The use of e-technology as a way of improving communication and collaboration across services in child welfare has generated significant interest in recent years. The Information Sharing and Assessment (ISA) is an e-technology initiative that has been introduced by the British Government as an attempt to promote better information sharing between professionals, early identification and multi-professional interventions. This article looks at one aspect of ISA, the introduction of the Common Assessment Framework (CAF). It considers some of the issues relating to the introduction and use of the CAF, and discusses some of the ways in which systems of child welfare may learn from the English experience. While acknowledging the potential for e-technology to strengthen practice developments in child welfare, it emphasises the need for careful scrutiny of new developments to ensure that they do not have negative, unintended consequences.

This paper presents the findings of qualitative research on the use of mobile phones and home access to the Internet amongst some Australian welfare service users. It shows that a digital divide – the exclusion of some groups from information and communication technology – goes well beyond access to hardware. Phones are often unavailable and access to the Internet is contingent on infrastructure, technical support and individual interest. Access to the Internet at home is poor and, even when available, the way in which mobile phones and the Internet are used appears deeply affected by poverty, literacy and age. These findings present challenges for those concerned about vulnerable children’s ongoing disadvantage. Welfare agencies wishing to use the potential advantages of information and communication technology with families need to address patterns of use and the many barriers to access.

A glossary of ICT terms used in this article is presented at the end of the paper.

In Australia there is limited research and information regarding how Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) families are assessed within the child protection system. This paper explores assessment issues faced by child protection investigation officers when working with CALD families in the Queensland child protection system. The research examined the level of knowledge, training and experiences of child protection officers and whether they were ‘culturally competent’. The study found that entry level officers did not receive adequate training and resources, and lacked CALD-specific knowledge on how to deal with cross cultural issues when working with CALD families. Respondents indicated that interpreters‘ services were effective during investigation and assessment of CALD families. The findings of this study highlight key concerns in the provision of child protection assessments, practice, policy and service delivery when working with CALD families.

This article articulates the value of ethnographic research into poverty and particularly into the issue of student hardship. The question is asked whether ‘poverty line’ models of research, which claim to establish objective and accurate measures of financial adversity, actually help in understanding the problem of student hardship. Similar questions are asked about discourses that use the language of participation and social exclusion.

Consideration is given to the value of listening to young people talk about their experiences of studying and living without sufficient means. I refer here not only to the ethics of including ‘the subjects’ of research in the knowledge-making activity, but also to the value of the ethnographic material that is produced. This offers insights into the particular social problem which it is critical to understand in order to respond effectively. It is also material that is not available through more traditional forms of research. While the focus in this article is on university students and financial hardship, it is also arguing more generally in favour of giving priority to interpretivist tradition in research about contemporary social problems.

Australian child protection services have been slower than some of their overseas counterparts, such as the United Kingdom, to recognise the need for specific services for young people leaving care. The last 10 years, however, have seen a body of research into the needs of young people leaving care in various Australian States, with the resulting establishment of specific services in some States. As each State is governed by different Acts that regulate the services provided to young people in care, the development of new services has, of necessity, been on a state by state basis, with little or no coordination or consistency of service provision across Australia.