Ethnographies of housing: exploring the role of housing officers in public housing service provision. This research examines the everyday practice of public housing officers working in the Victorian Office of Housing. It aims to analyse the ways that workers exercise discretion, and the patterns of meanings that they construct, through their interactions with clients, departmental managers and other human service providers. It is the first ethnographic study of front-line work in housing servi ....Ethnographies of housing: exploring the role of housing officers in public housing service provision. This research examines the everyday practice of public housing officers working in the Victorian Office of Housing. It aims to analyse the ways that workers exercise discretion, and the patterns of meanings that they construct, through their interactions with clients, departmental managers and other human service providers. It is the first ethnographic study of front-line work in housing services in Australia and builds on comparable work done in the United Kingdom and America. The knowledge generated will inform innovation in public housing services, housing policy debates and emerging programs designed to integrate housing with other human services.Read moreRead less
Transition to retirement by adults with chronic disabilities: increasing community capacity. This project will contribute to healthy, productive ageing by people with chronic disabilities. This group are living longer and will retire from their disability-specific supported employment and day program services. They then risk social exclusion, loneliness and associated poor health outcomes. This project will provide training and support to local community groups and voluntary work settings, to in ....Transition to retirement by adults with chronic disabilities: increasing community capacity. This project will contribute to healthy, productive ageing by people with chronic disabilities. This group are living longer and will retire from their disability-specific supported employment and day program services. They then risk social exclusion, loneliness and associated poor health outcomes. This project will provide training and support to local community groups and voluntary work settings, to increase community capacity to support this group to participate actively in and contribute to their community in retirement. This will result in increased participation by this group and improvements in their well-being. Training resources developed by the project will be available to disability service providers nationally.Read moreRead less
Towards an effective practice model for youth detention. This project aims to examine the effectiveness of an innovative government program, which seeks to enhance the safety and rehabilitative culture of juvenile detention centres by increasing staff interpersonal skills through specialist training, coaching and supervision. The project is expected to identify best practice principles, allowing government departments to focus efforts on training and staff support to provide a higher quality wor ....Towards an effective practice model for youth detention. This project aims to examine the effectiveness of an innovative government program, which seeks to enhance the safety and rehabilitative culture of juvenile detention centres by increasing staff interpersonal skills through specialist training, coaching and supervision. The project is expected to identify best practice principles, allowing government departments to focus efforts on training and staff support to provide a higher quality work force. An evidence based framework will be developed in consultation with juvenile justice agencies across Australia. This will potentially improve outcomes for young people in custody and the wider community.Read moreRead less
Forgotten Australians: identifying long term outcomes for people who lived in institutional and other forms of out-of-home care. In line with international recognition that children who lived in orphanages have suffered disenfranchisement and disadvantage in adulthood, this project will add to empirical knowledge of this population, track experiences associated with adverse and the more optimal life outcomes, and identify areas for intervention to promote their wellness.
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
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
Stopping domestic violence in urban and rural areas: evaluating and improving the effectiveness of domestic violence perpetrator programs. Domestic violence affects up to 36% of women (Mouzos et.al 2004). Its annual economic cost is $8.1b (Access Economics 2004). In 66% of cases children are present (Bagshaw et.al 1999). Effects on women and children are poor mental health, homelessness and impaired work/education performance (VicHealth 2004). As male perpetrators tend to be serial offenders (Ha ....Stopping domestic violence in urban and rural areas: evaluating and improving the effectiveness of domestic violence perpetrator programs. Domestic violence affects up to 36% of women (Mouzos et.al 2004). Its annual economic cost is $8.1b (Access Economics 2004). In 66% of cases children are present (Bagshaw et.al 1999). Effects on women and children are poor mental health, homelessness and impaired work/education performance (VicHealth 2004). As male perpetrators tend to be serial offenders (Hansen et al 2004), there are Australian programs to stop the violence. There are limited and contentious findings about their value and no published evaluation of programs in rural Australia. This research addresses these significant knowledge gaps and is nationally beneficial as the knowledge can ultimately reduce domestic violence prevalence.Read moreRead less
Cultural responsiveness: measuring and evaluating social work practice. This project aims to develop tools for use by social workers that measure and evaluate culturally responsive practices with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The tools have potential application across numerous sectors in social work practices with clients and families. The project will benefit social workers who can measure, evaluate and improve their culturally responsive practice, and in turn, the health and ....Cultural responsiveness: measuring and evaluating social work practice. This project aims to develop tools for use by social workers that measure and evaluate culturally responsive practices with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The tools have potential application across numerous sectors in social work practices with clients and families. The project will benefit social workers who can measure, evaluate and improve their culturally responsive practice, and in turn, the health and well-being outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.Read moreRead less
Increasing organisational capacity of community residential units to facilitate ageing in place for people with intellectual disability. Unique challenges face the disability, aged care and health sectors because of the increased life expectancy of people with life-long intellectual disability (ID) and the likelihood of their premature ageing. Although this group is recognised by Federal and State governments as requiring specific and special service arrangements, little is known about adapting ....Increasing organisational capacity of community residential units to facilitate ageing in place for people with intellectual disability. Unique challenges face the disability, aged care and health sectors because of the increased life expectancy of people with life-long intellectual disability (ID) and the likelihood of their premature ageing. Although this group is recognised by Federal and State governments as requiring specific and special service arrangements, little is known about adapting disability and aged care services to their needs. This research will inform the development of policy and programs in the disability, aged care, and health sectors. The research aims to improve the capacity of disability group homes to respond to the health and ageing issues of older people with ID,to improve their quality of life.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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