Snapshot 2013, the 11th in the Commission’s Snapshot series, draws together data from a wide range of sources to provide a contemporary representation of the health, safety and wellbeing of children and young people in Queensland. Where possible, data are supported by robust trend analyses to provide a longitudinal evidence base from which facts can be drawn to highlight areas of particular concern and improvement. These facts can be used to inform policy development and facilitate shared understandings across sectors.

The report provides statistical information about demographics, families, lifestyle and social issues, health, education and care, deaths, child protection and crime and justice, and is an important reference for people who work with children and young people, as well as researchers, academics, Parliamentarians and policy and program developers.

Snapshot 2013 reveals that many children and young people are faring well on a wide range of key indicators of health, safety and wellbeing. For example:

• the teenage fertility rate is the lowest it has been in five years
• the proportions of infants born prematurely or underweight have remained low over the last decade
• more than nine in ten children are fully immunised by the appropriate coverage age
• most parents regularly engage with their children in informal learning activities such as reading and telling stories
• the proportion of children classified as developmentally vulnerable in their first year of schooling has declined over the past three years
• the rate of children and young people continuing from Year 8 to Year 12 is the highest it has been in a decade
  
• the majority of young people report that they have never smoked
• infant and childhood mortality rates have been in decline for much of the last two decades
• the rate of sexual offences against children and young people is the lowest it has been in the last 10 years, and
•   the rate of property offences committed by young people has generally been decreasing over the past decade.

However, data from other measures indicate areas for improvement:

• a significant proportion of children and young people are not meeting daily physical activity requirements
• over one quarter of children and young people are overweight or obese
• over one fifth of young people are consuming alcohol at levels that place them at risk of single occasion alcohol-related harm at least yearly
• the number of children and young people experiencing homelessness has increased over the past five years
• more than one in 20 children and young people have a mental or behavioural problem.
• over one quarter of children in their first year of school are developmentally vulnerable on one or more domains of the Australian Early Childhood Development Index
• while the rate of school exclusions has historically been higher than the rate of school enrolment cancellations, these rates have now reached parity
• the suicide mortality rate for young people has increased in more recent years, particularly among males
• the population of children and young people living away from home continues to rise, despite ongoing reductions in the number of substantiated notifications of harm, with the most rapid growth observed in the residential care population
• children and young people in out-of-home care are much less likely than those in the general population to be meeting the national minimum standards in numeracy and literacy, and
• the proportion of children and young people subject to substantiations while in out-of-home care increased in the last year.

Additionally, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people continue to experience poorer health, education, safety and social outcomes compared to those in the general population.

The Snapshot 2013: Children and Young People in Queensland report page on the Commission’s website contains links to the full report and key data booklet.

The Commission has also released a second edition of the Snapshot Key Data: Children and Young People in Queensland web app for use on mobile devices. The app provides instant access to an extensive range of information on issues relating to the health, safety and wellbeing of children and young people in Queensland.

The National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) has published a report called "The impact of school academic quality on low socioeconomic status students"

The authors of this paper explore whether low socioeconomic status (SES) students benefit to a greater or lesser extent from attending high-quality schools when compared with their more advantaged peers. They find that academic school quality is even more important for students from low-SES backgrounds in terms of Year 12 completion. The differential impact for low-SES students also holds for tertiary entrance rank (TER) and the probability of going to university.

Click here to read the research.

This paper is a simplified excerpt from the Legal Australia-Wide Survey: Legal need in Australia

Abstract: This paper summarises findings from the Legal Australia-Wide (LAW) Survey on the legal problems experienced by younger people aged 15–24 years in Australia. Similar to previous studies, the findings show a higher vulnerability to legal problems for younger people compared to the oldest age group. Also in keeping with past research, different ages or life stages were associated with different types of legal problems. Accidents, crime, personal injury and rights problems peaked either at 15–17 or 18-24 years. In addition, younger people were less likely to seek advice from professionals for their legal problems. The policy implications of these findings are discussed.

Source: Law and Justice Foundation of NSW Research Alert August 2013

The Sydney Institute of Criminology at the University of Sydney (along with researchers from the University of NSW and the University of Western Sydney) are researching sexting among young people. This is through an Australian Criminology Research Grant and the NSW Commission for Children and Young People are also involved. 

