Children's Services: A Vision for the Future

Abstract

How do we change community perceptions and promote the importance of the early childhood years? Advocacy by the early childhood sector would appear to be a good starting point, but how well equipped are members of the profession to take on this role? This paper explores these questions by analysing the direction of policy decisions in relation to children's services and comparing them with overseas directions. It further reports the findings of a study of key stakeholders in the children's services sector and their perceptions of who are the main influencers of children's services policy. The findings point to the limited nature of advocacy leadership amongst those involved in the children's services sector in New South Wales. Discussion of the findings focuses on developing strategies to inform and support early childhood professionals to help them to advocate on behalf of children and to build the profile of children within the community.

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