Child protection services for children with special healthcare needs: A population record linkage study

Abstract

Children with disabilities are known to have high rates of contact with child protection services. However, little is known about child protection contacts for a broader group of children with special healthcare needs (SHCN; i.e., special needs or other impairments of concern that affect learning). This study examined the characteristics of contact with child protection services (prior to the age of 6 years) for children with SHCN identified at school entry using the 2009 Australian Early Development Census, using administrative data from more than 65,000 children in the New South Wales Child Development Study. Child protection contacts prior to age 6 years were more prevalent among children with SHCN compared with those without; in particular, children with SHCN had higher odds of a history of exposure to neglect and physical abuse, and higher odds of being placed in out‐of‐home care, compared with their typically developing peers. Understanding the characteristics of child protection contacts among children with SHCN, with consideration of factors that may influence their patterns of contact with these and other human services agencies, will inform the development of appropriate social policy initiatives to fulfil Australia’s obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Introduction to the Special Issue on Big Data and Social Policy in Australia

“…The current issue on Big Data and Social Policy brings together ten papers, which we have divided into three sets: one set discuss the technical challenges and institutional barriers involved in the construction and governance of linked government data assets (Gulliver, Fahmi & Abramson, 2021; Homel et al, 2021; von Sanden & Neideck, 2021); another set of papers demonstrate the application of big data to social policy issues, thereby showcasing its potential for generating valuable insights (Hindmarsh et al, 2021; Stewart et al, 2021); the final set of papers – and the accompanying commentary from Bell et al – critically interrogate the potential for big data to produce social harms.…”

“…Those with special healthcare needs were more likely to have a history of being exposed to neglect and physical abuse and of being placed in out‐of‐home care compared with their peers. This paper is the first Australian research to document the association between special healthcare needs and child protection, although it is well documented that children with disabilities are at greater risk of being in child protection services (Hindmarsh et al, 2021; Maclean et al, 2017). Hindmarsh et al recommend that health screening of children should occur for children reported to protection services, and their findings suggest more engagement of early intervention and health services are required prior to school.…”

“…Two papers provide specific applications of the insights of big government data for social policy issues, specifically in the areas of child protection and justice. The paper by Hindmarsh et al (2021) uses data from the New South Wales Child Development Study, a longitudinal linkage study of over 60,000 children to demonstrate that children with special needs or impairments that affect their learning are twice as likely to come into contact with child protection services prior to age six years. Those with special healthcare needs were more likely to have a history of being exposed to neglect and physical abuse and of being placed in out-of-home care compared with their peers.…”