AASW Webinar Recording | Identifying Red Flags and Abuse and Trauma for Children and Young People in OOHC

Capability Level: Evolving

Working with children affected by abuse requires social workers to navigate complex and often heart-wrenching situations involving multiple family members and professionals. These children are often at risk of significant harm, and it is crucial to recognise early red flags of abuse to intervene effectively. Social workers play a pivotal role in helping children remain safely at home, reunify with their families, or transition to long-term out-of-home care.

The safety, healing, and wellbeing of these children are deeply tied to their sense of connection and belonging with their family, community, culture, and carers. This webinar is designed to empower participants with practical skills to enhance their safety planning and intervention strategies, focusing on:

• Connection and Belonging: Strengthening the child’s relationships with family, community, and culture to foster a sense of identity and stability.
• Safety and Healing: Identifying signs of abuse, responding to red flags, and creating trauma-informed, healing environments that support recovery and resilience.
• Collaboration: Partnering with children, families, carers, and professionals to develop coordinated safety plans and sustainable support systems.

Participants will leave with an understanding of how to recognise abuse, respond to red flags, and apply collaborative, child-centred approaches that promote healing, connection, and long-term wellbeing.

Who should register?

This webinar is ideal for social workers, child protection officers, family support workers, carers, foster parents, and other professionals working with vulnerable children.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this program, participants will be able to:

• Recognise key indicators (red flags) of abuse, neglect, and family violence, including offender tactics, and apply appropriate strategies to safeguard children.
• Cultivate an analytical perspective of the effects of abuse on children and young people.
• Develop strategies to engage families, carers, and professionals when supporting a child upon hearing disclosure of abuse.

AASW Credentials: Child Protection; Mental Health