Inter-agency collaboration to support Western Australian students in out-of-home care

The Department for Child Protection and Family Support (CPFS) holds parental responsibility for a growing number of children in Western Australia who may be disadvantaged by circumstances that can negatively impact their schooling. While effective relationships between child protection workers and educators are crucial to improving outcomes for students in out-of-home care, studies conducted in the United States have identified systemic barriers to collaboration, including poor communication, confidentiality constraints and conflicting understandings of responsibilities. Research has yet to examine how well these systems work together in Western Australia work together to support students in out-of-home care. The present study responds to this gap using case study methods to explore CPFS employees’ perceptions of their experiences collaborating with educators.

The study’s design was grounded within an interpretivist theoretical framework and included two stages of data collection. The first stage included analysis of CPFS and DoE policies pertaining to education planning and information sharing. These findings were used to inform in-depth, semi-structured interviews with a purposeful sample of 11 Case Workers and Education Officers employed in 9 metropolitan, regional and remote districts. The Miles and Huberman framework for data analysis was used to identify emerging patterns categorised under the following master themes: Education Planning Protocols, Education Planning Practices, Resources, Structural Factors and Personal Characteristics.

Participants perceived their relationships with educators as mostly positive, and many believed that Regional Education Office administrators effectively advocated for students in out-of-home care. Several indicated that a jointly established Memorandum of Understanding had helped strengthen inter-agency communication and education planning accountability. However, difficulties obtaining Document Education Plans and limited access to supplementary educational supports within both systems were considerable sources of tension. Further conceptualisations of these findings were made based on Whittington’s (2003) Two-Stage Model of Collaboration. Conclusions from this study have the potential to inform the development of future initiatives surrounding child protection agency and school partnerships in Western Australia.