Rosamund Thorpe | James Cook University (original) (raw)

Papers by Rosamund Thorpe

Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work, 2019

INTRODUCTION: Grandparents are increasingly involved in the care of grandchildren, including afte... more INTRODUCTION: Grandparents are increasingly involved in the care of grandchildren, including after child protection intervention.METHOD: A recent Australian qualitative research partnership explored how relationships between grandparents and their grandchildren could be optimised after child safety concerns. Interviews and focus groups were undertaken with 77 participants, including 51 grandparents, 12 parents, six foster carers and eight child and family workers. Emerging themes reported here focus on the role of grandparents and their perceptions of, and interactions with, the child protection system.FINDINGS: Overall, findings identify that grandparents wanted to help safeguard their grandchildren but many encountered an adversarial child protection system that left them feeling powerless, fearful and unimportant. Aboriginal participants reiterated that child protection workers needed to better understand how maintaining kinship networks provided a protective factor for Aborigin...

This paper will outline a research project which seeks to centre the voices of parents who have b... more This paper will outline a research project which seeks to centre the voices of parents who have been involved with Child Protection services. The need for a study which focuses on the experiences of service users who have 'complicated lives' is discussed with reference to some literature about the intersection of child protection with multiple difficulties relating to violence, disability and problematic substance use. The term 'complicated lives' is drawn from the work of Liz Kelly (2000). She uses this expression in her analysis of the systemic constraints facing women who experience multiple and repetitive forms of violence and abuse in order to describe the complex and compound difficulties that may characterise people's lives. We have chosen to use the term 'complicated lives' because it enables us to purposefully avoid pathologising approaches and language which rigidly categorise and stigmatise those with such experiences. Australian research confirms the significant extent to which parents who come to the attention of statutory child protection services are experiencing multiple difficulties. In up to 75% of child protection cases, parents experience problematic substance use, a physical, psychiatric or intellectual disability or 'family violence' (Community Care Division, Victorian Government Department of Human Services 2002). The Inquiry into Children in Institutional Care reports an

... of knowledge over the views of service users and that the more remote the end-user ... The... more ... of knowledge over the views of service users and that the more remote the end-user ... There are no rules of thumb that apply in all circumstances Sinclair, Wilson and Gibbs (2000 p. 193). Page 21. ... Bainbridge L., Braiding C., Jones P., and Thorpe R. (1998) Men and Violence. ...

Children Australia, May 21, 2014

In this article we illuminate the 'resourceful friends' model of community social work as it has ... more In this article we illuminate the 'resourceful friends' model of community social work as it has been applied in current work in the Family Inclusion Network (FIN) in Townsville, Queensland. Reflections from both parents and supporting members of FIN illustrate its very successful use in this context. This way of working is assessed, particularly in relation to its place in affording an invaluable dimension in family inclusive child protection processes. In conclusion, the contribution to building social capital and promoting greater social justice is identified. Keywords: family inclusion in child protection practice, non-judgementalism in social work, professional boundaries in social work, relationship-based social work practice, service users and social workers, community work and collective action * With parents and supporting members in the Family Inclusion Network Queensland (Townsville) Inc., Townsville.

Children Australia, 2003

This paper provides a justification for a research focus on parents, documents what is known from... more This paper provides a justification for a research focus on parents, documents what is known from research to date, highlights current issues for parents and their children in out-of-home care, and concludes by identifying future research priorities in the area. The paper calls ...

Across Australia there is a large number of people from diverse cultures who provide primary care... more Across Australia there is a large number of people from diverse cultures who provide primary care for children and young people from within their own extended family. Such carers exist across the family spectrum and include grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings and others, for example great-grandparents. A relatively small proportion of these carers are registered officially as foster carers because the child and/or young person placed in their care is on a care and protection order. While legally their role is identical to that of other foster carers, who similarly provide care for a child or young person who is unable to live with their own parents, the experience and needs of statutory relative foster carers are also vastly different. This paper will focus on the distinctive aspects of statutory relative foster care and will assess what counts for quality when the carer is also a relative of a foster child. Central to the discussion will be issues for carers that flow from the re...

This paper will present findings from research with Indigenous Foster Carers who were part of the... more This paper will present findings from research with Indigenous Foster Carers who were part of the Mackay Whitsunday large study of Foster Care and Foster Carers (2000-2004). To understand the lives of Indigenous Foster Carers there needs to be a connection to the part that history has played in their own lives. Past policies, which involved the emotionally violent removal of Indigenous children (the Stolen Generations) from their families and communities, left many families disenfranchised or destroyed. This research has looked at the part this connection to the past has played and it has explored whether past experiences had any specific bearing on the decision to foster. A vital component of this study is a detailed analysis of Indigenous Foster Carers' own views. Topics analysed include Foster Carers' motivation, attitudes, hopes, fears and aspirations in relation to education, training and support, childcare agencies, and continuing connections with a foster child's ...

