Handbook

Social workers assess children's needs, identify when their well-being may be compromised and respond using a range of practice methods. This subject considers challenges that children and families may experience, including child maltreatment (sexual abuse, neglect, physical abuse, and emotional abuse), family violence, trauma, and poverty. Protective factors and strengths of diverse families, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, are also explored. Services and organisations along a spectrum from prevention to treatment are identified and discussed. This includes the statutory child protection system, from investigation to placement (in foster care or institutional settings) to case closure.