Community prevention the focus of July 29 child abuse program
June 24, 2008A new Rural Health Education Foundation television program airing on Tuesday 29th July, It Takes a 
Community: Preventing Child Abuse and Neglect, explores the shift to a preventive focus for child abuse and neglect, emphasising protective community services which aim to support families and children before abuse or neglect occurs.
It Takes a Community: Preventing Child Abuse and Neglect also examines how traditional child health and welfare professionals are re-orienting themselves in the light of this perspective.
Child protection systems overwhelmed
“The number of substantiated cases of child abuse and neglect has more than doubled in the past 10 years, overwhelming Australia’s child protection systems,” says Rural Health Education Foundation CEO Don Perlgut. “This unfortunate reality is of particular concern for rural and remote communities, given the scarcity of health and welfare resources that accompany geographic isolation.”
“This new program will enable health professionals to identify the risk factors for child abuse and neglect, and assist in the development of local programs that emphasise protective factors,” he says.
“It Takes a Community is also the first Foundation program to be funded solely by philanthropic foundations and trusts,” says Mr Perlgut. “We’re delighted that the philanthropic community has identified child protection as an endeavour worthy of its support.”
Program funding
The program is produced with funding from Perpetual Trustees, The Ian Potter Foundation, Mary Potter Trust Foundation and Milton Corporation Foundation.
Case studies and an expert panel
The format of It Takes a Community: Preventing Child Abuse and Neglect is a live panel discussion led by Dr Norman Swan and featuring leading medical practitioners including Dr Adam Tomison, Acting Director of the Northern Territory’s Family and Community Services Policy and Service Development Branch; Professor Dorothy Scott, Director of the Australian Centre for Child Protection in Adelaide; and Professor Judy Atkinson, Director of the Gnibi College of Indigenous Australian Peoples in Lismore.
It Takes a Community also features three case studies of programs that take a preventive approach to reducing the incidence of child abuse and neglect. Each case study shows how particular factors in a family or community that put children more ‘at risk’ can be identified, and highlights the importance of strengthening community functioning in order to better support parents and families.
Broadcast details
The hour-long program will be broadcast live across the Rural Health Education Foundation’s satellite television network on Tuesday 29th July at 8pm (AEST), with repeats at 8.00pm Perth time that same evening (two hours later) and 12.30pm on Friday 1st August.
Available on DVD, video and the web
Incidence of child abuse and neglect
While the incidence of child abuse and neglect crosses all sectors of Australian society, a number of specific groups in the community have been identified as being at greater risk: young parents; families where a parent or child suffers from physical or intellectual disability, or a mental disorder; lower socio-economic communities; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities; and rural and remote populations.
More information
For more information on It Takes a Community: Preventing Child Abuse and Neglect - including presenter details, access instructions and associated educational resources - refer to the program summary or contact the Foundation.