The recording of this webinar is now available on NAPCAN’s video resources page.

For links to information mentioned in the webinar, download the Resource Sheet. 

WEBINAR: POVERTY & KEEPING CHILDREN SAFE

When: Thursday 20th October

3pm AEDT time (Sydney), 2pm AEST (Brisbane) 

NAPCAN in conversation with

• Professor Brigid Featherstone, UK
• Professor Ilan Katz, UNSW
• Claudia Lennon, The Benevolent Society

As one of the wealthiest countries in the world, it’s just not right that 1 in 6 of our children grow up in poverty. We know that poverty affects far too many Australian children and families, diminishing their lives now and in the future.

How does poverty and inequality impact the context in which child abuse and neglect occurs and how it is responded to by different systems, including those that are meant to be providing families with support?

What can we learn from the UK and other countries, to help every child in every community have a fair go?

• Brid Featherstone is Professor of Social Work at the University of Huddersfield.  She was a member of the very influential Child Welfare Inequalities Project (2015-2017) – this highlighted the association between poverty and children’s chances of coming into care and the lack of attention paid by child protection professionals to poverty as a risk factor for child maltreatment.
• Professor Ilan Katz joined the Social Policy Research Centre, UNSW Sydney in January 2005 following many years of policy, practice and research in children and family services in the UK. His interests include parenting, child protection, youth justice, prevention and family support, children, families and communities, comparative child welfare systems, migration, race and ethnicity.
• Claudia Lennon, Director of Practice and Impact Management, Benevolent Society, is a qualified social worker with over 20 year’s experience. She has worked for the health system, not-for-profit and non-government agencies. She has 14 years of management experience across a variety of areas including family preservation, youth homeless, asylum seeker and refugees, out-of-home care programs and cancer-specific youth programs. She also has experience working within the drug and alcohol field. Claudia has been with The Benevolent Society since 2013 where she began as the manager in the Resilient Families, Social Benefit Bonds program and ongoing as the Bond moved to a payment by outcomes contract.