Sowing the Seeds of Innovation in the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect. The approach developed in this project will have significant benefits for child and family service organisations. It will enhance the spread and sustainability of promising preventive programs within the child and family services sector. In this way, vulnerable children and families will benefit from the increased availability of such programs designed to enhance their life opportunities. The project will also have sign ....Sowing the Seeds of Innovation in the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect. The approach developed in this project will have significant benefits for child and family service organisations. It will enhance the spread and sustainability of promising preventive programs within the child and family services sector. In this way, vulnerable children and families will benefit from the increased availability of such programs designed to enhance their life opportunities. The project will also have significant flow-on economic benefits for Local, State and Federal Governments by decreasing the social and economic costs associated with child abuse and neglect.Read moreRead less
Early intervention in stopping gendered violence: developing an evidence based intervention program for young men using violence against their girlfriends. This research aims to develop and evaluate an intervention program targeted to young men using violence against their girlfriends. This intervention program focuses on dating violence with young men who are not yet involved with the criminal justice system. This innovation addresses a gap in stopping male violence, positioned between universa ....Early intervention in stopping gendered violence: developing an evidence based intervention program for young men using violence against their girlfriends. This research aims to develop and evaluate an intervention program targeted to young men using violence against their girlfriends. This intervention program focuses on dating violence with young men who are not yet involved with the criminal justice system. This innovation addresses a gap in stopping male violence, positioned between universal primary violence prevention programs and the tertiary prevention of the criminal justice system's adult domestic violence perpetrator programs. The research outcomes include:an evidence based intervention program aimed at stopping young men's violence against women;a training program for professionals;and documented standards of practice for working with young men and gendered violence.Read moreRead less
Developing child-centred family and community practice: Listening to boys aged 9-12 with behaviour problems about their social contexts and needs. Children's and family services seek to reduce risks to children and ensure their well-being through holistic, strengths-based, collaborative family and community practice. Yet services remain adult-centric; children are often seen as recipients rather than informants, as targets rather than shapers of change. This study with Anglicare Victoria will ex ....Developing child-centred family and community practice: Listening to boys aged 9-12 with behaviour problems about their social contexts and needs. Children's and family services seek to reduce risks to children and ensure their well-being through holistic, strengths-based, collaborative family and community practice. Yet services remain adult-centric; children are often seen as recipients rather than informants, as targets rather than shapers of change. This study with Anglicare Victoria will examine the contexts, content and effects of professional responses to boys aged 9-12 years with challenging, aggressive behaviour, chiefly through the voices of the boys themselves. Adapting participatory enquiry methods for an unusually young and troubled population, the study aims to better understand their experiences and also to demonstrate opportunities and methods for enhancing children's participation.Read moreRead less
Who Am I? The archive as central to quality practice for current and past care leavers (Forgotten Australians). The project responds to the recommendations of the Forgotten Australians and its predecessor Reports about the need to improve record-keeping and archiving practice in the health and welfare sector. In partnership with past and present care-leavers and a consortium of 13 community service organisations, the peak body, and government, it will develop a digital archive utilising innovati ....Who Am I? The archive as central to quality practice for current and past care leavers (Forgotten Australians). The project responds to the recommendations of the Forgotten Australians and its predecessor Reports about the need to improve record-keeping and archiving practice in the health and welfare sector. In partnership with past and present care-leavers and a consortium of 13 community service organisations, the peak body, and government, it will develop a digital archive utilising innovative technologies which will both enable access to contextual material from the past and provide a model for constructing records in the future, in order to help overcome the ongoing impact which out-of-home care has had on the health of careleavers. Read moreRead less
Disruptive children in alternative care: new approaches to the prevention of placement breakdown. Recent evidence suggests that many of the widely publicised problems in Australian foster care are due to the inability of foster families to care for children with challenging behaviours. Our own research suggests that such children typically experience 10 - 20 placement changes annually and display very poor developmental outcomes. The aim of this project, then, is to undertake a comprehensive int ....Disruptive children in alternative care: new approaches to the prevention of placement breakdown. Recent evidence suggests that many of the widely publicised problems in Australian foster care are due to the inability of foster families to care for children with challenging behaviours. Our own research suggests that such children typically experience 10 - 20 placement changes annually and display very poor developmental outcomes. The aim of this project, then, is to undertake a comprehensive international review and national trial of programmes for the reduction of placement breakdown. The project will provide insights into the social histories of the target population, assist in the design of interventions, and inform foster care policy.
