In February 2020, Emma Fenby from the Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare invited Professor Ben Mathews wto provide an update to centre staff and associates about the Australian Child Maltreatment Study. In his presentation Professor Mathews provided an overview of the ACMS goals and progress to date.
The presentation covered the reasons an Australian prevalence study is needed as well as a detailed update on progress to date. This focussed primarily on substantial revisions to the maltreatment screeners from the Juvenile Victimisation Questionnaire to ensure they fully capture the most current and robust conceptual models of abuse and neglect. He also provided an update on ethical clearance and the development of distress protocols. The CFECFW are valuable supporter of the ACMS study and we look forward to more partnering with them in the coming years.