Babies in the child protection system: improving preventive systems and social work practice by https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my Kia ora koutou katoa. These resources are designed for social work educators for use with senior undergraduate or postgraduate students. While they are contextualised for the Aotearoa New Zealand environment, they have application in many countries where social workers are involved in child welfare services.This collection examines child protection policy and practice relating to babies and their whānau pre and post birth. We describe trends, family and whānau experiences, policy debates, and preventive strategies at systemic and personal levels. Each section contains reflection questions at the end to spark discussion. Māori and Pākehā (and global) perspectives are intertwined within each topic. These materials are an output of 'the prevention project: supporting whānau and reducing baby removals'. Researchers are Emily Keddell, Luke Fitzmaurice and Kerri Cleaver. The project is based at the University of Otago and funded by a University of Otago Research grant. Info and all outputs available here: https://preventionprojectwhanau.squarespace.com en-us 2021-09-07 02:13:06 UTC 2025-12-16 17:51:48 UTC hello@padlet.com The prevention project: report summary emilykeddell https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1720461868 The report provides the key findings from the University of Otago project on prevention. ]]> 2021-09-07 02:02:25 UTC https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1720461868 Born into care: newborns in care proceedings in England emilykeddell https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1720474490 2021-09-07 02:07:33 UTC https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1720474490 Haunted futures: what is it like to have a baby removed into care? emilykeddell https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1720481584 An article focussed on describing the experience of women facing removal and recurrent removals.
Morriss L. Haunted futures: The stigma of being a mother living apart from her child(ren) as a result of state-ordered court removal. The Sociological Review. 2018;66(4):816-831. doi:10.1177/0038026118777448]]> 2021-09-07 02:10:22 UTC https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1720481584 Whānau case studies: how did we avoid removal? emilykeddell https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1720513952 These narratives highlight the experiences of women in Aotearoa who have had babies reported to Oranga Tamariki but avoided them being removed. The role of the community workers who provide services directly is an important one. These case studies show how they work together with whānau to support parenting as well as managed the interface between whānau and Oranga Tamariki (the child protection agency)]]> 2021-09-07 02:22:27 UTC https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1720513952 Infant removals in the Australian context emilykeddell https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1720660883 2021-09-07 03:18:17 UTC https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1720660883 Thinking critically about changing systems to avoid repeat removals emilykeddell https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1720696000 Wise, S. (2020). A systems model of repeat court-ordered removals: Responding to child protection challenges using a systems approach. The British Journal of Social Work. doi: 10.1093/bjsw/bcaa031]]> 2021-09-07 03:31:24 UTC https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1720696000 Whānau ora commissioning agency report: Ko te wā whakawhiti. Chapter three: whānau experiences with Oranga Tamariki emilykeddell https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1734839337 https://apo.org.au/sites/default/files/resource-files/2020-02/apo-nid274231_1.pdf ]]> 2021-09-13 03:32:01 UTC https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1734839337 Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 emilykeddell https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1734870355 This Act states the legal principles that apply to decisions about babies. Sections 5 and 13 contain principles, while s18A and s18B contain provisions relating to 'subsequent children', that can sometimes apply to babies. s7AA ensures that "policies, practices, and services of the department have regard to mana tamaiti (tamariki) and the whakapapa of Māori children", and provide for partnerships to be formed between Oranga Tamariki and iwi. 

https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1989/0024/latest/LMS216331.html]]> 2021-09-13 03:45:43 UTC https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1734870355 Strengthening our response to unborn and newborn pēpi emilykeddell https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1734876286 The Oranga Tamariki guidance on responding to babies and their whānau

https://practice.orangatamariki.govt.nz/our-work/assessment-and-planning/assessments/intake-and-early-assessment/strengthening-our-response-to-unborn-and-newborn-pepi/

]]> 2021-09-13 03:48:33 UTC https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1734876286 How do policy and practice frameworks shape practice logics? emilykeddell https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1734883586 Keddell, E. (2019). Harm, care and babies: An inequalities and policy discourse perspective on recent child protection trends in Aotearoa New Zealand [Child protection; Oranga Tamariki; child abuse prevention; inequalities; babies]. 2019, 31(4), 17. https://doi.org/10.11157/anzswj-vol31iss4id668 

https://anzswjournal.nz/anzsw/article/view/668]]> 2021-09-13 03:52:02 UTC https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1734883586 Situating debates around baby removals in historical, political and economic context emilykeddell https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1734902296 Hyslop, I. K. (2021, 2021/08/21). Child Protection Reform in Aotearoa-New Zealand: Devolution or Revolution? International Journal on Child Maltreatment: Research, Policy and Practice. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42448-021-00086-6 
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s42448-021-00086-6

