Abstract submissions for your work to be included into the ACWA 2018 program has been extended until Friday 20 April 2018.

The ACWA 2018 Program Committee invites the submission of abstracts for original work for consideration as an oral or poster presentation in the ACWA 2018 program.

An expansion of the sub-themes can be found below:

Child Protection

Child neglect
Child sexual abuse
Child physical and emotional abuse
Family violence
Poverty, disadvantage and social exclusion
Decision making for child safety

Children’s best interests and needs

Balancing the needs of children with supporting families
Early intervention and outcomes
Children’s subjective wellbeing
Children’s agency and participation
Vulnerable groups of children and families –disability issues, asylum seeking and refugee children and families

Early Intervention and family Support

Innovative Programs, practice initiatives and models of family based services
Interventions, outcomes and challenges

Out of home care (kinship, foster and residential care)

Foster care – challenges and opportunities
Kinship care – emerging themes and messages
Residential care in the permanency continuum
Enhancing outcomes – health, education, wellbeing, family relationships, belonging and identity needs
Reunification decision making and outcomes
Preventing and addressing abuse in care
Transitions and after care

Open adoption

Learning from the past for future adoption practice
What we know and what we need to know – research into practice
Assessing adoption outcomes
The place of post-adoption support

Aboriginal children, young people, families and communities

Aboriginal child and family wellbeing
Aboriginal participation in decision making
Culturally-informed practice and cultural support planning – in early intervention/family preservation/out of home care/reunification

Organisations – innovation, leadership, change

Programs, teams and planning
Cross agency and inter-professional collaboration
Workforce challenges – responding to legislative change, new evidence, skill requirements
Training and supervision
Child safe organisations
Program specialisation for permanency outcomes

Research, policy and practice

Evidence based practice/policy
Ethical issues in practice/research
Policy development
Evaluation
Outcome measurement
Implementation in practice