Current awareness bulletins - NSW Commission for Children and Young People

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May current awareness bulletin
11 May 2009

Welcome to the May edition of the Commission for Children and Young People's monthly Current Awareness Bulletin

From the Web – e-links and e-journals

Hayter, C. (2009). Cultural and linguistic inclusion? Literature review on social inclusion, cohesion and culture. National Ethnic Disability Alliance (NEDA): Sydney.
The Australian Government commitment to building a social inclusion framework for government policies and directions has the potential to provide a positive framework for addressing disadvantage and working toward cohesion and participation for all members of our society, including the 1 million people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds with disability in Australia.

Department of Community Services (2009). Working with Aboriginal people and communities - a practice resource. Department of Community Services: Sydney.

Distilled Spirits Industry Council of Australia (2009). Trends in alcohol related hospital use by young people. Report prepared by Access Economics Pty Limited. Access Economics: Barton, ACT.
The aim of the research was to assess whether the increase in the tax rate on ready-to-drink alcoholic beverages (RTDs) from 27 April 2008 has had any impact on hospitalisations from high risk drinking by young people, since the purported aim of the policy was to reduce such drinking.

SA Department of the Premier and Cabinet (2009) The South Australian Social Inclusion Initiative. Website viewed May 2009.
Innovative Community Action Networks (ICANs) embody all of the successful elements that have been identified through implementation of the School Retention Action Plan. Links to current programs and reports on: Disability, Homelessness, Mental Health, School Retention, Young Offender.

Australian Crime Commission (2008). Problem sexual behaviour in children: A review of the literature. Report prepared by Dr. Wendy O'Brien. Australian Crime Commission: Canberra, ACT.
The literature review is an analysis of publicly available information and outlines social and economic conditions that are likely to increase the prevalence of problem sexual behaviour in children.

PolicyForResults.org (2009). Center for the Study of Social Policy: Washington, DC. Viewed May 2009.
This interesting U.S. website provides an online set of tools for focusing policy strategies on achieving measurable results for kids and families. This website provides research-based policy strategies shown to achieve the targeted results.

Youth Field Xpress, April 2009
Table of contents with abstracts: Mission Australia's eighth annual National Survey of Young Australians; stories of early school leaving; agencies must address grooming behaviour.

Family Matters No. 81 2009
Table of contents with abstracts: Aspirations for work and family; working poor in Australia; flexible work arrangements; supporting children at risk of abuse and neglect; the CDEP scheme; parenting skills; grandparents and grandchildren.

Youth Studies Australia Vol. 28 No. 1 2009
Table of contents with abstracts: Young people’s experiences of mental health care; services for young people with complex needs; aggression management training for youth in behaviour schools.

Publications

Myth of the Great Depression. Revised edition.
David J. Potts
Carlton North, Vic.: Scribe, 2009.
More about the book

A good childhood : searching for values in a competitive age
Judith Dunn, Richard Layard
London: Penguin, 2009. 239p.
Further information

Voices from the coalface : practitioner perspectives on the challenges of community-based work
John R. Owen & Freidoon Khavarpour (eds.)
Altona, Vic.: Common Ground, 2008. 148p.
Book launch at University of Sydney

Conversations with Young People : a training video (DVD)
Dulwich Hill, NSW: Peter Slattery, 2008. 1videodisc (DVD). 3 hours
More about this DVD

Journal articles

CHILD HOMICIDE
Child homicide in New South Wales from 1991 to 2005
Olav B Nielssen, Matthew M Large, Bruce D Westmore and Steven M Lackersteen
MJA 2009; 190 (1): 7-11
Summary:
Documents describing 165 homicides by 157 offenders were examined. Fifty-nine deaths were a consequence of child abuse, including those of five children who died from methadone overdoses. Both the offenders and the victims in fatal child abuse were significantly younger than in other forms of child homicide. The courts found that 27 child homicides had been committed by 26 offenders during the acute phase of psychotic illness, and 15 of these offenders had never been treated with antipsychotic medication.

YOUTH AGGRESSION
Aggression management training for youth in behaviour schools
Anna Wheatley, Rachael Murrihy et al. Youth Studies Australia, Vol.28 (1) March 2009 p29-36
Summary:
With the number of behaviour schools in Australia increasing, effective psychological treatments in behaviour school settings require investigation. This preliminary study involving a 16-week, bi-weekly, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)-based aggression management training course with a limited sample of behavioural school students in NSW produced some promising findings.

POVERTY
Working poor in Australia: an analysis of poverty among households in which a member is employed
Alicia Payne. Family Matters 2009, Issue No.81, p15-24
Summary:
Comparing households in which someone is employed that were below the poverty line with all people in poverty in 2005-06, this analysis finds that the "working poor" have different characteristics to the overall subset of people in poverty.

YOUTH PARTICIPATION
Researching youth political participation in Australia: Arguments for an expanded focus
Ian Fyfe. Youth Studies Australia, v.28, n.1, 2009, pp.37-45
Summary:
This paper traces the origins of contemporary definitions of political participation, which are often at odds with the real experiences and aspirations of young citizens.

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