Children from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) communities represent a large and growing proportion of children in Australia, with some estimates suggesting 1 in 4 children and young people aged 25 years or younger are from CALD backgrounds. Children and families from CALD backgrounds experience challenges that can impact mental health, and can face unique barriers to accessing services, compared to the general population. Yet, there is limited research and evidence-informed resources on child mental health of CALD communities in Australia to guide practitioners when working with CALD children and families.

To understand what factors impact the mental health of children (<12 years old) from CALD communities, and what that means for practitioners, we developed an evidence-based package of resources including an evidence review, practice paper and resource sheets. This package will be used by the National Workforce Centre for Child Mental Health (Emerging Minds) in their program implementation. To ensure that the review and resources were tailored for practitioner use, we consulted with key stakeholders including mental health practitioners, practitioners specialised in supporting CALD communities, and practitioner advocates for CALD communities throughout the process. Insights from consultations were used to identify the scope of the review and guide the format, content development and delivery of the resources. The resources produced were targeted to non-specialised mental health practitioners, to help them support families from CALD backgrounds with children at risk of mental health difficulties.

This presentation will highlight the key findings from the evidence review and describe their implications for practice. It will showcase how we can co-produce resources with stakeholders such as practitioners, to maximise relevance and uptake of evidence in practice.