relevant nationalstrategic initiatives and addressingkey challenges for the sector.Aligned to NationalPrioritiesOur Vision Our Mission Our ValuesChildren thrive in safe andsupportive familiesand communitiesImproving the lives ofvulnerable children bycreating and applyingknowledge to shape abetter futureExcellenceIntegrityCollaborationDecolonisingImpact

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ACCP National Advisory BoardLived Expertise Advisory PanelACCP Staff The ACCP has a nationally leading team of expertise across research, policy andpractice, which is supported by a professional staff team. In December 2024, ACCPhad 35 staff (11 Academic, 7 Teaching & Research, 7 Professional and 10 casuals)and 4 adjuncts. The ACCP continued to consolidate its structure in 2024 with amore streamlined management structure and distributed leadership acrossprogram areas.Prof Leah BromfieldDirector & Chair of Child ProtectionProf Melissa O’DonnellDeputy DirectorResearchAmanda PatonDeputy Director PracticeAmy ClelandAboriginal Strategy& Engagement LeadLisa McDonaldCentre ManagerResearch Specialists Clinical SpecialistsPhD Students Project, Contract andAdmin Management

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9Thesis: Laws that Colonise:Aboriginal Children, ChildProtection and the AustralianLegal System.AMYCLEALAND11Thesis: Children withsubstantiated childmaltreatment – What is theeffect of removal toalternate (out-of-home) careduring early childhood onchild development and well-being.KRYSTALLANAIS4Thesis: Aboriginal Parenting:Challenging misconceptionsand strengthening practice.HELENALLPORT13ACCP PhD StudentsWe are proud to welcome students across a range of study levels in the Centre. Ourstudents contribute significantly to ACCP projects and the new knowledge theCentre is developing to prevent and respond to child abuse and neglect.10Thesis: Children’sProblematic SexualBehaviour: Identifying andaddressing South AustraliaPolice and Justice Systemresponses and attitudes toincidents; a collaborativeapproach.RACHELLEVER3Thesis: Improving the processand long-term outcomes ofreunification for families:Exploring the barriers andfacilitators for successful andsafe reunification.EBONYTUCKER8Thesis: UnderstandingRegulation Needs toFacilitate TherapeuticManagement ofExternalising Behaviours inResidential Care.MIRANDAWILLET5Thesis: Families withmultiple and complex needs:refocusing on earlyintervention.KELLYWINSLADE7Thesis: Development of awell-being measurementtool for 0- to 3-year-olds inOut of Home Care.TRACEYCORCORAN1Thesis: Exploring child andfamily focused outcomes toenhance interprofessionalcollaboration for children whohave experienced or are at riskof abuse or neglect.Conferred July 2024DR SARAHSEEKAMP6Thesis: Evidence basedinterventions delivered inschools for students whodisplay HSB and students whoexperience HSB.TIMOTHYWONG2Thesis: The general public’sknowledge and beliefs aboutchild sexual abuse.Conferred September 2024DR VICTORIAPARSONS

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The ACCP National Advisory board provides expert advice and guidance onthe ACCP’s strategic direction and opportunities for partnership, growth andimpact and comprises the following members.Amy ClelandACCP Aboriginal Strategy and Engagement LeadUniSA | Justice & SocietyAnne HollondsNational Children’s CommissionerAustralian Human Rights CommissionBen RawGeneral Manager UniSA | Justice & SocietyProf Deirdre TedmansonDean: Work Integrated LearningUniSA | BusinessJacqueline Le Mesurier Teaching Academic | Clinical PsychologistACCP elected staff representativeUniSA | Justice & SocietyProf Jill Dorrian(Chair) Dean of ResearchUniSA | Justice & SocietyProf Leah BromfieldDirector and Chair of Child Protection | Australian Centre for Child ProtectionUniSA | Justice & SocietyDr Michael WatkinsLecturerUniSA | Allied Health & Human PerformanceProf Paula GeldensExecutive DeanUniSA | Justice & SocietyRachel Lever PhD StudentACCP elected student representativeUniSA | Justice & SocietySarah GunDirector and FounderGogo Foundation and Gogo EventsTim CrosierBranch Manager | National PolicyAustralian Government Department of Social ServicesACCP National AdvisoryBoard

2024 Annual Report

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