Advancing digital inclusion in low income Australian families. This ethnographic investigation explores the complex relationship between digital and social inclusion, and social infrastructure's role (education facilities, charities, government services) in supporting low-income families' social and economic participation. It gathers insights from families in six diverse communities from Far North Queensland to Tasmania, across diverse urban, regional and rural locations. It focuses on the digit ....Advancing digital inclusion in low income Australian families. This ethnographic investigation explores the complex relationship between digital and social inclusion, and social infrastructure's role (education facilities, charities, government services) in supporting low-income families' social and economic participation. It gathers insights from families in six diverse communities from Far North Queensland to Tasmania, across diverse urban, regional and rural locations. It focuses on the digital inclusion implications of children's home and school learning experiences, school leavers' transitions into work, and parenting in digital times. The project is a collaboration with Australia's leading digital inclusion organisations and will develop new practices, policies and sector wide solutions.Read moreRead less
How Much is it Worth? Legal Discourses and Everyday Understandings of Families, Work and Property. This project will analyse the extent of congruence between the legal discourses and everyday understandings of the contributions made by partners in married and unmarried relationships that form the basis for property division when relationships end. Its claim to innovation lies in its interdisciplinary approach, positioning such understandings within their wider historical and cultural contexts. T ....How Much is it Worth? Legal Discourses and Everyday Understandings of Families, Work and Property. This project will analyse the extent of congruence between the legal discourses and everyday understandings of the contributions made by partners in married and unmarried relationships that form the basis for property division when relationships end. Its claim to innovation lies in its interdisciplinary approach, positioning such understandings within their wider historical and cultural contexts. The project's findings will inform the ongoing and divisive debates between the court, the media and consumers about the justice of such distributions in Australia, providing a basis for design of laws that better meet the needs of the diverse range of Australian families. Read moreRead less
Living Alone in Australia Project (LAAP). This study investigates one aspect of the changing nature of Australia's social fabric. It asks whether the sharp rise in living alone reflects a breakdown in Australia's social fabric or simply marks a change in the way in which the fabric is woven. Living alone has important implications for social policy, service provision and housing. But before these implications are identified we need a much better understanding of who lives alone and what living ....Living Alone in Australia Project (LAAP). This study investigates one aspect of the changing nature of Australia's social fabric. It asks whether the sharp rise in living alone reflects a breakdown in Australia's social fabric or simply marks a change in the way in which the fabric is woven. Living alone has important implications for social policy, service provision and housing. But before these implications are identified we need a much better understanding of who lives alone and what living alone means for people in terms of their social ties. By understanding the causes and consequences of the increasing popularity of living alone the study will help identify those who are at ?risk? and thus assist with effective targeting of supports and interventions.Read moreRead less
Researching an all-of-family program in family violence & substance misuse. Family violence services and drug and alcohol services have been inappropriately siloed given co-occurrence of these problems is common. This project aims to evaluate an innovative program which integrates these services, focuses on fathering to ensure recognition of the needs of children (50% of family violence victims) and provides all-of-family support to ensure the safety and well-being of women and children. Expect ....Researching an all-of-family program in family violence & substance misuse. Family violence services and drug and alcohol services have been inappropriately siloed given co-occurrence of these problems is common. This project aims to evaluate an innovative program which integrates these services, focuses on fathering to ensure recognition of the needs of children (50% of family violence victims) and provides all-of-family support to ensure the safety and well-being of women and children. Expected outcomes include better evidence for countering family violence, and policy frameworks for integrated service provision. Changing the behaviour of men who use violence is a significant social challenge and the outcomes of this targeted approach should have ramifications nationally and internationally. Read moreRead less
A study investigating the feasibility of implementing a national approach to child and family health services. Understanding and strengthening the way in which universal health services are provided to pregnant women, children and families has the potential to impact over a million Australian families annually. The findings of this study will have national application as federal, state and territory governments work towards implementing a national approach to child and family health services. Th ....A study investigating the feasibility of implementing a national approach to child and family health services. Understanding and strengthening the way in which universal health services are provided to pregnant women, children and families has the potential to impact over a million Australian families annually. The findings of this study will have national application as federal, state and territory governments work towards implementing a national approach to child and family health services. The findings will inform effective multidisciplinary collaboration and service integration, address service gaps and duplication and lead to increased access to services. This study will generate new knowledge about characteristics of organisations, service delivery and professions that facilitate or hinder innovation.Read moreRead less
Enhancing mothers' engagement with the workforce in the preschool years. Increasing the workforce participation of mothers is a key national policy agenda. This project will produce unique data that provides insights into how leave arrangements, childcare, flexibility, job characteristics and individual circumstances interact to influence mothers' workforce engagement and how this varies for different groups of mothers.
ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course. The 2020 ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course (LCC2020) aims to deliver transformative research and translation to break the cycle of deep and persistent disadvantage for Australians. Critically, LCC2020 will tackle disadvantage in specific context to understand how people negotiate it daily in real places, and how best to design policies and programs that support improved life pathways. B ....ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course. The 2020 ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course (LCC2020) aims to deliver transformative research and translation to break the cycle of deep and persistent disadvantage for Australians. Critically, LCC2020 will tackle disadvantage in specific context to understand how people negotiate it daily in real places, and how best to design policies and programs that support improved life pathways. By understanding life course contexts much more finely and using new methods and better data to personalise responses to disadvantage, LCC2020 will deliver the evidence, infrastructure, capacity and partnerships to reduce disadvantage and better equip Australian children and families for emerging challenges. Read moreRead less
Parental engagement in supported playgroups. Supported playgroups are an important strategy within Australia's current family policies. However, supported playgroups have been implemented in the absence of strong theoretical or empirical evidence about their effectiveness in promoting positive outcomes for parents and children in families with high support needs. This study undertakes an important step in establishing an evidence-base for supported playgroup programs, by determining the factors ....Parental engagement in supported playgroups. Supported playgroups are an important strategy within Australia's current family policies. However, supported playgroups have been implemented in the absence of strong theoretical or empirical evidence about their effectiveness in promoting positive outcomes for parents and children in families with high support needs. This study undertakes an important step in establishing an evidence-base for supported playgroup programs, by determining the factors associated with variations in parent engagement. Findings have national benefit by providing key information for enhancing program design and program quality in order to improve the capacity of family support programs to retain vulnerable families in services.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354736
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$30,000.00
Summary
Families, Law and Social Policy Research Network. The Federal Government's Family Law Pathways Advisory Group recommended that a national research agenda be developed for family law and social policy that focuses on the separation and divorce transition. For many families Commonwealth private family law and the public law of child protection and domestic violence, provides the setting in which this transition takes place. The proposed multidisciplinary network brings together researchers, policy ....Families, Law and Social Policy Research Network. The Federal Government's Family Law Pathways Advisory Group recommended that a national research agenda be developed for family law and social policy that focuses on the separation and divorce transition. For many families Commonwealth private family law and the public law of child protection and domestic violence, provides the setting in which this transition takes place. The proposed multidisciplinary network brings together researchers, policy makers and service providers in this area. Benefits include research better targeted to the needs of end-users, a stronger evidence base for complex practice, decreased fragmentation of research effort, and a base for research training.Read moreRead less
Improving contact between children in out-of-home care and their birth parents: developing and trialling a contact intervention. There is little evidence on how to best manage contact between the 37,648 children in care nationally and their birth parents. The aim of this project is to develop and trial a new model of contact which will reduce distress, improve children's relationships with their birth parents and increase successful reunifications in the long term.