Dorothy and the Satellites: Child Care, Child Protection and Family Support in Victoria by Hayden Raysmith

Pamela Lea
Policy Analyst
Social Policy Agency

This unusual report was released in Australia earlier this year, and is one of the outcomes of an independent project which was established by the Myer Foundation in Victoria to consider ways to build co-operation and improve child care, child protection, and family support measures in that state. The Myer Foundation was set up to provide funding and support for programmes responding to community needs, and for the development of new ideas.

The report takes a novel approach to social policy, both in style and content, and provides fresh insights into complex issues. It focuses in particular on children and family policies, but also places them, and indeed the whole 'discipline' of social policy into the wider social, political and economic context, and makes the point that in the nineties the separation of the various disciplines and the grand theories of the past are no longer viable.

Introduction

The first part of the report is set out as an introductory montage. Raysmith explains that the intention is to stimulate thoughts and ideas in the reader. In this section the story of a woman called Dorothy introduces us to the everyday experiences of people living in the nineties.

Dorothy's story is juxtaposed with pieces of text which include the author's narrative, newspaper quotes and extracts from texts across a range of disciplines. Dorothy's real life experiences thus become interconnected with analytical and intellectual responses to the social and economic trends and changes occurring in Australia and other Western capitalist societies.

The introductory montage is designed to convey an impression and a context for the more logically flowing material in the second part of the report which focuses on family, child care, child protection and family support in the state of Victoria.

We first meet Dorothy travelling to work on a Melbourne tram, and she makes a number of observations. She notes, for example, that nowadays she is treated better as a customer and a user of public services than she was in the past, and that this has had a positive effect on her life. A number of quotes then follow, referring to the advent of market economies and the effects of competition on the quality of services. Dorothy and her family continue to provide case study examples of the effects of changes in the cultural, social and economic orders. The writer intersperses the story with quotes about post-modernism, and the effects of globalisation of the economy and the media.

Raysmith also intersperses Dorothy's story and the various quotes with his own statements. He discusses the efforts of modern countries to achieve egalitarian societies in the 20th century, and the emergency of the welfare state. He considers the forces such as market liberalism which have come together in the latter half of the century to threaten the welfare state.

Moral Obligation, Interdependance and Complexity

Raysmith suggests that there is a need for re-invigoration of a sense of moral obligation and social responsibility. He refers to 'citizenship' and 'civil society', terms which have been used by a number of social policy theorists recently in a push for a rethink of the fundamental values and principles of the social contract. This is a reaction to market liberalism which locates citizenship in individualistic principles, emphasises the right to freedom over equality, and sees duty and responsibility as primarily to the family. The writer states the need for a more interdisciplinary approach between economics, political science and sociology, in order to achieve a state of equilibrium between the market, the State and civil society where moral obligation is also understood.

The author notes the growing interdependence of economic and social policy. He cites as an example the area of child care, which is no longer a social policy afterthought, but integral to industry, training and labour market policies. He comments that the emerging characteristics of the post-modern era are interdependence and complexity, and that the simple analyses and traditional boundaries of the past are not longer sufficient, and should be replaced by strategies which see a larger whole and take account of interrelationships. He bases these statements on systems and organisational theory.

Child Care, Child Protection and Family Support in Victoria

The second part of the report looks at aspects of family policy in Victoria. The first section begins with a brief analysis of the family and its changing dynamics. Raysmith suggests that family structures have varied historically from one era to another and that the diversity of contemporary family structures should be accepted. Effort should be directed towards ensuring that families function well, and family policies should adapt to accommodate the changes.

Two social changes which affect family functioning are chosen for attention in the report. These are women's increasing participation in paid work and the implications for child care, and the community responses to violence in the home, particularly in relation to children.

The report shows the extent to which child care has become big business in Australia, and notes the need for improvement in industrial relations and training in this area. It discusses the various responsibilities of the Commonwealth, the State, and local government, and income and access issues. It suggests the need for better co-ordination of services by the various providers, and the necessity to overcome some of the debates and divisions within the sector.

This is a brief but comprehensive summary of the current state of child care in Australia and provides an interesting analysis for comparison with the New Zealand situation.

The section on child protection is again focused on Victoria but also has wider application. The author notes the increase in reporting of child abuse and discusses the need to break out of the narrow response and symptomatic solution, and to concentrate more on determining the underlying factors of child abuse. Mandatory reporting, or the legal requirement to report suspected cases of abuse was introduced recently in Victoria and applies to most of the helping professions. Mandatory reporting is considered in this report to be a barrier to progress because it has the effect of shifting the responsibility for child abuse from the community to the State and of narrowing the response to child abuse.

Examples are presented of various models of early intervention and prevention programmes. Raysmith suggests that services in this area need to become less stigmatising, and that there should be greater ownership by the community of this problem. This section will be of interest to those who want to know more about current interventions and strategies in the child protection area.

The final section of the report discusses family support, not in the sense of delivery of targeted programmes but in the sense of engagement with the wider community. A strong social infrastructure is needed to support families, and this depends on close integration of social and economic policy. The writer notes the initiatives taken by corporations in Victoria to integrate family and social policies into the mainstream policies and practices of the private sector.

Raysmith returns to an introductory theme of the report, that complex social and moral issues such as child and family policy will not be satisfied by either the market or the State even in conjunction with one another, and that there is a need for re-invigoration of a sense of moral obligation and social responsibility. He warns against the growing tendency for non-governmental organisations to become more bureaucratised and less accountable, and to encourage dependency over self-sufficiency. He suggests the need for the community to be engaged, to feel some ownership of Australian society, and to understand and connect with global issues.

Comment

It would not be fair to comment too critically on this report. In a number of ways it does not meet the usual standards of academic rigour and presentation. Raysmith occasionally gets tangled in his observations and personal statements, and some of the issues discussed in the areas of child care and child protection have been considered in greater depth elsewhere. There is some frustration in dealing with a layout which does not progress logically from a beginning to an end. The type is small and in some places the words are jammed together. But the report is an innovative attempt to stimulate the reader to think creatively about social policy and its context, and to shift the focus of debate about children and family policies onto new and positive opportunities, and to this extent it succeeds and should be read. The writer has also packed a considerable amount of information into the report, which will be of interest to policymakers, students, and others interested in current social policy theory and practice.