Currencies of Care: Establishing the scope of performance indicators in child and family welfare services. This project aims to establish the scope of performance indicators for assessing outcomes in welfare services in urban, regional and rural contexts. Its significance lies in the analysis of outcomes, in addition to service outputs, and in advancing understanding of performance assessment beyond a narrow focus on urban service delivery environments. The project combines UnitingCare Burnside' ....Currencies of Care: Establishing the scope of performance indicators in child and family welfare services. This project aims to establish the scope of performance indicators for assessing outcomes in welfare services in urban, regional and rural contexts. Its significance lies in the analysis of outcomes, in addition to service outputs, and in advancing understanding of performance assessment beyond a narrow focus on urban service delivery environments. The project combines UnitingCare Burnside's experience in and commitment to delivery of high quality services with the CIs' interdisciplinary expertise in evaluation of caring work. Anticipated outcomes include development of a conceptual framework for performance assessment which will be used by the industry partner in managing and delivering services.Read moreRead less
Impact of parents' employment on children's well-being: The influence of employment quality, time and activities with children, and parenting practices. Most Australian children now grow-up in families where both their mother and their father are employed. Using a new national dataset, this research examines how parents' working conditions are related to children's well-being. It is proposed that parents' availability, resources, and family functioning mediate between parental employment and chi ....Impact of parents' employment on children's well-being: The influence of employment quality, time and activities with children, and parenting practices. Most Australian children now grow-up in families where both their mother and their father are employed. Using a new national dataset, this research examines how parents' working conditions are related to children's well-being. It is proposed that parents' availability, resources, and family functioning mediate between parental employment and child outcomes. The Growing-Up in Australia study (available in 2005) surveys 10,000 children, combining measures of child well-being, existing validated measures of work conditions and family functioning, with a new child-focused diary that measures time and activities undertaken with children. New knowledge generated will inform future policy development.Read moreRead less
Pathways to Permanency: A Study of Foster Care Reunification Outcomes. Internationally Child Welfare Services emphasise intensive work with biological families to prevent abuse, to shorten the length of placements when protective care is needed, and to increase rates of reunification with of children with parents. In a three year follow up study the research will undertake a systematic analysis of the process and circumstances in which family reunification is likely to lead to safety and posit ....Pathways to Permanency: A Study of Foster Care Reunification Outcomes. Internationally Child Welfare Services emphasise intensive work with biological families to prevent abuse, to shorten the length of placements when protective care is needed, and to increase rates of reunification with of children with parents. In a three year follow up study the research will undertake a systematic analysis of the process and circumstances in which family reunification is likely to lead to safety and positive outcomes for children and those in which success is less likely. It will generate evidence-based knowledge about reunification decision making and identify policy implications of responding effectively to children in need of short term foster care.Read moreRead less
The Extent and Cost of Kinship Foster Care of Orphans in Rural China. This project will explore the extent of kinship foster care provided to orphaned children in rural China. It will also, for the first time, estimate the costs of kinship care, by modifying Australian budget standards research to suit conditions in rural China. The project will combine a strong research team with a leading international non-government agency working in China and will draw on support from government officials fr ....The Extent and Cost of Kinship Foster Care of Orphans in Rural China. This project will explore the extent of kinship foster care provided to orphaned children in rural China. It will also, for the first time, estimate the costs of kinship care, by modifying Australian budget standards research to suit conditions in rural China. The project will combine a strong research team with a leading international non-government agency working in China and will draw on support from government officials from the Ministry of Civil Affairs. The results will be used to estimate child poverty among the target group and will provide a knowledge base for future research in the area.Read moreRead less
Working from the Ground Up: A Participatory Approach to Community Regeneration in Public Housing Neighbourhoods. This research will discover approaches, strategies and interventions that contribute to sustainable changes in public housing estates. It will trial interventions and develop quantitative tools. The outcomes of the project will include stronger, more cohesive communities, opportunities for residents to actively participate in their communities, and the development of services through ....Working from the Ground Up: A Participatory Approach to Community Regeneration in Public Housing Neighbourhoods. This research will discover approaches, strategies and interventions that contribute to sustainable changes in public housing estates. It will trial interventions and develop quantitative tools. The outcomes of the project will include stronger, more cohesive communities, opportunities for residents to actively participate in their communities, and the development of services through partnerships between the communities and relevant government, non government and private organizations. This will enhance health and wellbeing and increase education and training opportunities for residents. Read moreRead less
