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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Exploring new opportunities for Local Government to facilitate innovative partnership options that link social, economic and employment development. The project seeks to formulate an expanded role for Australian Local Government in light of OECD debates on localism in the formation of partnerships for economic, employment and social development. It will redress the under-utilisation of Local Government's specific knowledge and resources that could facilitate economic, employment and social devel ....Exploring new opportunities for Local Government to facilitate innovative partnership options that link social, economic and employment development. The project seeks to formulate an expanded role for Australian Local Government in light of OECD debates on localism in the formation of partnerships for economic, employment and social development. It will redress the under-utilisation of Local Government's specific knowledge and resources that could facilitate economic, employment and social development, particularly in disadvantaged communities. In addition to the theoretical and practical knowledge gained regarding localism and partnerships, which has immediate community benefit, it is expected that the project's outcomes will have the potential to be transferable to other Local Government jurisdictions in Australia and hence be of national benefit. Read moreRead less
Acceptability of reclaimed water use in urban Australia: Establishing a baseline and variations based on experience, consultation and trust. Under current, prolonged drought conditions, with the reappearance of water restrictions in major cities, the widely identified need for research into social factors that affect public acceptance of water reuse is increasingly urgent. This project will produce national baseline data on the public acceptability of water reuse, and its predictors. This benc ....Acceptability of reclaimed water use in urban Australia: Establishing a baseline and variations based on experience, consultation and trust. Under current, prolonged drought conditions, with the reappearance of water restrictions in major cities, the widely identified need for research into social factors that affect public acceptance of water reuse is increasingly urgent. This project will produce national baseline data on the public acceptability of water reuse, and its predictors. This benchmark data will be compared with results from case studies of implemented or mooted water reuse projects, focusing on the impact of differing public consultation and other implementation processes in public acceptance of water reuse. The role of risk perceptions and trust in relevant authorities will be explored.Read moreRead less
Local government, mining companies and resources development in regional Australia: meeting the governance challenge. Sustainable regional development and continuing growth of the resources sector are key national priorities. The current resources boom is placing significant pressure on the physical, social and governance infrastructure of mining-intensive regions. Unless these issues can be better managed, new resource projects risk being delayed or deferred and the trend to fly-in fly-out oper ....Local government, mining companies and resources development in regional Australia: meeting the governance challenge. Sustainable regional development and continuing growth of the resources sector are key national priorities. The current resources boom is placing significant pressure on the physical, social and governance infrastructure of mining-intensive regions. Unless these issues can be better managed, new resource projects risk being delayed or deferred and the trend to fly-in fly-out operations will be accelerated, with deleterious consequences for sustainable regional growth. This project will contribute to a more effective response to these challenges by investigating the changing nature of local level governance in mining intensive regions and how these arrangements can be improved.Read moreRead less
Transitioning from out-of-home care: a longitudinal population-based study. This project aims to use a population-based method to examine the pathways of young people in, and transitioning from, out-of-home care in Western Australia. Young people in, and transitioning out of, out-of-home care experience many challenges. Care leavers, including a disproportionate number of Aboriginal young people, experience adverse outcomes across a range of domains leading to high social and economic costs for ....Transitioning from out-of-home care: a longitudinal population-based study. This project aims to use a population-based method to examine the pathways of young people in, and transitioning from, out-of-home care in Western Australia. Young people in, and transitioning out of, out-of-home care experience many challenges. Care leavers, including a disproportionate number of Aboriginal young people, experience adverse outcomes across a range of domains leading to high social and economic costs for the Australian community. The findings from the population-based data, together with an in-depth understanding of their lived experiences will identify a best practice model for improving their transition from care experiences to facilitate improved outcomes.Read moreRead less
Reconceptualising partnership: new options for effective partnerships between State governments and the third sector in employment services in Australia. The rapid devolution of employment services from the Commonwealth Employment Service to a model of contracted Job Network agencies assumes effective partnerships between Commonwealth, State, third sector and private organizations. Recent research suggests this is not the case. Furthermore, the industry partner, SACOSS, argues that the disparate ....Reconceptualising partnership: new options for effective partnerships between State governments and the third sector in employment services in Australia. The rapid devolution of employment services from the Commonwealth Employment Service to a model of contracted Job Network agencies assumes effective partnerships between Commonwealth, State, third sector and private organizations. Recent research suggests this is not the case. Furthermore, the industry partner, SACOSS, argues that the disparate requirements of Australian States in addressing local circumstances and diverse needs of disadvantaged jobseekers have not been met. This collaborative project will use network analysis methodology to assess alternative models of governance and identify best options for effective State/third sector partnerships that promote efficient and equitable labour markets.Read moreRead less
