The meaning of home for children following parental separation. This project aims to identify the meaning of home for children in separated families by interviewing children and parents about children’s experiences of home and homemaking. Since most children now traverse two households, there needs to be an increasing emphasis in policy, law and professional practice on listening to children regarding their post-separation living arrangements. By describing and analysing home for children, the p ....The meaning of home for children following parental separation. This project aims to identify the meaning of home for children in separated families by interviewing children and parents about children’s experiences of home and homemaking. Since most children now traverse two households, there needs to be an increasing emphasis in policy, law and professional practice on listening to children regarding their post-separation living arrangements. By describing and analysing home for children, the project will provide a solid basis for shifting the prevailing focus on parents’ needs in application of the law toward more child-responsive parenting arrangements. This new knowledge will support parents and professionals to achieve child-responsive approaches to post-separation parenting arrangements, reducing potentially adverse impacts of parental separation on children, and benefitting children, families and the community.Read moreRead less
Strengthening Australia's Domestic and Family Violence Workforce . This project aims to generate an evidence base on the nature of domestic and family violence (DFV) work and the implications for the DFV workforce across victim, perpetrator and Aboriginal specialist services. Using the innovative method of rapid ethnography, this project expects to provide a comparative understanding of DFV work and workforce practices and requirements. Expected outcomes include workforce development strategies ....Strengthening Australia's Domestic and Family Violence Workforce . This project aims to generate an evidence base on the nature of domestic and family violence (DFV) work and the implications for the DFV workforce across victim, perpetrator and Aboriginal specialist services. Using the innovative method of rapid ethnography, this project expects to provide a comparative understanding of DFV work and workforce practices and requirements. Expected outcomes include workforce development strategies that are responsive to the context and needs of DFV work. Given the high social, health and economic costs of DFV, investing in the DFV workforce has national benefits including improved services and better client and worker wellbeing.
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Understanding vicarious trauma in Australian foster care. This project aims to investigate experiences of vicarious trauma in Australian foster care. This project expects to generate new knowledge about antecedents and mitigators of vicarious trauma, and will do so by using interdisciplinary approaches to understand the specific contexts in which vicarious trauma may occur. Expected outcomes of this project includes the generation of national data about vicarious trauma in foster care through th ....Understanding vicarious trauma in Australian foster care. This project aims to investigate experiences of vicarious trauma in Australian foster care. This project expects to generate new knowledge about antecedents and mitigators of vicarious trauma, and will do so by using interdisciplinary approaches to understand the specific contexts in which vicarious trauma may occur. Expected outcomes of this project includes the generation of national data about vicarious trauma in foster care through the development of a new measure of vicarious trauma. This should provide significant benefits, such as providing a clear means to assessing vicarious trauma, and through the development of a mobile app that will enable foster families in Australia to monitor and report experiences of vicarious trauma.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
Preventing the financial abuse of older people by a family member: Designing and evaluating older-person-centred models of family mediation. The financial abuse of older people is a significant social problem that is likely to intensify as Australia's ageing population continues to rise exponentially over the next twenty years. This project engages a broad range of stakeholders, including older people and their families, in the process of developing specialised models of family mediation to redu ....Preventing the financial abuse of older people by a family member: Designing and evaluating older-person-centred models of family mediation. The financial abuse of older people is a significant social problem that is likely to intensify as Australia's ageing population continues to rise exponentially over the next twenty years. This project engages a broad range of stakeholders, including older people and their families, in the process of developing specialised models of family mediation to reduce the incidence and severity of financial abuse within a framework that promotes social sustainability and family cohesion. The outcomes of the project, therefore, will have a direct and positive impact on policy and practice in the social and economic care of older people.Read moreRead less
Religion and domestic violence: exploring men’s perpetration. The project will generate new knowledge about how religious beliefs and practices are used by men to perpetrate domestic violence. Using a qualitative design this project will gain insights into how churches understand and respond to domestic violence; and identify and analyse the perpetration of spiritual abuse as a form of domestic violence. The significant innovation and benefit is interviewing Australian men about their understand ....Religion and domestic violence: exploring men’s perpetration. The project will generate new knowledge about how religious beliefs and practices are used by men to perpetrate domestic violence. Using a qualitative design this project will gain insights into how churches understand and respond to domestic violence; and identify and analyse the perpetration of spiritual abuse as a form of domestic violence. The significant innovation and benefit is interviewing Australian men about their understandings and use of violence through an ecclesiastical lens. The outcomes will enhance the knowledge base of domestic violence theory, serving as a platform to develop more effective policies and practice inside and outside religious settings to prevent domestic violence. 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
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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Young Carers: Social policy impacts of the caring responsibilities of children and young adults. This project is a unique collaboration between university researchers, eight government agencies in NSW and South Australia and two Carers Associations, using innovative methods to inform policy development. The project will focus on the costs to young carers (their education, training, employment, social activities, health and wellbeing); benefits of the care relationship to families and to governm ....Young Carers: Social policy impacts of the caring responsibilities of children and young adults. This project is a unique collaboration between university researchers, eight government agencies in NSW and South Australia and two Carers Associations, using innovative methods to inform policy development. The project will focus on the costs to young carers (their education, training, employment, social activities, health and wellbeing); benefits of the care relationship to families and to government through savings on formal services; and the social policy frameworks. It will provide a comprehensive audit of policies and services for young carers and care recipients, and identify gaps for future policy development.Read moreRead less
Work/Life Balance, Well-Being and Health: Theory, Practice and Policy. This project links to the national research priority of promoting and maintaining good health in two ways. It establishes a new annual national measure of work/life balance, a critical element of good health and well-being, assisting understanding about work/life conflict and informing workplace and government policy responses to it, strengthening Australia's social and economic fabric. Deep study of work/life issues in the h ....Work/Life Balance, Well-Being and Health: Theory, Practice and Policy. This project links to the national research priority of promoting and maintaining good health in two ways. It establishes a new annual national measure of work/life balance, a critical element of good health and well-being, assisting understanding about work/life conflict and informing workplace and government policy responses to it, strengthening Australia's social and economic fabric. Deep study of work/life issues in the health sector will also inform recruitment, retention and well-being in the health workforce, with flow-on to the health system more broadly. The project includes analysis of 'pre-retirement' work/life issues, also linking to the 'ageing well, ageing productively' priority. Read moreRead less