Children at risk Understanding risk factors

1. Children at riskUnderstanding risk factors

2. Purpose • This resource provides an opportunity for teachers to understand risk factors. • It is recommended that you allow approximately 30 minutes to read, reflect and respond to the questions.

3. Risk factors • Risk factors fall into three categories: • environmental, which may include poverty/income, parental style, number/quality of parents/carers, housing, family circumstances and lifestyle, non-English speaking or dual language families, rural and remote communities • physical, which may include diet, nutrition, safety, health and neglect • emotional, which may include verbal abuse, resilience, social literacy and psychological health.

4. Impact of risk factors • It is important to note that the presence of one or more risk factors is not necessarily associated with abuse or neglect. • Awareness of risk factors can, however, help services to build a picture of a situation in conjunction with known circumstances, observations or disclosures.

5. Strategies to support children at risk • Ways to identify and respond to potential risks: • analyse existing information • build relationships with families • create a local community/client profile • follow service policy • communicate with parents/carers.

6. Analyse existing information Start with the enrolment interview, which is the first point of contact to begin to develop a relationship with parents/carers and children. An enrolment interview provides useful information such as family structure, family members’ occupations and language/s spoken at home.

7. Build relationships with families • Creating a supportive environment is a major step towards identifying and supporting children and families in need. • Engage in open discussion with parents/carers, where appropriate, to invite sharing.

8. Create a local community profile • Strategies for creating a community/client profile might include: • researching support groups available in your local community • considering local community characteristics that may impact on children in your Kindergarten program.

9. The sites below have useful information for creating a local community profile: • the Australian Early Development Index (AEDI) for a national collection of information on children’s developmenthttp://ww2.rch.org.au/aedi/index.cfm?doc_id=13051 • the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) for additional census datawww.abs.gov.au

10. Consult your service policy about gathering information on indicators of possible risk. Follow service policy • Consider: • how you might record this information • who you should include in discussions • what action/s you might take.

11. Consider extra information that may provide insight into a child’s circumstances. Communicate with parents/carers • For example: • health, physical issues • living arrangements • custody issues • home language.

12. Reflect What actions might your service take to raise awareness of children at risk? How might you approach issues that arise in a way that is respectful, professional and involves the appropriate people to support your actions?

13. Support agencies • Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services www.communities.qld.gov.au/gateway • Kids Matter www.kidsmatter.edu.au/early-childhood • Child Care Exchange www.childcareexchange.com • A Guide to Special Child Care Benefit http://foi.deewr.gov.au/documents/guide-special-child-care-benefit

14. More information • For more information and resources on understanding risk factors please visit: • Office for Early Childhood Education and Care http://deta.qld.gov.au/earlychildhood/ • Queensland Studies Authority www.qsa.qld.edu.au/12974.html