Abstract

Mapping Child well-being: Small Area Indicators of Child Advantage and Disadvantage

Author(s)

Rebecca Cassells -NATSEM, University of Canberra

Dr Riyana Miranti -NATSEM, University of Canberra

Dr Justine McNamara -NATSEM, University of Canberra

Prof Ann Harding -NATSEM, University of Canberra

Mr Robert Tanton -NATSEM, University of Canberra

In the context of increasing concerns about how Australian children are faring across a range of dimensions of well-being in comparison with children in other OECD countries, the need for measureable indicators of child advantage and disadvantage is increasingly important.

While some national-level sets of child well-being indicators exist, there has been a lack of readily available data at a small area level. Such data can assist policy makers and service providers in developing targeted programs for early intervention and prevention, focused on the particular needs of children within localities and regions. The National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling at the University of Canberra, along with partner investigators Professor Fiona Stanley,

Dr Sharon Goldfeld, Professor Bob Stimson, Professor Hal Kendig and the Australian Bureau of Statistics, have used funding from an Australian Research Council Discovery Grant (DP664429) to develop a set of small area indicators of child well-being to be made freely available on the internet in the form of user-friendly interactive maps.

Domains covered by these indicators have been identified through a study of Australian and international literature on indicators of child well-being, and will include material well-being, health and safety, housing, education and development, family circumstances and community connectedness. This poster will showcase the data and maps, demonstrating their usefulness for individuals and agencies involved in developing policy and services for children and young people.