NSW Mandatory Reporting process – new Online Reporting Guide
A new online process for Mandatory Reporting was launched by the NSW Government on 24 January 2010. This Online Mandatory Reporter Guide guides decision making about whether or not to make a report to the Child Protection Helpline through a simple series of yes/no answers, and provides a print-out of your entry upon completion. Should you be concerned that a child or young person known to you in your capacity as a mandatory reporter is being abused or neglected, or is likely to be abused or neglected, this resource will help you clarify and report your concerns.
You can explore the new form here
Book Review: After Darkness, Light by John O’Callaghan & Stuart Scott
After Darkness, Light is a wonderfully engaging coffee table book which leads the reader through reflections on life, death, places and relationships. John O’Callaghan’s mother and father died within a short while of each other, and his collection of pensive poetry gives insight into a journey which is at once very personal and universally familiar. This tribute to his parents is complimented by Stuart Scott’s moody photography which captures the atmosphere of the Newcastle coast of New South Wales, sharing the places integral to John’s childhood and bringing to life the place names in his poems.
As the title suggests, the book is sequenced to move from darkness through shadow to light; one can either follow the book from beginning to end or dip in and out of the poems. The work as a whole builds an evocative impression of the experience of grief and the many questions it raises about the very nature of life, but each poem stands alone in its meditation on time, love and life.
Life blood circulates
Around this body of clay
Painting all these coloured scenes
Fighting to make sense of this day
Like reels playing in an old cinema
Are these puzzling dreams. … From West Beach.
After Darkness, Light is most suitable for older adolescents and adults.