FACSIAR News Bites

• Latest child and family releases and events
• Quarterly statistics on DCJ Services for children and young people in NSW, January–March 2025 
• Quarterly Caseworker dashboard, January–March 2025 featuring data on caseworker numbers, vacancies and children receiving child protection services
• Refreshed Local Government Area heat maps for child protection and out-of-home care
• Child protection Australia 2023–24: Insights from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 
• Research paper on the effectiveness of trauma-based therapies for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children and young people in out-of-home care
• Upcoming webinar
  • New findings from the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC): Implications for policy and practice in NSW on Tue 26/08/2025 
  • Strengthening relationships and connections for young people in therapeutic residential care on Tue 23/09/2025
• Latest housing and homelessness releases
• Updated NSW social housing waiting list data to June 2025
• Housing Assistance in Australia report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

View August 2025 issue

• Searches for human services in NSW – data updated to April 2025
• Social housing waiting list – data updated to May 2025
• 2024 Out-of-home Care Carer Survey: Findings Report 
• Evidence Brief summarising key findings from the NSW Child Development Study (NSW-CDS)
• New evidence review on client experience measures in social and community services (available only to internal DCJ staff
• Upcoming webinar: Supporting placement stability for children in out of home care - Tue 29 July 2025 12:00pm-1:00pm AEST, online via Ms Teams

View June 2025 issue

• Social housing waiting list – data updated to March 2025
• Evidence to Action Note on restoration from out-of-home care for Aboriginal children and the experiences of children and parents – from the Pathways of Care Longitudinal Study
• New publication on the prevalence of maternal substance use problems during pregnancy and the first 2 years of life – from our research partners at the NSW Child E-Cohort Project
• New guidance on the DCJ Benefits database – which contains a set of standard benefit values to apply in Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) for human services in NSW, supporting consistent business decisions and program evaluation
• New DCJ Evaluation Reports added to the Evidence Repository – only available to internal DCJ staff
• Upcoming webinar: Supporting children living with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders and their carers –Tuesday 27 May 2025

View May 2025 issue

• Searches for human services in NSW – data updated to January 2025
• Services for children and young people – quarterly data updated to Oct-Dec 2024
• Caseworker statistics – quarterly data updated to Oct-Dec 2024
• Social housing waiting list – data updated to February 2025
• Pathways of Care Longitudinal Study (POCLS) research evidence on placement stability for children in out-of-home care presented at DCJ Practice Conference 2025
• Upcoming webinar: Understanding child sexual exploitation: policy and practice implications – Tuesday 22 April 2025

View April 2025 issue

• Aboriginal-led dashboard on children and families – data updated to 2023-24 including new measures
• Social housing waiting list and median waiting times – data updated to January 2025
• Housing Rent and Sales Reports – data updated to December 2024 for rent and September 2024 for sales
• Research publications summarising key findings and insights from recent Pathways of Care Longitudinal Study publications, and a complete list of all Study publications and resources available for download since 2011 to February 2025.
• Research on young people’s lived experience of relational practices in therapeutic residential care and on child protection contacts as an early prevention opportunity to support child development and well-being.
• Upcoming webinar: Findings and recommendations from the Targeted Earlier Intervention program evaluation – Wednesday 19^th March 2025

View March 2025 issue

• The release of Annual Statistical Report 2023-24, Targeted Earlier Intervention and Family Connect and Support 2023-24 dashboards, and new statistics on child protection, out-of-home care, social housing and homelessness.
• Research publications on child maltreatment, outcomes for children and young people in out-of-home care managed by non-government organisations, experiences of young people leaving care, demographics of children and young people in residential care, birth rates and placement patterns among care-experience young mothers, and adolescent mental disorders following childhood maltreatment.
• New evaluations of the Targeted Earlier Intervention program, Family Connect and Support program and Future Directions for Social Housing in NSW.
• Upcoming webinar: Safe, protected, connected: Applying Aboriginal understandings of permanency and attachment in practice. 

View February 2025 issue