Creating the conditions for collective impact: transforming the child serving system in disadvantaged communities. No one institution can close the gap in child wellbeing and school achievement between poor and affluent areas. This project will draw schools, child serving agencies and community members into coalitions in disadvantaged areas to build, test and evaluate an integrated 'backbone support system' designed to foster healthy development of the whole child.
DIsrupting Child Exploitation - the DICE project. Child sexual exploitation is an insidious social problem which impacts the most vulnerable children and young people in Australia. The DICE project (Disrupting Child Sexual Exploitation) aims to develop a multi-agency response which pivots the focus of intervention to the sexual exploitation predators who target vulnerable young people in statutory care. Previous interventions have prioritised protecting (and controlling) the young people, with l ....DIsrupting Child Exploitation - the DICE project. Child sexual exploitation is an insidious social problem which impacts the most vulnerable children and young people in Australia. The DICE project (Disrupting Child Sexual Exploitation) aims to develop a multi-agency response which pivots the focus of intervention to the sexual exploitation predators who target vulnerable young people in statutory care. Previous interventions have prioritised protecting (and controlling) the young people, with limited success. Through a trauma informed approach which supports young people, combined with disruptive police strategies targeting perpetrators, and co-ordinated multiagency working, it is anticipated that there will be measurable changes to the protection of vulnerable young people. Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE180100853
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$344,996.00
Summary
Ethnically-motivated youth hate crime in Australia. This project aims to provide the first assessment of youth hate crime in Australia, examine incidence rates over time, and explore how Australia’s experiences compare internationally. Hate crime can cause injury, psychological harm and social disengagement. For victims in early adolescence – a critical time of identity formation – the harms may be multiplied. The project will uncover the risk and protective factors for perpetration and victimi ....Ethnically-motivated youth hate crime in Australia. This project aims to provide the first assessment of youth hate crime in Australia, examine incidence rates over time, and explore how Australia’s experiences compare internationally. Hate crime can cause injury, psychological harm and social disengagement. For victims in early adolescence – a critical time of identity formation – the harms may be multiplied. The project will uncover the risk and protective factors for perpetration and victimisation, and for understanding the consequences for hate crime victims. This is expected to benefit the community by helping to inform social policy to improve the lives of Australia’s youth.Read moreRead less
Reducing recurrence in the child protection system. The project examines the factors associated with once-only and repeated notifications of child abuse and neglect. It is important that early intervention services for vulnerable children are targeted to ensure an evidence-based match between child and family needs and services.
Risk and resilience in children of incarcerated mothers. This project aims to identify conditions that promote risk and resilience in children of incarcerated mothers. There are over 2,800 female prisoners in Australia, a 60% increase in 10 years. At least half are mothers. There is little research on maternal incarceration, but it is widely known that paternal incarceration severely affects children's psycho-social and behavioural outcomes, heightening risks for chronic offending. Maternal inca ....Risk and resilience in children of incarcerated mothers. This project aims to identify conditions that promote risk and resilience in children of incarcerated mothers. There are over 2,800 female prisoners in Australia, a 60% increase in 10 years. At least half are mothers. There is little research on maternal incarceration, but it is widely known that paternal incarceration severely affects children's psycho-social and behavioural outcomes, heightening risks for chronic offending. Maternal incarceration should be even more consequential, with chronic offending of offspring estimated to cost Australians over $336 million. This project should provide a critical base for theory, policy and service development.Read moreRead less
Improving social and economic outcomes for children of incarcerated mothers. This project aims to identify how children’s experiences of maternal incarceration shape their life course. These children are one of the most vulnerable yet invisible groups in society and are rising in number. This project intends to interrogate system contact with child protection, justice, education and health agencies using a unique linked dataset across 30 years and over three generations, to describe social and e ....Improving social and economic outcomes for children of incarcerated mothers. This project aims to identify how children’s experiences of maternal incarceration shape their life course. These children are one of the most vulnerable yet invisible groups in society and are rising in number. This project intends to interrogate system contact with child protection, justice, education and health agencies using a unique linked dataset across 30 years and over three generations, to describe social and economic outcomes and how prison, child and maternal characteristics affect them. The project expects to provide critical evidence that can inform prevention strategies, with the potential to disrupt intergenerational patterns of profound disadvantage and reduce the social and economic costs of maternal incarceration to individuals and society.Read moreRead less