]]> 2021-09-13 04:00:58 UTC https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1734902296 Balancing women-centred and child -centred ethical imperatives in collaborative pre-birth assessment practice emilykeddell https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1734931811 Hodson, A. V., & Deery, R. (2014). Protecting unborn babies: professional and interprofessional ethical considerations for social work and midwifery. In D. Jindal - Snape & E. Hannah (Eds.), Exporing the dynamics of personal, professional and interpofessional ethics (pp. 151-166). Policy Press. 

https://books.google.co.nz/books?hl=en&lr=&id=TxErAwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA151&dq=social+work+practice+babies&ots=19R5zPvVDJ&sig=7M-AdRqitIOGGAUDDAzXNJg_K2g&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=social%20work%20practice%20babies&f=false]]> 2021-09-13 04:16:01 UTC https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1734931811 Gateway to further adversity: how do repeat removals affect women? emilykeddell https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1734939594 Broadhurst K, Mason C. (2020). Child removal as the gateway to further adversity: Birth mother accounts of the immediate and enduring collateral consequences of child removal. Qualitative Social Work. 19(1):15-37. doi:10.1177/1473325019893412
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1473325019893412]]> 2021-09-13 04:19:49 UTC https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1734939594 Understanding the experiences of fathers whose babies are involved in child protection emilykeddell https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1734949337 Critchley A. Giving up the ghost: Findings on fathers and social work from a study of pre-birth child protection. Qualitative Social Work. June 2021. doi:10.1177/14733250211019463
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/14733250211019463?icid=int.sj-full-text.citing-articles.2]]> 2021-09-13 04:24:48 UTC https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1734949337 Addressing systems factors and family factors: those that directly impact parenting, and those that relate to service collaboration and provision. emilykeddell https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1734983121 Keddell, E., Cleaver, K., & Fitzmaurice, L. (2021, 2021/06/12/). The perspectives of community-based practitioners on baby removal prevention: addressing legitimate and illegitimate factors. Children and Youth Services Review, 106126. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2021.106126 
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740921002024]]> 2021-09-13 04:41:27 UTC https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1734983121 How can professionals support families to avoid recurrent care? emilykeddell https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1761832662  Hannah, B., & Condon, L. (2020). Families who recurrently lose children into care: How can professionals support mothers? Journal of Health Visiting, 8(1), 18-22. https://doi.org/10.12968/johv.2020.8.1.18 ]]> 2021-09-23 03:29:09 UTC https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1761832662 Eight important considerations to prevent recurring baby removal emilykeddell https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1761851160
  • Scale and pattern - population- wide patterns and inequalities
  • Childhood antecedents of women’s complex difficulties - historical trauma and distress informed the current situation
  • Childhood care experience and adult family justice involvement - intersecting systems
  • Contraception, pregnancy planning and intimate partner relationships - need to better understand women's attitudes, motivations and access
  • Differentiating the population of women in recurrent proceedings - not all women are in the same circumstances
  • Impact of child removal and access to rehabilitative services - responding to acute grief
  • Positive turning points - building on opportunities for change
  • Outcomes for children - need more understanding of the outcomes for babies
    • Broadhurst, K., Mason, C., Bedston, S., Alrouh, B., Morriss, L., McQuarrie, T., Palmer, M., Shaw, M., Harwin, J., & Kershaw, S. (2017). Vulnerable Birth Mothers and Recurrent Care Proceedings: Final Summary Report. L. University. https://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/sites/default/files/files/rc-final-summary-report-v1_6.pdf


    ]]>     2021-09-23 03:38:02 UTC https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1761851160     Mother’s experiences of having their baby removed at birth: a digital story emilykeddell https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1761864319 https://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/about/our-faculties/faculty-health-social-sciences/public-involvement-education-research/our-resources/children-families]]> 2021-09-23 03:44:26 UTC https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1761864319 What needs to change to enable pēpi Māori aged 0-3 months to remain in the care of their whānau? emilykeddell https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1904826783 This report from the Office of the Children's Commissioner sets out the barriers to prevention and grounds them within the Aotearoa New Zealand context]]> 2021-11-21 21:54:24 UTC https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1904826783 Reflection questions emilykeddell https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1904836483 1. How do mothers, fathers and other whānau members experience the involvement of the child protection system around the time of birth?
    2. How can babies' experiences of removal - an under researched area - be better understood?
    3. How can social workers respond to the pressing needs of families in ways that recognise both their statutory obligations to protect children, as well as support mothers, fathers and whānau?
    4. How does the context of colonisation affect Māori whānau differently from non-Māori whānau?
    5. What do you notice about the cases where removal was avoided compared to those where it was not?