A spatially sensitive approach to understanding the impact of public expenditure on social exclusion. This project seeks to assess the effectiveness of public expenditure in reducing social exclusion. It aims to develop innovative new forms of quantitative modelling using geographical information systems (GIS) to interrogate of the impact of government expenditure on social outcomes. The project will benchmark and measure the impact of public expenditure on social exclusion in the region of Nort ....A spatially sensitive approach to understanding the impact of public expenditure on social exclusion. This project seeks to assess the effectiveness of public expenditure in reducing social exclusion. It aims to develop innovative new forms of quantitative modelling using geographical information systems (GIS) to interrogate of the impact of government expenditure on social outcomes. The project will benchmark and measure the impact of public expenditure on social exclusion in the region of Northern Adelaide. The project will seek to develop new GIS technologies that for the first time will enable policy makers to allocate resources according to directly measurable needs and to evaluate the effectiveness of resource allocation in a small area.Read moreRead less
Evaluation of Integrated Programs for men who perpetrate domestic violence: an examination of the effectiveness of intervention process and systems. This research will investigate the effectiveness of integrated programs for men who perpetrate domestic violence. The project will address the unpredictable nature of domestic violence by administering behaviour, attitudinal, and risk assessment instruments at each point of intervention and beyond. Central to this process is the collection of data f ....Evaluation of Integrated Programs for men who perpetrate domestic violence: an examination of the effectiveness of intervention process and systems. This research will investigate the effectiveness of integrated programs for men who perpetrate domestic violence. The project will address the unpredictable nature of domestic violence by administering behaviour, attitudinal, and risk assessment instruments at each point of intervention and beyond. Central to this process is the collection of data from women partners and other stakeholders (child protection, police, courts) for the purpose of comparison. The project outcomes will allow for an analysis that gives an overview of changes during and after the intervention process. In this way, integrated programs will be able to better conceptualise and respond to behaviour, attitudinal and risk assessment variations.Read moreRead less
The relocation tool kit: A guide for implementing relocation policies that enhance residents health and well-being and social inclusion. The project aims to identify and rank in order of importance key factors affecting the health, wellbeing and social inclusion of disadvantaged groups when they are rehoused as part of housing upgrading projects. This information will increase our understanding of the impacts of changes to housing quality, social networks (familial, friends), neighbourhood envir ....The relocation tool kit: A guide for implementing relocation policies that enhance residents health and well-being and social inclusion. The project aims to identify and rank in order of importance key factors affecting the health, wellbeing and social inclusion of disadvantaged groups when they are rehoused as part of housing upgrading projects. This information will increase our understanding of the impacts of changes to housing quality, social networks (familial, friends), neighbourhood environments (reputation, socio-economic mix, services) and project management models (resident involvement, community consultation processes). The expected outcome is a tool kit for policy makers to form innovative responses to promote health and well being and social inclusion amongst the most disadvantaged groups in Australian society.Read moreRead less
Communities, trust, governance and partnerships: The role of Local Government in community management and development in areas of social disadvantage. This project is significant as much contemporary social policy is predicated on normative assumptions of 'community' 'trust' 'collective efficacy' 'social capital', which are contested, contextual concepts. Importantly there are differences in meaning and practice of 'community' between areas of advantage and disadvantage. In being based on thes ....Communities, trust, governance and partnerships: The role of Local Government in community management and development in areas of social disadvantage. This project is significant as much contemporary social policy is predicated on normative assumptions of 'community' 'trust' 'collective efficacy' 'social capital', which are contested, contextual concepts. Importantly there are differences in meaning and practice of 'community' between areas of advantage and disadvantage. In being based on these assumptions policy implementation, which increasingly relies on community capacity, infrastructure and human resources, may have the unintended outcome of exacerbating disadvantage. This project examines these contested concepts and explores Local Government's role in creating local partnership options and modes of governance to facilitate equitable outcomes for disadvantaged communitiesRead moreRead less