Overview
What is the Victorian Centre of Health Leadership for Children in Care?
The Victorian Centre of Health Leadership for Children in Care provides training and support for Health Navigators and multidisciplinary clinicians providing health assessments to children entering statutory care for a first or subsequent time.
Specifically, the Centre provides clinical leadership for the state-wide Pathway to Good Health initiative. This initiative delivers health screening, assessment, referrals and health planning to all Victorian children entering statutory care.
Why is this issue important?
Responsive care supports children’s health, development and wellbeing. Children in statutory care have often experienced a range of hardships, including difficulties in accessing healthcare. As a result, they often have more physical, developmental and mental health needs than their peers.
Routine and timely assessment of health needs at entry to care is important to identify areas where multidisciplinary support or treatment is needed, and to create a plan to address those needs.
Our approach
The Centre for Community Child Health at The Royal Children’s Hospital has been providing these comprehensive health assessments at the on-site Pathway to Good Health clinic since 2013.
Alongside the original clinic, The Royal Children’s Hospital pioneered the successful implementation of Vulnerable Child Health Coordinator roles. Coordinators were based in local child protection teams from 2019 to 2024 to support healthcare navigation for children involved with statutory services.
The Victorian Government invested in the 2023-24 State Budget to expand the Pathway to Good Health Program through both multidisciplinary assessment clinics and Health Navigator roles across Victoria by 2027.
What we provide
- Workforce development for senior paediatric trainees and paediatricians through placements in the Pathway to Good Health Clinics at The Royal Children’s Hospital.
- Development of guidelines for health assessments.
- Development of resources to support the Pathway to Good Health workforce, based on national and international best practice.
- Development of learning modules and in-person training on the use of CAReHR, understanding the health care needs of children in care, navigating the referral process and health care systems, and trauma informed care.
- Co-designed communities of practice for clinicians working in the Pathway to Good Health program. Case discussions and presentations from subject matter experts build clinicians’ capacity by providing opportunities to share knowledge and support their peers.
- Leadership of quality improvement activities within the Pathway to Good Health program.
- Clinical leadership for health record management.
- Support for access to subspecialty medical care at The Royal Children's Hospital for children in care.
Our research
Current projects include:
- Primary care practitioners’ perspectives on health assessments for children in care
- Managing Specialist Clinic Access for Vulnerable Children at The Royal Children's Hospital
- Improving Pathway to Good Health clinical practices through clinician and consumer perspectives
- Hearing from young people – part of the Child Health, Adversity and COVID-19 partnership with the Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare.
Our team
The Victorian Centre of Health Leadership for Children in Care was established in 2024 to support the expanded Pathway to Good Health program. It is based at the Centre for Community Child Health at The Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne.
The team includes practitioner and research expertise in multidisciplinary health assessment and clinical navigation support for children in the child protection system.
- Elly Law, Nurse Lead
- Dr Karen McLean, Paediatric Lead
Partners and funders
The Victorian Government invested in the 2023-24 State Budget to expand the Pathway to Good Health Program through both multidisciplinary assessment clinics and Health Navigator roles across Victoria by 2027.
Resources
- [Article] We checked the records of 6,000 kids entering care. Only a fraction received recommended health checks. March 2022, The Conversation.
‘If we have a system that removes children from families when we believe they are being harmed or their needs neglected, then we need to make sure we don’t overlook them any further.’ - [Publication] Timeliness and extent of health service use by Victorian (Australian) children within first year after entry to out-of-home care: Retrospective data linkage cohort study. January 2022, Children and Youth Services Review.
We aimed to describe the timing and extent of health service utilisation by children in the state of Victoria upon entry to statutory care. - [Publication] Foster and kinship carer survey: Accessing health services for children in out-of-home care. September 2020, Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health.
We explored the experiences of Victorian foster and kinship carers in accessing health services for children in their care. - [Publication] Foster and kinship carer experiences of accessing healthcare: A qualitative study of barriers, enablers and potential solutions. April 2020, Children and Youth Services Review.
This paper identifies the barriers and enablers for 19 Victorian foster and kinship carers accessing timely health assessment and ongoing healthcare for a child placed in their care. - [Publication] Health needs and timeliness of assessment of Victorian children entering out-of-home care: An audit of a multidisciplinary assessment clinic. April 2019, Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health.
We described the health needs of children attending a comprehensive health assessment at a multidisciplinary clinic for children following entry to out-of-home care and timeliness of referral and assessment compared with national recommendations.
Contact us
For further information about the Victorian Centre of Health Leadership for Children in Care contact: [email protected]