Backseat Books

    During the COVID lockdown period (April-June 2020) The Cairns Institute, as part of the Cairns South Collective Impact project, brought service providers together through informal online meetings. This provided opportunity to share information on updated service provision, challenges and areas of need arising in the context of COVID. Professor Allan Dale has said that “One of the most powerful outcomes from a collective impact framework is the sharing of knowledge and ideas. It can provide a form of ‘brains trust’ to solve what can sometimes seem like complex problems.” 

    Under reporting of and potential increases in domestic and family violence during COVID and associated long term impacts of trauma on children were amongst issues discussed at the informal meetings.

    One of the services attending talked about a Tablelands project initiated by the Mareeba Early Childhood Community Network called ‘Backseat Books”. This involves placing books in police vehicles attending households in stress to respond to vulnerability and distress children face in such situations. These books can be used by police officers to connect with a child, and to help them feel safer and calmer.

    This has led to QPS (Queensland Police Service), an active member of the Cairns South Collective Impact Project, now trialing Backseat Books in Yarrabah, Edmonton, Smithfield, Cooktown, Atherton, Mareeba and the Youth Co-responder Team. Cairns Libraries has stepped in to support this trial, donating 200 children’s books. Though seemingly a small thing, it is hoped that connecting with a child in a vulnerable situation through books will make an important difference.

    As Detective Senior Sergeant Marty Ots of the QPS states, “Hopefully the availability of the books will calm the children quicker, reduce the impact the event has on the child through distraction, build better relations with QPS, and increase their enjoyment of reading".

    Children will be allowed to keep the books and the trial will be monitored to better understand its potential impact.

    People looking at books

    Back to List


    More News


    Industry Expert Series

    Industry Expert Series

    The Tropical North Queensland Drought Resilience and Innovation Hub (TNQDRIH) has engaged with two leading industry experts Professor Roger Stone and Bob Shepherd to build a series of v...

    Read More

    Waiting with no time to wait

    Waiting with no time to wait

    Young people are frequently relegated to a state of waiting; expected to passively absorb and learn an adult culture that actively damages the earth. Governments persist in relying on h...

    Read More

    Western Capes Futures Symposium

    Western Capes Futures Symposium

    The TNQ Drought Hub, Sustainable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Enterprise (SATSIE) program are pleased to partner with the Western Cape Chamber of Commerce, Aurukun Shire Counci...

    Read More

    Falling From The Sky

    Falling From The Sky

    James Cook University Associate Professor and The Cairns Institute Fellow Robyn Glade-Wright is passionate about climate change and seeks to communicate with the greater public about en...

    Read More

    Our islands: protection and conservation

    Our islands: protection and conservation

    The Oceania region has an incredible array of ecosystems and biocultural diversity along with many threats to those. Safeguarding and effectively managing such ecosystems and the liveli...

    Read More

    Tyá Dynevor joins CoTS

    Tyá Dynevor joins CoTS

    Tyá Dynevor is a proud Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander mixed-race woman; born on Dharawal Country, Campbelltown, Greater Western Sydney but had grown up between Darwin, Larrakia&nb...

    Read More

    Ellie embarks on a PhD

    Ellie embarks on a PhD

    Ellie Bock has been awarded a Masters degree after completing her Master of Philosophy (Society and Culture). Ellie’s primary advisor was Professor Allan Dale and her secondary advisor...

    Read More

    SATSIE 2022 Highlights

    SATSIE 2022 Highlights

    Allan Dale heads the TNQ Drought Hub team that sits within The Cairns Institute and delivers the Sustainable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Enterprise (SATSIE) program. The SATSIE&nbs...

    Read More

    Top

    © 2023 The Cairns Institute | Site Map | Site by OracleStudio | Design by LeoSchoepflin