National Framework for Protecting Australia's Children: Fixing Problems with Collective Hope?

Abstract

The National Framework for Protecting Australia's Children serves the function of providing unifying policy and priorities for the 6 States and 2 Territories with jurisdiction over child protection. Plans are underway for a successor to the 2009-2020 Framework, which will address specific and important problems in order to achieve tangible improvements on key performance indicators. This paper argues that a targeted, action-oriented approach of this kind needs to be accompanied by principles that seek to redress known institutional weaknesses in the system that might otherwise be overlooked. The first Framework aspired to give voice to children, families and carers. While little progress was made on this front, this paper makes the case for carrying forward principles of empowerment of those who have traditionally been silenced. The argument rests on the importance of principles in instigating a collective hope process that moves the sector toward meaningful coordinated reform. Survey data from a sample of 387 third parties who work with child protection authorities and their clients are analysed through the lens of collective hope to demonstrate how a principle-based Framework, wrapped around targeted action, can strengthen prospects of future success and protect against failure.

Keywords: National Framework, social inclusion, child protection reform, collective hope, collective efficacy