Child protection contact among children of culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds: A South Australian linked data study.

AIM: To describe the cumulative incidence of child protection (CP) system contact, maltreatment type, source of reports to age 7 years, and socio-demographic characteristics for culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) Australian children. METHODS: We used CP, education, health, and birth registrations data for children followed from birth up to age 7 from the South Australian Better Evidence, Better Outcomes, Linked Data (SA BEBOLD) platform. PARTICIPANTS: SA born children enrolled in their first year of school from 2009 to 2015 (n = 76 563). CALD defined as non-Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, spoken language other than English, Indigenous or Sign, or had at least one parent born in a non-English speaking country. OUTCOMES MEASURES: For CALD and non-CALD children, we estimated the cumulative incidence (risk) of CP contacts up to age 7, relative risk and risk differences for all levels of CP contact from notification to out-of-home care (OOHC), primary maltreatment type, reporter type, and socio-economic characteristics. Sensitivity analyses explored different population selection criteria and CALD definitions. RESULTS: By age 7, 11.2% of CALD children had 'screened-in' notifications compared to 18.8% of non-CALD (risk difference [RD] 7.6 percentage points (95% confidence interval: 6.9-8.3)), and 0.6% of CALD children experienced OOHC compared to 2.2% of non-CALD (RD 1.6 percentage points (95% confidence interval: 1.3-1.8)). Emotional abuse was the most common substantiated maltreatment type for CALD and neglect for non-CALD. Among both groups, the most common reporter sources were police and education sector. Socio-economic characteristics were broadly similar. Sensitivity analyses results were consistent with primary analyses. CONCLUSION: By age 7, CALD children had lower risk of contact with all levels of CP. Estimates based on primary and sensitivity analyses suggested CALD children were 5-9 percentage points less likely to have a report screened-in, and from 1.0 to 1.7 percentage points less likely to have experienced OOHC.

Counting culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) children in Australian health research: Does it matter how we count?

OBJECTIVE: To describe how culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) children are identified and enumerated in routine data collections and in child health research in Australia. METHODS: Descriptive analysis, where different definitions of CALD were applied to the 2021 Australian Census to measure the size of the CALD population of Australian children aged 0 to 17 years. Narrative review of the Australian child health literature to examine how CALD children were defined. RESULTS: Applying various definitions to the 2021 Census, the estimated proportion of CALD children aged 0 to 17 ranged from 6.3% to 43%. The most commonly applied CALD indicators were language background other than English and being born overseas. CONCLUSIONS: There is no consensus on how CALD is defined in Australian child health research. Application of different CALD indicators can generate up to seven-fold differences in estimates of who counts as being a CALD child. IMPLICATIONS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH: If we are to advance health and well-being equity for CALD children, we need a more consistent approach to understanding which children are counted as CALD.

Repatriation operation in South Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic: initial planning and preparedness.

ABSTRACT: With COVID-19 affecting millions of people around the globe, quarantine of international arrivals is a critical public health measure to prevent further disease transmission in local populations. This measure has also been applied in the repatriation of citizens, undertaken by several countries as an ethical obligation and legal responsibility. This article describes the process of planning and preparing for the repatriation operation in South Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic. Interagency collaboration, development of a COVID-19 testing and quarantining protocol, implementing infection prevention and control, and building a specialised health care delivery model were essential aspects of the repatriation operational planning, with a focus on maintaining dignity and wellbeing of the passengers as well as on effective prevention of COVID-19 transmission. From April 2020 to mid-February 2021, more than 14,000 international arrivals travellers have been repatriated under the South Australian repatriation operations. This paper has implications to inform ongoing repatriation efforts in Australia and overseas in a pandemic situation.