This section contains useful resources for anyone interested in the early years of a child's life. It includes reports and written material which can be downloaded and information on relevant conferences. It is sorted according to the date when the material was loaded to this website.
Visit our links page for a list of other useful websites on early childhood, and find out about how we work with children and families.
May 2007
Evidence into Action Topical Papers
The Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY) has developed a series of Topical Papers with an emphasis on practical research and key messages that can be applied in practice. All topical papers can be accessed at ARACY’s website.
What constitutes child friendly communities and how are they built?
Prepared by The Benevolent Society for ARACY, this paper explores the major themes and elements of what constiutes a child friendly community and how this kind of community can be built. It examines research and practice literature as well as the experiences and observations of practitioners working across Australia.
The Economic Benefits of High Quality Early Childhood Education Programs: what makes the difference?
This report from the Committee for Economic Development examines the findings of three studies of high-quality early education programs: the Perry Preschool Project, the Abecedarian Project and the Chicago Child-Parent Centres. The report attempts to extrapolate what these three studies specifically did that made them so successful.
Droppping off the edge – report summary
Tony Vinson’s latest report, for Jesuit Social Services and Catholic Services Services Australia, maps the distribution of social disadvantage throughout Australia.
Differential parenting of children from diverse cultural backgrounds attending child care
This paper from the Australian Institute of Family Studies explores how children from Anglo, Somali and Vietnamese cultural backgrounds are parented at home and in day care. It focuses on how parenting beliefs and behaviours vary according to cultural background.
Tailoring parenting to fit the child
Bringing up children is a 'two-way street' to which parents and children both contribute. This article from the Australian Institute of Family Studies provides an overview of evidence about the importance of synchrony between parenting methods and child characteristics, and outlines ways in which parenting can be attuned to 'fit' the child.
11th Australasian Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect (ACCAN 2007)
30 October - 2 November 2007, Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre
This year's conference features a Young Delegate Program, as well as international and Australasian presenters from health, education, child welfare and social policy and planning sectors. Chaired by Julie McCrossin, National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (NAPCAN) ambassador.
kidscount website
This new website is part of the Every Child is Important Program, an initiative funded by the Australian Government Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs. The website has parenting information in 16 languages in both audio and print formats.
The choices our society has to make to improve children's health
Keynote presentation from A/Prof Victor Nossar at the Australian Association for the Welfare of Child Health 10th National Conference.
February 2007
Child Poverty in Perspective: An Overview of Child Well-being in Rich Countries
A new report from UNICEF assessing the well-being of children and young people in 21 industrialised countries. The report covers 6 dimensions of well-being: material well-being, health and safety, education, peer and family relationships, behaviours and risks, and young people’s own subjective sense of their own well-being.
The changing role of grandparents: AFRC Briefing No.2, 2006
Grandparents have always played an important role in family life, but over the last twenty years, many have had increased responsibility for their grandchildren due to changes and issues in families and society. The Australian Family Relationships Clearinghouse’s report explores the changing role of grandparents.
Growing Up in Australia: the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children Newsletter, January 2007
This latest newsletter from the Australian Institute of Family Studies has information about Wave 2 data collection, Wave 1.5 data release and Wave 3 developments, as well as news on recent papers, presentations and publications.
Cost effectiveness of early intervention: AICrime Reduction Matters No. 54
The Australian Institute of Criminology has released a fact sheet examining the advantages of early intervention programs in crime reduction.
Australian mothers and babies – fourteenth report
The Australian Institute of Health & Welfare pulbishes this report annually, providing information on births in Australia from perinatal data collections for each state and terrirtory. This latest report presents demographic, pregnancy and childbirth factors of women who give birth in 2004, and the characteristics and outcomes of their babies.
Children’s participation in cultural and leisure activities, 2006
This publication from the Australian Bureau of Statistics presents results from the Survey of Children's Participation in Cultural and Leisure Activities conducted in April 2006. While the publication primarily provides information about the participation of children aged 5 to 14 years in cultural, sporting and other leisure activities, details on children's use of computers and the Internet and their involvement in homework and other study are also presented.