Young people who engage in sexting could face the risk of being prosecuted for serious offences. Our research is seeking the real story behind sexting. Fill in our anonymous online survey for young Australians. It only takes 10-20 minutes and is an opportunity for Australian teens (aged 13-18) to share their views on sexting.

Complete the survey and spread the word! The survey will be open until the end of September 2013 and can be found here: www.surveymonkey.com/s/SICSX

The Queensland Children's Commission has released its latest report – the Views of Children and Young People in Foster Care Survey: Education – which presents findings from our fourth survey of children and young people living in foster care in Queensland.

The report is the third in a series of reports detailing selected findings from the 2011 Views of Children and Young People in Foster Care Survey. It focuses on the educational experiences of children and young people in care and the findings provide an important insight into children and young people’s attitudes towards, and perceptions of, their own education.

Pleasingly, the findings suggest that, overwhelmingly, children and young people in care are positively engaged with the education system. Overall, they are telling us that they enjoy school, are aspiring and expecting to complete Year 12, and that their teachers are generally happy with their schoolwork. Other encouraging findings include an increase over the years in the proportion of children and young people reporting that they have Education Support Plans and, importantly, that these plans are helpful.

Along with these findings, however, the report reveals that children and young people in care continue to experience educational disadvantage. They have high rates of school changes, suspensions and exclusions, and a range of other problems at school including with bullying, schoolwork, teachers and their own behaviour. It also shows that these difficulties are often exacerbated by the child protection system. For example, young people who have had more placement and school changes are more likely to have been suspended or excluded from school.

While the report shows that educational disadvantage for children and young people in care is an enduring issue, there are clear signs of progress and significant opportunities to build on into the future, including the considerable enthusiasm children and young people in care have for school.

Source: Email from the Children's Commission 1/8/13

The Safe and Well Online Study is part of an Australian Government supported initiative called the Young and Well Cooperative Research Centre. A key goal of this work is to find the best ways to use online environments, including social media, to positively influence safe and well practices in young people and promote respect and positive attitudes and behaviours online. Have your say to inform policy and practice. Will you register to complete 2 surveys? You can then enter into a prize draw to WIN an iPad.

Click on this link for more information and to register. Or contact Dr Barbara Spears on (08) 830 24500 and Barbara.Spears@unisa.edu.au; Dr Carmel Taddeo on (08) 830 24012 and Carmel.Taddeo@unisa.edu.au.

Source: YACWA enews 26/7/13

ACU has just released new Research to Practice Issues!

The quarterly ICPS Research to Practice Series links the findings of research undertaken by ICPS, to the development of policy and practice in the area of child, youth and family welfare.

The issues they have looked at are:

• Interventions and practice principles for supporting young people who are homeless
• Identity and meaning in the lives of vulnerable young people

For all the info check out this link: http://www.acu.edu.au/566948

Source: AYAC enews July 2013

A report into the effectiveness of Queensland’s community visitors – people who visit young people in care in an official capacity to monitor their wellbeing – finds that on the whole young people think they play a vital role and are highly valued.

The 20-page document, called Views of young people in residential care survey, presents findings from surveys carried out by the Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian in 2011 and 2012. Overwhelmingly, young people who participated in these surveys indicated that their community visitors are accessible, helpful and provide much-valued advocacy and emotional support.

These findings lend weight to claims made in previous qualitative studies about the critical importance of investing time in building trusting, supportive and, ideally, enduring relationships between children in care and their advocates in the interests of safeguarding children and ensuring they are able to exercise their legislated participation rights. The report is available from the Commission’s website at: http://www.ccypcg.qld.gov.au

For more information, contact Julie Harcourt, Director, Strategic Policy and Research Program, Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian on (07) 3211 6987 or email: Julie.Harcourt@ccypcg.qld.gov.au

(Source: Youth Field Xpress - June )

 A recent seminar called ‘Identity and meaning for vulnerable young people’, which was hosted by the Institute of Child Protection Studies at the Australian Catholic University, is now available as a recording online.

To access this recording and the accompanying report, go to: http://www.acu.edu.au/462986.

Source: Youth Field Xpress, 22 May 2013

The Institute of Child Protection Studies has released a new report titled: Me, Myself and I: Identity and meaning in the lives of vulnerable young people.

The report presents the findings of research which interviewed 24 young people about the role and potency of concepts such as identity and a search for meaning in their lives. The report also explores the implications for support services that work with vulnerable young people.

This report is available to download at: http://www.acu.edu.au/462986