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
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
Towards Better Practice: Enhancing collaboration between mental health and domestic violence services. This project tackles the urgent problem of access to appropriate services for women experiencing both mental illness and domestic violence. Informed by women's accounts of service provision, the study explores barriers to, and opportunities for, improved inter-sectoral collaboration. New models of collaboration will be identified and trialled using action evaluation methodology. Anticipated out ....Towards Better Practice: Enhancing collaboration between mental health and domestic violence services. This project tackles the urgent problem of access to appropriate services for women experiencing both mental illness and domestic violence. Informed by women's accounts of service provision, the study explores barriers to, and opportunities for, improved inter-sectoral collaboration. New models of collaboration will be identified and trialled using action evaluation methodology. Anticipated outcomes include reduced homelessness in this vulnerable group of women with complex needs; more appropriate responses to women when domestic violence underlies presentations to mental health services; and incorporation, for the first time, of mental health services into coordinated community responses to domestic violence.Read moreRead less
The pressures of modern manhood. Mapping the impact of homophobia on the lives of Australian men. this study will construct a detailed map of the impact of homophobia on men;s behaviour, lifestyles and risk-taking (gay or not). It explores the possibility that through devices like taboo and loss of face homophobia can (i) make certain behaviours and life patterns unpalatable and alienate men from safer, healthier behaviours; (ii) block retreat from danger : and (iii) promote risky, antisocial, h ....The pressures of modern manhood. Mapping the impact of homophobia on the lives of Australian men. this study will construct a detailed map of the impact of homophobia on men;s behaviour, lifestyles and risk-taking (gay or not). It explores the possibility that through devices like taboo and loss of face homophobia can (i) make certain behaviours and life patterns unpalatable and alienate men from safer, healthier behaviours; (ii) block retreat from danger : and (iii) promote risky, antisocial, hyper-masculine posturing. from the innovative perspective of the interplay of homophobia with masculinity, we expect to uncover key insights into how homophobia makes an important contribution to the pressures of modern manhood.Read moreRead less
From colonisation to conciliation: A collaborative examination of social work practice with Indigenous populations. The social work profession, along with many other human service professions, has a complex history of working with Indigenous populations. One of the significant factors in the maintenance of this problematic relationship is the marginalisation of Indigenous issues within mainstream social work practice. This project, in collaborating with Indigenous communities, social work practi ....From colonisation to conciliation: A collaborative examination of social work practice with Indigenous populations. The social work profession, along with many other human service professions, has a complex history of working with Indigenous populations. One of the significant factors in the maintenance of this problematic relationship is the marginalisation of Indigenous issues within mainstream social work practice. This project, in collaborating with Indigenous communities, social work practitioners and academics in Australia and the United States, will examine current practice needs and their interrelationship with current social work pedagogy. This analysis will identify the ways in which social work practice can enhance, rather than inhibit, Indigenous well-being, and how social work education can be reframed so as to engender such practice.Read moreRead less
Families on the Fringe: Promoting the Social Inclusion of Young Families who have Relocated to Non-Metropolitan Areas. We aim to promote the social inclusion of young families who relocate to non-metropolitan communities by developing policy and infrastructure options based on an understanding of their characteristics and needs. The project's significance lies in capturing these characteristics to provide models upon which policy initiatives can be developed and policy outcomes monitored. Th ....Families on the Fringe: Promoting the Social Inclusion of Young Families who have Relocated to Non-Metropolitan Areas. We aim to promote the social inclusion of young families who relocate to non-metropolitan communities by developing policy and infrastructure options based on an understanding of their characteristics and needs. The project's significance lies in capturing these characteristics to provide models upon which policy initiatives can be developed and policy outcomes monitored. The project combines the Office of Economic and Statistic Research's expertise in socio-demographic research and policy development, The Benevolent Society and Mission Australia's experience in community service delivery in geographically diverse communities, with the CI's research skills, towards strengthening the social and economic fabric of Australian communities Read moreRead less