October 2006
The Pathways to Prevention project: doing developmental prevention in a disadvantaged community
A partnership between Griffith University and Mission Australia, Pathways to Prevention began in 2001 and involves family, school and community in a set of planned interventions with four to six-year-old children aimed at preventing anti-social behaviour in their adolescence and early adulthood. The report shows that early results from this project are promising, particularly in that boys improved significantly in terms of being ready for school and had reductions in difficult behaviour.
Centre for Community Child Health (CCCH) Practice Resources
CCCH has developed eleven Practice Resources to help professionals consider and understand a range of issues relating to the early years. They are designed to bridge the gap between research and practice, knowing that many professionals do not have the time to sift through and interpret the vast amount of research.
Is child care a risk factor for diminished cognitive and social child outcomes?
Dr Sarah Friedman is Director of the Appalachian Regional Educational Laboratory. In this presentation Dr Friedman discusses the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. Specifically she addresses the study’s methodology and key findings.
Children’s rights: fundamental to wellbeing
This is the keynote address from Jaap Doek, Chairperson UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CFC), at the ACWA Conference in August 2006. The paper considers the questions – why are rights fundamental to children’s wellbeing, and why; what is meant by wellbeing in the light of the CRC; why are the rights of children that serve their wellbeing under a (serious) threat and what can be done to respond to this threat?
Association of Children’s Welfare Agencies (ACWA) Conference Papers
A full list of papers and presentations from the 2006 Conference – Postiive Futures: Achieving Wellbeing for Children and Families – is available here.
Parenting partnerships in culturally diverse child care settings: A care provider perspective
The Australian Institute of Family Studies’ Child Care in Cultural Context study was designed to measure the childrearing beliefs, goals and practices of parents and carers of children from Anglo, Vietnamese, and Somali backgrounds. This paper describes carers' attitudes towards working with parents, how much they engage parents about their childrearing practices at home, and barriers carers have encountered in accommodating parental preferences in the context of formal child care settings.
May 2006
Trends in the affordability of child care services 1991-2004
Child care plays an important role in family and economic functioning, and in child development. This report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare examines the changes in costs to different types of families of purchasing child care and how this influences affordability and thus also equity.Selected Highlights from A Picture of Australia's Children
This summary report presents key national indicators from A Picture of Australia's Children, released in 2005. It provides statistics and key findings in the areas of child mortality, disability and health.
Child care quality in Australia
The Australia Institute's summary report analyses responses from child care workers about their perceptions of the quality of child care service provided. It compares quality across a number of indicators and compares corporate and community based services.
Raising Children Website
This new national website, launched in May 2006, is funded under the Australian Government's Stronger Families and Communities Strategy. It was developed by the Raising Children Network which is made up of 3 consortium members: the Smart Population Foundation, the Victorian Parenting Centre and the Centre for Community Child Health. It provides information that can help parents with the day-to-day decisions of raising children, as well as looking after their own needs.
February 2006
Grandparents Raising Grandchildren
The Grandparents Raising Grandchildren report is the result of a series of forums and a survey facilitated by COTA National Seniors Partnership. The focus of the project was grandparents raising grandchildren full-time or as primary carers for extended periods.
Australia's Mothers and Babies 2003
The thirteenth in the annual series prepared by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare's (AIHW) National Perinatal Statistics Unit (NPSU), providing national information on the pregnancy and childbirth of mothers, and the characteristics and outcomes of their babies.
Child Protection Australia 2004-05
From the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, this report provides information on state and territory child protection and support services, including trend data on child protection notifications and children in out-of-home care.
Patterns and precursors of adolescent antisocial behaviour: outcomes and connections
This is the third and final report from the Australian Temperament Project, a collaborative partnership between the Australian Institute of Family Studies and Crime Prevention Victoria.
Early Childhood Interventions: Proven Results, Future Promise
The RAND Corporation have undertaken a review of current research that addresses the potential for various forms of early childhood intervention to improve outcomes for participating children and their families. This monograph sheds light on the types of programs that have been demonstrated to be effective.
Australia's Welfare No. 7
Australia's Welfare provides national information on welfare services in Australia. Topics include indicators of the welfare of Australia's population, ageing and aged care services, and disability and disability services. It also features an extended chapter on children, youth and families.
School violence and its antecedents: interviews with high school students
This study released by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics has found that using non-punitive forms of discipline in the home may be the key to reduce violence and bullying in schools.