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ThesisCC BY-NC V4.0, Open Access
Dissertation
Exploring Infant-Practitioner Relationships in Out-of-Home Care: Towards an Infant-Led Praxis in Child Protection
University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland
Doctor of Philosophy, University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland
2025
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25907/00946
Abstract
Infants, due to their developmental stage, are entirely reliant on adults for their care, safety, and protection, making them more vulnerable to abuse and neglect than older children. Australian and international data highlight the growing number of infants coming into contact with child protection services and entering out-of-home care (OOHC). Despite research on child protection practice, limited attention has been given to the relational dynamics between organisations, practitioners, and infants, particularly regarding how these relationships impact care quality and outcomes. This study addresses this gap through semi-structured interviews with 15 child protection practitioners, exploring how they sustain an ‘infant focus’ in their work. It investigates how practitioners cognitively and emotionally ‘hold the infant in mind’ while navigating the complex demands of statutory systems. Framed through a critical Feminist Relational and Infant-Led lens, the study identifies key themes of engagement, attunement, and relational practice as essential to improving outcomes in high-risk environments. Findings highlight both organisational and relational factors that support—or hinder—practitioners’ capacity to attune to infants. Many organisations lack the structural and emotional conditions needed to deliver trauma-informed, infant-sensitive care. The study proposes infant-led strategies to inform and strengthen frontline practice. Ultimately, this research argues for a relationship-based, trauma-informed model of child protection, grounded in the complex interconnections between infants, practitioners, and organisational systems. Centring the infant’s perspective presents a relational framework for systemic change to better meet the needs of infants in OOHC.
Details
- Title
- Exploring Infant-Practitioner Relationships in Out-of-Home Care: Towards an Infant-Led Praxis in Child Protection
- Authors
- Robyn Kemble - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Law and Society
- Contributors
- Peter Innes (Principal Supervisor) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Law and SocietyAthena Lathouras (Co-Supervisor) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Law and SocietyFiona Oates (Consultant Supervisor)Dyann Ross (Co-Supervisor) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Law and Society
- Awarding institution
- University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland
- Degree awarded
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Publisher
- University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland
- DOI
- 10.25907/00946
- Organisation Unit
- School of Law and Society
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991146539702621
- Output Type
- Dissertation
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