Cumulative Harm Informed Practice (CHIP) is not another checklist for counting adverse experiences. It is a developmental framework for understanding how cumulative adversity affects a child—and where intervention can change their trajectory.
The framework identifies four connected mechanisms:
1. Cumulative risk is the antecedent
Harm may develop through the frequency, duration, intensity and interaction of experiences across the child’s family, school, community and service systems.
2. Developmental trauma is the mechanism
When adversity is repeated or prolonged, a child’s development may become organised around survival. Aggression, avoidance, withdrawal, control or emotional dysregulation may represent adaptations to an unsafe or unpredictable environment.
3. Attachment and neurodevelopment are the mediators
The impact is shaped by the child’s relationships, developmental stage, disability, sensory profile and access to protective adults. These factors influence trust, emotional regulation, executive functioning and threat perception.
4. Developmental difficulties are potential outcomes
Mental health concerns are only one possible outcome. Cumulative harm may also affect learning, relationships, behaviour, identity, communication and daily functioning.
This has important implications for child protection and reunification.
Reducing statutory risk does not automatically reverse the developmental effects of adversity. A child returning home may continue to reject comfort, anticipate danger or struggle to trust their parent.
These responses do not necessarily mean reunification has failed. They may reflect adaptations requiring time, relational repair and repeated experiences of safety.
CHIP therefore asks:
What has accumulated across this child’s development? How has the child adapted? What protective experiences are now needed to support recovery?
The purpose is not simply to document what has gone wrong. It is to understand the developmental pathway, distinguish current risk from the effects of previous adversity, and identify how that trajectory can be changed.