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Family Violence and Problem Gambling in Help-Seeking Populations: Prevalence, Comorbidity, Impact and Coping. The impetus for the current proposal emerged from concern expressed by the Partner Organisations (service providers) regarding the high levels of co-occurrence of problem gambling and family violence reported by their service users. The primary expected national benefits include informing the development of effective screening protocols at the Partner Organisations and other problem-spec ....Family Violence and Problem Gambling in Help-Seeking Populations: Prevalence, Comorbidity, Impact and Coping. The impetus for the current proposal emerged from concern expressed by the Partner Organisations (service providers) regarding the high levels of co-occurrence of problem gambling and family violence reported by their service users. The primary expected national benefits include informing the development of effective screening protocols at the Partner Organisations and other problem-specific community-based services. It will provide an evidence base to assist these organisations to design effective prevention programs and innovative and integrated individual and family services to reduce family impacts and enhance family coping. The project will contribute to the national priority area of promoting and maintaining good health.Read moreRead less
Research Utilisation in Child Protection Policy: Understanding and Conceptualising the Role of Research in Social Policy Development. The findings of this project will have significant benefits for vulnerable children and families by enhancing the capacity for research-informed policy in child protection. In this way, the project will also have significant flow-on economic benefits for Local, State and Federal Governments by decreasing the social and economic costs associated with child abuse an ....Research Utilisation in Child Protection Policy: Understanding and Conceptualising the Role of Research in Social Policy Development. The findings of this project will have significant benefits for vulnerable children and families by enhancing the capacity for research-informed policy in child protection. In this way, the project will also have significant flow-on economic benefits for Local, State and Federal Governments by decreasing the social and economic costs associated with child abuse and neglect. Research funding will have a greater impact by the increased understanding this study will provide about how research can be more effectively used in policy.Read moreRead less
Implementing Evidence-Based Practice: Factors that Influence the Use of Research Evidence by Human Service Professionals. Implementing research evidence in human services is vitally important in providing more effective and accountable provision. It promotes an innovation culture by maximizing technological capability by understanding factors conducive to change. Nationally, it is significant in three key respects: (1) it is the first Australian research project to examine the implementation of ....Implementing Evidence-Based Practice: Factors that Influence the Use of Research Evidence by Human Service Professionals. Implementing research evidence in human services is vitally important in providing more effective and accountable provision. It promotes an innovation culture by maximizing technological capability by understanding factors conducive to change. Nationally, it is significant in three key respects: (1) it is the first Australian research project to examine the implementation of research evidence in the human services; (2) it is the first project to conduct a systematic review in this field; (3) it develops a national policy framework for guiding implementation and identify attainment outcomes in human services. A multifaceted strategy for policy formation based on audit and feedback will be proposed.
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The meaning of rights across cultures: an exploration of the interpretation of the human rights framework in refugee settlement. This project will examine the meaning of rights for refugees and explore how the human rights framework is interpreted and applied to the experiences of settling refugees. This project will develop alternative modules of response to guide settlement policy and practice, and will inform theoretical understandings of the meaning of rights across cultures.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE190101104
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$335,700.00
Summary
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. The analysis will be draw data from Children’s Court files and international policy. It expects 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 ....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. The analysis will be draw data from Children’s Court files and international policy. It expects 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. The findings will inform novel and effective approaches to preventing and responding to the drift of children from child protection into youth justice systems which will improve social and economic outcomes for young people and the broader community.Read moreRead less