    ]]>     2021-11-21 22:12:19 UTC https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1904836483     Why Canada is reforming Indigenous fostercare emilykeddell https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1904838316 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-57646170


    ]]>     2021-11-21 22:15:39 UTC https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1904838316     Protecting Unborn and Newborn Babies through improving pre-birth proceedings emilykeddell https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1904925587 Masson, J., & Dickens, J. (2015). Protecting Unborn and Newborn Babies. Child Abuse Review, 24(2), 107-119. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/car.2344 ]]> 2021-11-22 00:27:12 UTC https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1904925587 Working with substance use in pregnancy emilykeddell https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1904948929 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-58085-8_4

     Mills, K. (2021). Balancing Risk and Need: Substance Misuse and Perinatal Women. In L. Abbott (Ed.), Complex Social Issues and the Perinatal Woman (pp. 47-59). Springer International Publishing.]]>     2021-11-22 00:46:55 UTC https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1904948929     Reflection questions emilykeddell https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1904976797 1. What do you notice about the similarities and differences between countries?
    2. How do global trends relating to colonisation affect histories of baby removal, and what is the effect of this on subsequent generations?
    3. How does your own position (gender, class, ethnicity, religion, culture or nationality) affect your attitudes towards pregnant women and babies?]]>     2021-11-22 01:08:11 UTC https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1904976797     Reflection questions emilykeddell https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1904980493 1. What are the key policy discourses that have framed the debates around baby removals in particular ways? eg 'child-centred' and 'whānau-centred'?
    2. How have recent legislative and policy changes affected practice in this area?
    3. How can policy support procedural fairness for whānau who have contact with the child protection system around the time of birth? Do our current policy frameworks do this?
    4. The Waitangi Tribunal report describes the causes of dis proportionality for Māori and how to address it. How should we implement these recommendations, and what relevance do they have for other communities with inequities in system contact?
    5. How do Māori and Pākeha worldviews affect differences in discourses about parenting and assessing capacity? What else affects them?
    6. Parents with disabilities are disproportionally affected by removal. How do assumptions and realities about people with disabilities affect this process?]]>     2021-11-22 01:10:53 UTC https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1904980493     This report sparked deep debate about baby removals and procedural fairness. The ombudsman's report: He take Kōhukihuki, a matter of urgency emilykeddell https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1904983068 https://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/resources/he-take-kohukihuki-matter-urgency]]> 2021-11-22 01:12:45 UTC https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1904983068 The report from WAI2915, the urgent inquiry into Oranga Tamariki (2020). Waitangi Tribunal report: he pā harakeke. emilykeddell https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1904988976
    https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/WT/wt_DOC_171027305/He%20Paharakeke%20W.pdf]]>     2021-11-22 01:17:05 UTC https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1904988976     Reflection questions emilykeddell https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1904995963 1. Improving partnership models between states and Indigenous people require a legal lever and a willingness to share power. Do we have both in Aotearoa and how does this compare with other nations?
    2. Families often exist at the intersections of multiple inequities: of socioeconomic status, ethnicity, disability, location and gender. How can social inequities such s poverty be addressed to improve prevention of removal?
    2. Improving how services link together in the pre-birth period requires improved collaboration between health, statutory child protection, and community-based services. What are the barriers and enablers of this process?
    3. Many family experience the involvement of services as fragmented, frightening and poorly matched to their needs. How can the dynamics between services be improved so this is experienced as coherent and helpful?]]>     2021-11-22 01:21:47 UTC https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1904995963     Do parents with disabilities have the same access to supports they need? emilykeddell https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1905010583 https://doi.org/10.1177/10775595211001109
    Pacheco, L., Aunos, M., Feldman, M., & McConnell, D. Reasonable Efforts? Child Maltreatment Investigations and Service Referrals of Parents With Ascribed Cognitive Impairments in Canada. Child Maltreatment, 0(0), 10775595211001109.


