Associate Professor Susan Baidawi

Associate Professor

PhD Social Work, BSW (Hons), BPharm (Hons)

Susan.Baidawi@monash.edu
+61 3 9903 1064

Research profile

Profile

Dr Susan Baidawi is an Associate Professor,  Director of the Higher Degrees by Research (HDR) Program, and Co-Director of the Monash Criminal Justice Research Consortium (CJRC) in the Department of Social Work.  Her research expertise lies at the nexus of the child welfare and criminal justice fields. Dr Baidawi has conducted and authored outputs for numerous studies, reviews and evaluations in the fields of youth and adult criminal justice and child protection, including research that focuses on children at the intersection of child protection and youth justice systems, responses to younger children charged with offending from 10-13 years, and place-based approaches for addressing youth violence.

Dr Baidawi’s research is characterised by its high level academic, policy and practice impact, which is acknowledged by several awards including a 2024 Victorian Young Tall Poppy Award (AIPS), the 2022 Monash University Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Research Excellence by an Early Career Researcher. She has also been awarded a prestigious Discovery Early Career Research Award (DECRA) Fellowship from the Australian Research Council, and currently sits on the ACT Government Strengthening Child Protection Practice Committee, and the Editorial Board of Children and Youth Services Review.

Teaching

Dr Baidawi is Unit Coordinator of the Criminology and Social Work Unit, and the Advanced Research Policy and Practice Capstone Unit, and teaches in the Research for Social Work Practice Unit in the Master of Social Work course.

Research Interests

Child Protection, Youth Justice, Older Prisoners

Grants

Australians National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS) Project Grant (2024-26) Trauma-related pathways into adolescent family violence use. Violence used by adolescents in their homes and intimate relationships is concerningly common in Australia and is a major social justice and public health challenge.  While previous ANROWS research has examined the prevalence of adolescent family violence (AFV), we need more evidence on pathways into young people’s use of violence, particularly the influence of childhood maltreatment and trauma. This project aims to develop new insights into trauma-related pathways into AFV, combining comprehensive data and firsthand accounts to inform effective prevention and intervention strategies. Dr Baidawi joins an interdisciplinary team of researchers (social work, forensic psychology, Indigenous studies and law) across Monash University, Swinburne University, and Southern Cross University for this groundbreaking study.

Commonwealth Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability (AUS) (2021-22) Care Criminalisation of Young People with Disability in Child Protection Systems. The Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability (The Disability Royal Commission) commissioned this research to improve understanding of the pathways that lead children with disability from their contact with child protection system to entering the criminal justice system. Dr Baidawi led a team of researchers across Monash University (Emeritus Professor Rosemary Sheehan), Western Sydney University (Dr Scott Avery and Robyn Newitt) and the Centre for Excellence and Implementation (Dr Gayatri Kembhavi-Tam) to conduct this study, which is the largest Australian study to date to focus attention on children with overlapping experiences of child protection involvement, disability, and criminalisation.

Youth Endowment Fund (UK) (2021-22) Reviews of How Best to Deliver and Evaluate Place-Based Approaches for Tackling Local Youth Violence. This study is undertaken in partnership with the Centre for Evidence and Implementation and the Violence Research Centre (University of Cambridge). It draws together cutting-edge evidence on theories, models, efficacy and implementation of place-based approaches (PBAs) for addressing youth violence. The study findings are informing the Youth Endowment Fund’s work with local partners to implement locally-designed place-based approaches for addressing youth violence in hyperlocal areas of the UK.

Australian Institute of Criminology, Criminology Research Grant (AUS) (2020-23) Children’s Court Responses to Early Offending Children. This research is undertaken in partnership with the Children’s Court of Victoria, the Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science (Swinburne University) and the Victorian Children’s Court Clinic. The study aims to examine the characteristics, offending and court outcomes of younger children charged with offending from the ages of 10 to 13 years. The study will generate new knowledge about the application of doli incapax provisions, and to examine court outcomes and criminal justice trajectories, and to identify new approaches for responding to offending behaviour among younger children.

Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Research Award (DECRA) Fellowship (AUS) (2019-22) Dual child protection and youth justice clients: expanding the evidence base. This project investigates the phenomenon of children who cross over from statutory child protection systems into youth justice systems and is conducted in partnership with the Children's Court of Victoria. The analysis drew data from Children’s Court files and international policy to generate new knowledge regarding the characteristics and trajectories of crossover children, and to improve understandings of how this group differs from children only involved with child protection or youth justice systems.

Awards

  • Victorian Young Tall Poppy – Australian Institute of Policy & Science (2024)
  • Winner of Monash University Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Research by and Early Career Researcher (2022)
  • Winner of MNHS Dean’s Award for Excellence in Research by an Early Career Researcher (2022)
  • Winner of MNHS ECR Publication Prize (2022) – Award was received for my publication ‘Neurodisability among children at the nexus of Child Protection and Youth Justice systems’.
  • Australian Social Work Research Norm Smith Publication Award (2021) – This award was received for the publication ‘Collaborative Family Work in Youth Justice’ which outlined the implementation and evaluation of an innovative family work approach to working with clients in Youth Justice. The award is given to the publication judged to have made the most significant contribution that year to the advancement of social work knowledge or professional practice by Australian Social Work, the official peer-reviewed journal of the discipline in Australia.
  • School of Primary and Allied Health Care Early Career (SPAHC) Research Impact Award (2020) – Award in recognition of legislative and policy impacts of my research in relation to Older Adults in Prison, Extended Care for Young People in Out-of-Home Care, and Crossover Children in the child protection and youth justice system.
  • School of Primary and Allied Health Care Leon Piterman Award (2018) – Award in recognition of outstanding PhD research focusing on the health and wellbeing of a disadvantaged group.

