Research report 1/12

This literature review was a response to the Minister for Social Development and Employment’s request that the Families Commission undertake an “international literature review about parents who lose custody of children through a care and protection intervention who then have additional children who may be at risk … [with particular focus on] … what could be done with these families to prevent additional children coming into these families and being put at risk while the parents are still addressing their complex issues”.
The review will consider:
what will assist families overcome their complex issues so that subsequent children are not at risk
what can be done to prevent subsequent children coming into families (while parents are still addressing their complex issues).
Throughout this review, we use the term ‘subsequent children’ to refer to children coming into families at some point after a sibling was removed. We argue that families who have subsequent children removed are a subset of ‘complex families’, who have multiple needs.
The literature review focuses on the identification of this group of families and children, assessment, support for parents to ensure their children’s safety and relevant services, policies, practices and legislation. A separate review of selected literature on the needs of whānau Māori who have had previous children removed complements this report (Cram, 2011). Whānau Māori are overrepresented in the child welfare system, including child removal statistics. Cram explores how these whānau can be supported in their childrearing roles to develop safe environments for subsequent children, and examines the determinants of positive whānau outcomes. From the Executive summary. See also the companion report: Safety of subsequent children - Māori children and whānau: a review of selected literature (#3752) by Fiona Cram, also published by the Families Commission, January 2012.

This publication has also been archived by the National Library of New Zealand.

Record #3751