    ]]>     2021-11-22 01:31:44 UTC https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1905010583     'We want to be parents like everyone else'. What practice approaches help parents with disabilities? emilykeddell https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1905014889 https://doi.org/10.1080/20473869.2018.1448233
    Theodore, K., Foulds, D., Wilshaw, P., Colborne, A., Lee, J. N. Y., Mallaghan, L., Cooper, M., & Skelton, J. (2018, 2018/05/27). ‘We want to be parents like everybody else’: stories of parents with learning disabilities. International Journal of Developmental Disabilities, 64(3), 184-194.  ]]>     2021-11-22 01:34:38 UTC https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1905014889     Reflection questions emilykeddell https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1905020259 1. Social workers are often involved in both assessing parents at the same time as engaging them in change-focussed supports. What are the tensions involved in this? How can they be reconciled?
    2.How do concepts of kaitiakitanga and whakamana tangata be used to support practice with whānau?
    3. What do parents and whānau say are the practice approaches they find most helpful?
    4. How can we understand the relational connections of newborns, and be explicit about the theoretical basis we are using to understand these relationships? 
    5. How can parents with disabilities and their children have their rights supported by enabling support networks?
    6. Addressing substance use and intimate partner violence are key for many whānau to reducing harm to babies and preventing removal. How do these two readings provide fresh ways to conceptualise these two issues in the context of pregnancy and newborns?]]>     2021-11-22 01:38:18 UTC https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1905020259     Theories about neuroscience are often evoked in pre and post-birth assessments. How can we approach this critically? emilykeddell https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1905022553 https://doi.org/10.3366/scot.2020.0341
    Critchley, A. (2020). Baby brain: Neuroscience, policy-making and child protection. Scottish Affairs, 29(4), 512-528. https://doi.org/10.3366/scot.2020.0341 ]]>     2021-11-22 01:39:59 UTC https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1905022553     Parenting assessments and coloniality - what are the underlying assumptions about 'good parenting' and 'parenting capacity'? emilykeddell https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1957793692 Assessing parents and their whānau network is inherently difficult. How we conceptualise parenting capacity is culturally laden and reflecting on these assumptions are important.]]> 2021-12-20 23:25:12 UTC https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1957793692 Mothering babies in domestic violence: beyond attachment theory emilykeddell https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1957801177 This book offers a feminist perspective that moves beyond traditional attachment theory to understand how women can enlarge the space for women to 'peacefully relate' to their babies, even in the context of sustained hostility from their partners. ]]> 2021-12-20 23:37:26 UTC https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/1957801177 Experiences of baby removal prevention: A collective case study of mothers and community-based workers https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/14733250211058178 emilykeddell https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/2034533296 How do mothers and community social workers work together to help prevent removal?]]> 2022-02-08 03:10:19 UTC https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/2034533296 A fight for legitimacy: reflections on child protection reform, the reduction of baby removals, and child protection decision-making https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1177083X.2021.2012490 emilykeddell https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/2034537206 This article engages with the issues relating to the large decrease in baby removals in Aotearoa NZ. This change was driven by a need to try and regain legitimacy, but how do we know if it's really better for babies and their whānau, better for Māori, or a sign of better decision-making by social workers?]]> 2022-02-08 03:13:23 UTC https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/2034537206 Practicing Māori principles: A frontline scope of kaitiakitanga in care and protection of children emilykeddell https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/2314518734 These findings demonstrate "the important aspects of kaitiakitanga, and applied into practice, through a process of whakamana ngā tangata (empowering people). This perspective has direct links to care, protection, and nurture, for all tamariki (children) that may be in a state requiring support. This can enable iwi to support our mokopuna Māori, (children/grandchildren of Māori descent) from going into care of the Ministry for Children – Oranga Tamariki, or who are in their care. Kaitiakitanga continues to highlight the importance of iwi involvement in the process"]]> 2022-09-26 23:48:18 UTC https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/2314518734 Policy assurance relating to the Ombudman's recommendation emilykeddell https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/2799875101 Creating accountability mechanisms within Oranga Tamariki to track the Ombudsman's recommendations, has helped focus on improved practice with whanau around the time of birth.

    ]]>     2023-11-23 00:01:07 UTC https://padlet.com/emilykeddell/iamvrlejrdhi44my/wish/2799875101