Dr Kathomi Gatwiri

Objectives: Feeling and being safe is foundational to young people’s wellbeing and development. Yet in therapeutic residential care (TRC) there is limited evidence on the specific practices that foster safety. This study aimed to: (1) examine self-reported multidimensional safety among young people in TRC in New South Wales (NSW), Australia; (2) assess their experiences of “recognitional practices” (care, respect, valuing) and social capital practices (opportunities to build and sustain connections); and (3) test whether perceived recognition mediates associations between these practices and safety.
Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was administered to 140 young people aged 12–18 years (M = 15.34, SD = 1.60) living in TRC in NSW. Measures included multi-dimensional safety items, items for recognitional practices and social capital practices within care settings, and perceived recognition (extent to which young people reported giving and receiving care, respect, and being valued). Guided by the theory of practice architectures (TPA), recognition theory, and social capital theory, we conducted several analyses to identify dimensions of safety, group comparisons across gender and sexual orientation, and mediation analyses to examine whether perceived recognition explained associations between recognitional/social capital practices and safety.
Results: On average, young people reported feeling safe however, 25% indicated compromised physical and emotional safety. Significant disparities emerged by gender and sexuality: girls/women/ females and queer young people reported lower safety than their peers. Exploratory analysis supported a two-factor structure of safety: “safe to be” and “safe to express”. Mediation analyses indicated that higher levels of recognitional and social capital practices were associated with greater perceived recognition, which in turn predicted higher levels of both “safe to be” and “safe to express.” These findings suggest that recognitional and social capital practices contribute to safety primarily through strengthening young people’s felt recognition within their care environments.
Conclusion: Safety in TRC is multidimensional, encompassing both being and expressing. While average safety was moderate to high, a substantial minority experienced compromised safety, with inequities for girls/women/females and queer young people. Recognitional and social capital practices appear to enhance safety by cultivating perceived recognition - young people feeling cared for, respected, and valued, and having opportunities to connect to family, community and culture. Embedding practices that focus on recognition and connection may improve safety outcomes in TRC.
Recommendations for Policy and Practice:
Create policies which enable structured, sustainable pathways for young people to build social capital by forming and maintaining connections (peer networks, mentoring, family/kin reconnection, community participation, cultural activities), with resourcing and continuity across placements.
•Train and support staff to consistently enact recognitional practices (e.g., authentic listening, shared decision-making, culturally safe engagement). Make these practices explicit in policies, supervision, and quality assurance.
•Implement gender- and sexuality-affirming safety plans, staff capability building, and monitoring to address the lower safety reported by girls/women/females and queer young people.
•Routinely assess young people’s perceived recognition and use feedback loops to adapt practices and environments to enhance both “safe to be” and “safe to express.”

Objectives: Cultural disconnection remains a critical and preventable driver of harm for Aboriginal Australian children in out-of-home care (OOHC). While reforms increasingly emphasise cultural planning and frontline practice, less attention has been paid to the organisational and leadership conditions that shape children’s everyday experiences of identity, belonging and cultural continuity. This presentation aims to: (1) describe how Aboriginal young people in therapeutic residential care (TRC) define cultural connection and disconnection; (2) identify relational and organisational “enablers” and “constraints” to wellbeing; and (3) highlight leadership levers that can strengthen cultural connection in institutional care settings.
Method: Findings are drawn from three interconnected qualitative studies in New South Wales, Australia. Data were generated through yarning-based interviews with 16 Aboriginal young people aged 12–18 living in TRC, complemented by a broader sample of 38 young people reflecting on relational care, cultural needs and organisational environments. Yarning was used as a culturally grounded method prioritising relational safety, deep listening and participant agency. A trauma-informed pre/during/ post framework supported ethical engagement and researcher wellbeing. Data were analysed thematically to identify “enablers” and “constraints” to cultural connection within institutional settings.
Results: Young people described cultural connection as lived belonging: knowing who they are, being recognised in identity by adults, and maintaining access to family, community, Elders, Country and language. Cultural disconnection was experienced not as a personal deficit but as a system output— produced through frequent placement changes, staff turnover, limited Aboriginal mentors, and organisational cultures that constrained relationship-building or reduced “culture” to occasional events. Participants described identity uncertainty (“I don’t know what it means”), relational grief and confusion arising from disrupted cultural links and inconsistent messages from adults.
Enablers of wellbeing were consistently relational and practical: stable adults, predictable routines, interest-based supports (sport, art, Country-based activities), and genuine opportunities for choice and agency. Young people emphasised that “therapeutic care” often looked like small, repeated acts—adults showing up, listening and engaging cultural strengths without judgement. Constraints were systemic: rigid professional-boundary rules that limited warmth, time-pressured routines, insufficient cultural leadership, and organisational practices that unintentionally blocked connection, family involvement and cultural learning. Across accounts, rosters, staffing stability, supervision cultures, policy settings and power-sharing practices shaped whether cultural connection could occur in daily life.
Conclusions: Cultural connection in TRC is primarily produced—or prevented—by leadership architecture rather than individual goodwill. Decisions about stability, workforce development, cultural governance, community partnership, and flexibility in relational practice accumulate over time to create either culturally safe continuity or ongoing cultural harm. Treating culture as an everyday lived practice (not a compliance task) is essential to strengthening identity and belonging for Aboriginal young people in care.
Key takeaways:
- Embed culture in daily routines and relationships, not only plans and events.
- Treat stability and continuity of trusted relationships as prevention.
- Invest in Aboriginal cultural leadership, mentors, and community partnerships with authority.
- Align rosters, boundaries, and supervision to enable warmth, family contact, and cultural participation.

The Australian Association of Social Work (AASW) accreditation standards require Master of Social Work(Q) students to attend 20 days of face-to-face delivery as part of their two-year degree (AASW, 2020). With the increasing global trend toward the online delivery of education, these standards reinforce the AASW's belief that online delivery alone cannot meet the learning needs of social work students (Goldingay & Land, 2014). In Session 1 2020, 150 students in their first and second year of study were to join staff on the Gold Coast campus for 2 × 7-day compulsory residentials, spread across four units. First-year units facilitate learning around foundational theory, knowledge and practice, with second-year units focused on advancing practice skills, group work, and community development. The rapid onset of Coronavirus and the resulting restrictions, meant in just four weeks, we were tasked with converting these residentials from face-to-face to online delivery. Faced with the enormity of this task, we collaborated as a team, to plan, develop, implement, and reflect on our experience, rather than battle in isolation. In this presentation, we highlight the key features of our delivery (including establishing student connections, setting expectations, and acknowledging moments of gratitude) and reflect on what we have learnt and how this will inform our pedagogy into the future.