4105.0 - Children and Youth News, Mar 2007  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 02/03/2007   
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RECENT RELEASES


ABS

November

Deaths, Australia, 2005 (cat. no. 3302.0)

December

Information Paper: Improving Statistics on Children and Youth— an Information Development Plan (cat. no. 4907.0)
Education and Work, 2006 (cat. no. 6227.0)
Population by Age and Sex, Australian States and Territories, June 2006 (cat. no. 3201.0)
Research Paper: Synthesising Estimates of Indigenous Child Health Based on the W.A. Aboriginal Child Health Survey (Methodology Advisory Committee), Jun 2005 (cat. no. 1352.0.55.071)
Physical Activity in Australia: A Snapshot, 2004/05 (cat. no. 4835.0.55.001)
Children's Participation in Cultural and Leisure Activities, Australia, 2006 (cat. no. 4901.0)

AIHW

December

Adoptions Australia 2005-06 (AIHW cat. no. CWS 27)
Demand for SAAP assistance by homeless people 2004-05 (AIHW cat. no. HOU 151)
Australia's mothers and babies 2004 (AIHW cat. no. PER 34)

January
Hospital separations due to injury and poisoning, Australia 2003-04 (AIHW cat. no. INJCAT 88)


UPCOMING RELEASES


ABS

March

Suicides, Australia 2005 (cat. no. 3309.0)
Using data derived from the ABS Causes of Death collection, this electronic publication will provide an update on summary statistics regarding suicides registered in Australia. Data are presented separately by age and sex, by method of suicide and by state or territory of usual residence. Numbers of deaths and standardised death rates for previous years are shown for comparison.

April
General Social Survey: Summary Results, 2006 (cat. no 4159.0)
For the population aged 18 years and over, presents data on a range of social concern areas. Topics include social capital, voluntary work, family and community, health, housing, education, work, income, financial stress, broad assets and liabilities, transport, and crime. State level tables will also be available in late April.

NON–ABS RESEARCH


UPDATE ON NATIONAL CHILDREN'S NUTRITION AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY SURVEY

From February until July 2007, the national children’s nutrition and physical activity survey will be conducted throughout Australia, collecting data from 4,000 Australian children. The survey will record the children’s physical measurements, food intake and physical activity participation through a series of face-to-face interviews followed by telephone interviews.

The survey is being managed by the University of South Australian and the CSIRO on behalf of the three funding agencies: the Department of Health and Ageing, the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and the Australian Food and Grocery Council.

The survey’s results will be used to identify current rates of overweight and obesity among Australian children, and the proportion of Australian children meeting the lifestyle recommendations described in Australia’s Physical Activity Recommendations for Children and Young People and the Dietary Guidelines for Children and Adolescents. The survey results will also identify subpopulations of children at particular risk of nutritional deficiencies or inadequate physical activity participation. Analysis of the results will inform the development of population health policies, programs and interventions.

Additional information on the survey can be found on the following website, www.kidseatkidsplay.com.au, or by contacting Caroline Arthur, Nutrition Section, Department of Health and Ageing on (02) 6289 8954 or by emailing caroline.arthur@health.gov.au.


UPDATE ON FOOTPRINTS IN TIME: THE LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF INDIGENOUS CHILDREN


‘Footprints in Time’ is the name given to a proposed Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children (LSIC) managed by the Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaCSIA). The study concentrates on babies (0–12 months) and 4–5 year olds to understand the factors that influence developmental pathways for Indigenous children living in remote, rural, regional and urban centres.

Activities to date have included: a national consultation round and a report on the findings; trialling of the study in a number of communities, along with independent evaluation of these trials; an evidence based literature review; survey content development and consultations to ensure policy relevance; the development of ethics arrangements; the development of a national survey design and sampling methodology (by the ABS); the cognitive testing of data items; the development of a community engagement strategy; the development of a qualitative data collection strategy; and the devising of a methodology for finding and maintaining the children and families in the study.

The ABS tested the survey in an initial pilot in 2006 and will be adapting a number of content areas to make the questions more relevant to the communities before testing the survey again in May 2007. Qualitative data collection was conducted in 2006 in all areas where participants agreed to be re-contacted after the quantitative collection.

FaCSIA has published three occasional papers from the study to date these are:
OP No 15: The ‘growing up’ of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children: a literature review, Professor Robyn Penman
OP No 16: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander views on research in their communities, Professor Robyn Penman
OP No 17: Growing up in the Torres Strait region: A report from the Footprints in Time trials, CRCAH

For more information on Footprints in Time click on the link and visit our web page: The Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children


UPDATE ON THE AUSTRALIAN EARLY DEVELOPMENT INDEX (AEDI)


The Australian Early Development Index (AEDI) is a community-level measure of young children’s development based on a teacher-completed checklist. The AEDI consists of over 100 questions measuring five developmental domains: language and cognitive skills; emotional maturity; physical health and wellbeing; communication skills and general knowledge; and social competence.

Between 2004 and 2006 the AEDI was trialled in 54 Australian communities over six states and territories on more than 30,000 children. This project was funded as an Australian Government initiative under the National Agenda for Early Childhood, and was also supported by Shell Australia.

The Centre for Community Child Health (Melbourne) in partnership with the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research (Perth) is excited to announce that, following its successful trial, the AEDI is now available to all Australian communities (community implementation charges apply).

More information about the 2007 Expression of Interest round, including the Application Form, is available on the AEDI website and can be accessed on the following link www.rch.org.au/australianedi/index.cfm?doc_id=10471.


CHILDREN AND YOUTH THEME PAGE


The Children and Youth Statistics Theme page on the ABS website highlights the type and range of data available for analysis of children and youth issues. This page is updated to advise users of new data releases as they become available.