Select Publications

See Dr Baidawi’s Google Scholar profile for a comprehensive list of publications.

Crossover or Dual System-Involved Children

Baidawi, S & Sheehan, R. (2019).  'Crossover' Children in the Youth Justice and Child Protection Systems, (Routledge).

Baidawi, S. & Ball, R. (2022). Multi-system factors impacting youth justice involvement of children in residential care. Child & Family Social Work. https://doi.org/10.1111/cfs.12940

Baidawi, S., Papalia, N. & Featherston, R. (2021). Gender differences in the maltreatment-youth offending relationship: A scoping review. Trauma, Violence & Abuse. doi:10.1177/15248380211052106

Ball, R. & Baidawi, S. (2021). Aboriginal crossover children’s characteristics, service needs and service responses: The views of Australian key stakeholders. Children & Youth Services Review, 129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2021.106176

Baidawi, S. & Piquero, A. (2021). Neurodisability among children at the nexus of child welfare and youth justice systems. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 50, 803-819. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-020-01234- w

Baidawi, S., Sheehan, R., & Flynn, C. (2020). Criminal exploitation of child protection-involved youth. Children & Youth Services Review, 118, 105396. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105396

Baidawi, S., & Sheehan R. (2019). 'Crossover Kids' - Offending by Child Protection-involved youth. Trends & Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice, no. 582.

Baidawi, S. and Sheehan, R. (2019). ‘Cross-over kids’: Effective responses to children and young people in the youth justice and statutory Child Protection systems. Report to the Criminology Research Advisory Council. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology.

Baidawi, S., & Sheehan, R. (2019). 'Maltreatment and Delinquency: Examining the Contexts of Offending amongst Child Protection-Involved Children'. British Journal of Social Work, doi: 10.1093/bjsw/bcz113.

Older Prisoners

Hwang, J., Ginnivan, N., Simpson, P., Baidawi, S., Withall, A., Williams, B., & Butler, T. (2021). COVID-19 and incarcerated older adults: A commentary on risk, care and early release in Australia. International Journal of Prisoner Health, 17(3), 245-257. doi:10.1108/IJPH-10-2020-0078

Forrest, G., Baidawi, S., Atkinson, T., Small, H., & Bernoth, M. (2016). Previously unrecognised issues: Managing the health of an ageing prison and homeless population. In Bernoth & Winkler (Eds.), Healthy Ageing and Aged Care. South Melbourne: Oxford University Press.

Baidawi, S. (2016). Older prisoners: psychological distress and associations with mental health history, cognitive functioning, socio-demographic and criminal justice factors. International Psychogeriatrics, 28(3), 385-395.

Baidawi, S., Trotter, C., & Flynn, C. (2016). Prison experiences and psychological distress among older inmates. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 59(3), 252–270.

Baidawi, S., & Trotter, C. (2015). Psychological distress among older prisoners: A literature review. Journal of Forensic Social Work, 5(1-3), 234-257.

Trotter, C., & Baidawi, S. (2015). Older prisoners: Challenges for inmates and prison management. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology, 48(2), 200-218.

Young People Leaving Care

Mendes, P., Saunders, B. & Baidawi, S. (2019). The experiences of Indigenous young people transitioning from out-of-home care in Victoria, Australia. In V.R. Mann-Feder & M. Goyette (Eds.), Leaving Care and the Transition to Adulthood: International Contributions to Theory, Research and Practice. New York: Oxford University Press.

Baidawi, S., Mendes, P., & Saunders, B. (2017). The complexities of cultural support planning for Indigenous children in and leaving out-of-home care: The views of service providers in Victoria, Australia. Child and Family Social Work, 22(2), 731-740.

Baidawi, S. (2016). Continuing Care in Australia: An analysis of state and territory legislation and policy. Report commissioned by Anglicare Victoria. Melbourne: HomeStretch.

Mendes, P., Snow, P.C. & Baidawi, S. (2016). Young people transitioning from out-of-home care in Victoria: Strengthening support services for dual clients of Child Protection and Youth Justice.  In P. Mendes & P.C. Snow (Eds.), Young People Transitioning from Care: International research, policy and practice: Palgrave Macmillan.

Baidawi, S., Mendes, P., & Snow, P.C. (2014). Young people in, and transitioning from, out-of-home care and their mental health issues: A call for evidence. Children Australia, 39(4), 200-205.

Mendes, P., Baidawi, S., & Snow, P.C. (2014). Transitioning from out-of-home care in Victoria: Strengthening support services for dual clients of child protection and youth justice. Australian Social Work, 67(1), 6-23.