Indigenous Justice Reports: new narratives and practices in sentencing. This project engages a participatory action research model to assess the impact of Indigenous Justice Reports in criminal sentencing on sentence practices and outcomes for Indigenous women. It introduces Indigenous Reports for Indigenous women in Victorian Koori Courts and expands their availability in Queensland Murri Courts. Its comparative research approach identifies how place-based factors influence the process and impa ....Indigenous Justice Reports: new narratives and practices in sentencing. This project engages a participatory action research model to assess the impact of Indigenous Justice Reports in criminal sentencing on sentence practices and outcomes for Indigenous women. It introduces Indigenous Reports for Indigenous women in Victorian Koori Courts and expands their availability in Queensland Murri Courts. Its comparative research approach identifies how place-based factors influence the process and impact of Indigenous Reports on sentencing. This project seeks to improve sentencing processes and outcomes for Indigenous defendants by providing courts with reports that address personal and community circumstances of Indigenous women, provide relevant sentencing options and are accompanied with appropriate supports.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200100686
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$373,668.00
Summary
Unemployment in remote Australia: exploring policy reform impacts. This project aims to produce policy-relevant knowledge about the effects of the Australian Government's changing remote employment policies in four remote Indigenous communities. These policies have not yielded positive outcomes to date; more empirical evidence is needed. This project will be the first to explore the lived experiences of employment service practitioners & participants through an innovative policy analysis and eth ....Unemployment in remote Australia: exploring policy reform impacts. This project aims to produce policy-relevant knowledge about the effects of the Australian Government's changing remote employment policies in four remote Indigenous communities. These policies have not yielded positive outcomes to date; more empirical evidence is needed. This project will be the first to explore the lived experiences of employment service practitioners & participants through an innovative policy analysis and ethnography. It will deliver significant benefits, such as elevating marginalised policy subjects' voices/experiences in policy debates, contributing to efforts at improving employment/social outcomes, & speaking to debates about how the state can work effectively with remote Indigenous communities to improve outcomes.Read moreRead less
Reducing young women’s offending through improved service delivery . Young women’s contact with justice and welfare agencies has increased rapidly across Australia and the world, creating a crisis that is costly and harmful, especially for young Indigenous women. Pathways into these systems are gendered; but the systems were designed to address the needs of young male offenders. This project therefore aims to discover how these systems could be better designed to improve outcomes for young women ....Reducing young women’s offending through improved service delivery . Young women’s contact with justice and welfare agencies has increased rapidly across Australia and the world, creating a crisis that is costly and harmful, especially for young Indigenous women. Pathways into these systems are gendered; but the systems were designed to address the needs of young male offenders. This project therefore aims to discover how these systems could be better designed to improve outcomes for young women. The project uses a novel approach that gives young women a voice in how five Anglicare end-users (the research partners) and other end-users can enhance their service provision in the welfare and justice sectors and become models of best practice.Read moreRead less
Crime, poverty and early prevention: A longitudinal study of social and developmental pathways to wellbeing through the Pathways to Prevention Project. Youth crime is concentrated in poor areas because social processes undermine positive development. Family support is widely used in these areas but its crime prevention value is unclear. This project analyses how such services offered by the Pathways to Prevention Project enhanced child and parent wellbeing. It uses interviews, records and case s ....Crime, poverty and early prevention: A longitudinal study of social and developmental pathways to wellbeing through the Pathways to Prevention Project. Youth crime is concentrated in poor areas because social processes undermine positive development. Family support is widely used in these areas but its crime prevention value is unclear. This project analyses how such services offered by the Pathways to Prevention Project enhanced child and parent wellbeing. It uses interviews, records and case studies, and a longitudinal database of 4858 children aged 4 to 12 years that link Project participation with parent and child outcomes, including youth justice record, to model pathways from preschool for participants and matched non-participants. By situating pathways in the context of systemic barriers facing families, teachers and agency staff, the project will advance prevention theory and practice.Read moreRead less