Table of Contents

Introduction: What is in this book and who should use it Methodology: The Study on Which this Book is Based

Part I: Setting the Scene

1. Defining and Understanding the Client Group – Who are Ethnic Minorities and What do they Characteristically have in Common?

2. The Theoretical Backdrop – Why is it Important to Work Effectively with Ethnic Minorities and Across Cultures in Western Child Protection Systems?

Part II: Practice Issues

3. Frequency of Maltreatment – What are the Most Common Types of Abuse and Neglect Reported across Cultures and What is their Effect on Children?

4. Culture and Maltreatment – Are Physical Abuse, Sexual Abuse, Emotional Abuse, Inadequate Supervision and Neglect of Basic Needs Related to Culture?

5. Common Risk Factors of Maltreatment – Are Domestic Violence, Alcohol and Other Drug Issues, Mental Health Issues in the Carer, Housing and Financial Issues Related to Culture?

6. Protective Factors – Acknowledging Strengths of Families across Cultures Chapter

7. Working Effectively with Interpreters Chapter

8. To Match or Not To Match? The Pros and Cons of Ethnic Dis/Similarity between Client Families and Caseworkers

9. Ethnic Minority Children in the Out-Of-Home Care (OOHC) System – How do they Fare Compared to Aboriginal and Anglo Children?

Part III: Wrapping Up

10. Summarising the Main Causes of Entry of Ethnic Minorities in Western Child Protection Systems – What’s Cultural and What Isn’t?

11. Getting it Right – Personal, Organisational and Institutional Characteristics of Cultural Competency

12. Conclusion and Where to from Here?

About the Author

Pooja Sawrikar is Postdoctoral Fellow in Social Policy at Griffith University, Australia.