Australian Social Work, 2004

In this paper we describe and promote a model of group work with parents of children in care in o... more In this paper we describe and promote a model of group work with parents of children in care in operation in Townsville, a regional city in northern Australia, since 1989. We begin from the premise that parents have frequently been ‘left out of the loop’ as key players in child protection. This is despite the fact that it is parents' ability to afford protection that is at issue. The paper proceeds to discuss what is meant by empowerment in the context of a social work group work approach with parents. A model of group work is then presented. The paper concludes with discussion of the implications that this approach has for social work in child protection practice.

This paper outlines a research project which seeks to centre the voices of parents who have been ... more This paper outlines a research project which seeks to centre the voices of parents who have been involved with Child Protection services. The need for a study which focuses on the experiences of service users who have 'complicated lives' is discussed with reference to some literature about the intersection of child protection with multiple difficulties relating to violence, disability and problematic substance use.

Working with natural families is widely acknowledged as one of the more challenging aspects of pr... more Working with natural families is widely acknowledged as one of the more challenging aspects of present day fostering practice. Thus, as part of a large in-depth interview study with 115 foster carers in the Mackay Whitsunday region of Queensland, issues about working with a foster child’s natural family were explored in some detail. In this paper the views and diverse experiences of these foster carers will be examined, with attention focussed on different challenges faced by foster carers with different experiences. Vignettes of exemplary practice in challenging situations will be presented in order to identify what works well in different circumstances. Implications education, training, and support for foster carers will be suggested.

[Extract] In this chapter I flesh out the changing contexts for my career as a 'radical' ... more [Extract] In this chapter I flesh out the changing contexts for my career as a 'radical' in social work, and especially the challenges and op¬portunities which in different eras affected the extent to which a more radical practice was - and is still - possible. I close with some reflections on the existential angst which is an inevitable constant companion in doing what is now known as critical social work for social justice.

[Extract] The report presents evidence that directly addresses key recommendations from the Crime... more [Extract] The report presents evidence that directly addresses key recommendations from the Crime and Misconduct Commission of Inquiry into the Abuse of Children in Foster Care, which called for improvements in practice with parents of children and young people in care. FIN is a representative grouping of practitioners, academics and parents with children in care seeking to advance practice and policy in working with parents of children and young people in the statutory child protection system. While it started in Queensland, FIN has also developed in New South Wales and Western Australia as considerable interest exists in those jurisdictions in working to improve outcomes for children and young people through more effective work with parents and other family members. Work has also taken place in the ACT. There is a developing interest in all Australian jurisdictions in the importance of this work. Queensland has, however, been the forerunner to national efforts.

Foster carers offer an important form of support for vulnerable families who, either temporarily ... more Foster carers offer an important form of support for vulnerable families who, either temporarily or in the longer term, are unable to provide day-to-day care for their children. Much has been written from a professional perspective about the qualities which foster carers should possess in order to provide good quality care for children and their families, but rarely have the views of foster carers themselves been canvassed as to “what makes a good foster carer”. This paper will fill a gap in our knowledge by presenting the views of 115 foster carers interviewed in the Mackay/Whitsunday region in 2002-3. Unlike other recent Australian studies with foster carers, this research included relative, Indigenous and male carers, as well as the more numerous female General carers. Thus, this paper provides a comprehensive view of the shared and diverse ways in which practising foster carers in early 21st century regional Australia conceptualise the qualities they feel they need to meet the c...

British Journal of Social Work, 2006

© The British Association of Social Workers. 2006. All rights reserved. ... British Journal of So... more © The British Association of Social Workers. 2006. All rights reserved. ... British Journal of Social Work (2006) 36, 1453 doi:10.1093/bjsw/bcl372 ... Reviewers of Manuscripts published in Volume 36 of the British Journal of Social Work ... Jane Akister Andy Alaszewski Di Bailey Rachel Balen Dorrie Ball Sarah Banks Di Barnes Lynn Baxter Bill Beaumont Margaret Bell Peter Beresford David Berridge Kish Bhatti- Sinclair Jon Blacktop Caroline Bourke Gillian Bridge Ann Buchanan Hilary Burgess Ian Byford John Carpenter Pat Cartney Steve Clarke Marie Connolly ...

Children Australia

Families who attract the attention of child protection services most often have ongoing lived exp... more Families who attract the attention of child protection services most often have ongoing lived experiences of poverty, gender-based domestic and family violence, problematic substance use and, sometimes, formally diagnosed mental health conditions. Without broader contextual knowledge and understanding, particularly regarding ongoing poverty, decision-making by child protection workers often leads to the removal of children, while the family’s material poverty and experiences of violence remain unaddressed. Case studies are a common tool to succinctly capture complex contexts. In this article, we make explicit, through case examples and analysis, how poverty is almost always the backdrop to the presence of worrying risk factors before and during child protection intervention. Further, we expose the existential poverty that parents live with after they lose their children into care and which invariably exacerbates material poverty. In the final section, we consider the multi-faceted o...

The British Journal of Social Work

Journal of Family Violence

Child & Family Social Work