In Australia, around 800 young people are held in detention on any given night. Most are boys. Nearly two-thirds are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. The majority are aged between 14 and 17, and many come from regional or remote areas where access to education, healthcare, and social supports is limited. Within these centres, a typical staff team might include youth justice officers, teachers, caseworkers, psychologists, and health staff, all navigating complex environments shaped by routine, security, and relational intensity.
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our training
We leverage modern digital solutions to expand how carers and professionals access and engage with training and peer-learning about trauma-informed care. We do this through accredited and non-accredited training, facilitation of peer networks, leading research initiatives, and translating knowledge to guide practice. Community of Practices workshops for therapeutic specialists, house managers and more.
NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
latest
Children are often the unseen witnesses of domestic and family violence. This blog reflects on a recent tragedy to explore what happens when we overlook their experiences, and why centring children in media, policy, and community responses matters for their safety and recovery.
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A heartfelt reflection on The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse — exploring how its gentle lessons of love, courage, and belonging can inspire healing and hope for children in care.
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Research
We partner with leading researchers to identify and fill the gaps in knowledge about what works in out-of-home care.
Learn
We facilitate monthly communities of practice for therapeutic specialists, and those with a clinical role, in therapeutic residential care.
Innovate
We innovate and curate collections of knowledge on critical practice issues in out-of-home care.
VIDEOS
latest
Recorded webinar – Inside organised exploitation: A conversation with Michael Salter
Safeguarding children services: online training
Recorded webinar: Grandparents surviving the care system
Recorded webinar: What young people say about changing therapeutic residential care
Recorded webinar: Trauma-informed care in youth detention
What is a residential care worker?
What do you think is the role of “reflective practice”?
What do you enjoy about working with young people?
What does cultural safety mean to you?
Supporting Aboriginal children and young people in custodial and residential care settings – Rhett’s story
How do you support young people in connecting to culture?
How do you plan for a young person’s transition into and leaving your service?
How do you help young people feel safe in the residential home?
Can you share an example of changes you have witnessed in young people after time being supported in residential care?
A “day in your life” as a residential care worker
Recorded webinar: Criminalisation of children in care
Recorded webinar: FASD in out-of-home care
About us
Why is reflection important for trauma-informed work?
Why did you become a therapeutic specialist?
What would you tell others thinking about becoming a therapeutic specialist?
What changes have you seen in the young people you work with?
What are the best parts of being a therapeutic specialist?
What are the challenges of being a therapeutic specialist?
How does the exposure to trauma impact on staff?
What is the role of relationship in therapeutic care?
What is an average day for a therapeutic specialist?
What is a therapeutic specialist?
Welcome to responding to child sexual exploitation