Social disadvantage and economic recession: promoting inclusion and combating deprivation. The onset of recession in the wake of the global financial crisis has reawakened concern over inequality and exclusion. This project will feed directly into the government's new social inclusion agenda by providing a better understanding of the nature of social exclusion, its relation to location-specific and other dimensions of disadvantage, and the processes that trigger and sustain exclusion. A speciall ....Social disadvantage and economic recession: promoting inclusion and combating deprivation. The onset of recession in the wake of the global financial crisis has reawakened concern over inequality and exclusion. This project will feed directly into the government's new social inclusion agenda by providing a better understanding of the nature of social exclusion, its relation to location-specific and other dimensions of disadvantage, and the processes that trigger and sustain exclusion. A specially designed survey will be coordinated with other data collection activity to provide timely new information that will assist government and non-government agencies to promote social inclusion and tackle the root causes of disadvantage.Read moreRead less
The Costs of Foster Care in Australia. The aim of the study is to determine adequate and appropriate levels of reimbursement for carers by undertaking empirical research on the economic and social costs associated with fostering. For the first time in Australia the indirect costs to carers will be examined and a model developed for reimbursing foster carers similar to other paid carers in the community. In collaboration with the Industry Partner it will explore the feasibility of using budget st ....The Costs of Foster Care in Australia. The aim of the study is to determine adequate and appropriate levels of reimbursement for carers by undertaking empirical research on the economic and social costs associated with fostering. For the first time in Australia the indirect costs to carers will be examined and a model developed for reimbursing foster carers similar to other paid carers in the community. In collaboration with the Industry Partner it will explore the feasibility of using budget standards methodology to estimate the direct costs of care of children by refining and adapting budgets to reflect costs specific to different types of foster care.Read moreRead less
Supporting families: Horizontal and vertical equity in the Australian tax-benefit system in historical and comparative perspectives. Tax benefit reform and equity between different groups are key policy concerns currently and for the foreseeable future. The tax-benefit system is under review, and the Global Financial Crisis has prompted debate on how tax-benefit policy can stimulate the economy while maintaining equity and promoting social inclusion. This project will put debate about tax-benef ....Supporting families: Horizontal and vertical equity in the Australian tax-benefit system in historical and comparative perspectives. Tax benefit reform and equity between different groups are key policy concerns currently and for the foreseeable future. The tax-benefit system is under review, and the Global Financial Crisis has prompted debate on how tax-benefit policy can stimulate the economy while maintaining equity and promoting social inclusion. This project will put debate about tax-benefit reforms and deficit reduction strategies in historical and an international comparative context. Results generated will provide a rich and comprehensive framework for assessing current and future policy options in areas that are closely aligned with the designated national research priority goals of a healthy start to life and strengthening Australia's economic and social fabric.Read moreRead less
Community spirit, social transformation, sustainable partnership: community capacity building for community transformations. This partnership is at the forefront of developments in the provision of community services. The project will contribute to a growing international field of research focused on developing integrated frameworks for measuring community wellbeing. The community capacity building approach will serve as a best practice model for other Australian municipalities. The indicators a ....Community spirit, social transformation, sustainable partnership: community capacity building for community transformations. This partnership is at the forefront of developments in the provision of community services. The project will contribute to a growing international field of research focused on developing integrated frameworks for measuring community wellbeing. The community capacity building approach will serve as a best practice model for other Australian municipalities. The indicators are a tool for engaging communities in making informal decisions and developing shared goals; a policy tool for evidence based planning; and a reporting tool to track and communicate progress towards agreed goals and outcomes. The outcomes will be efficient use of available funding for community services and lower cost of provision of social welfare.Read moreRead less
Families on the Fringe: Promoting the Social Inclusion of Young Families who have Relocated to Non-Metropolitan Areas. We aim to promote the social inclusion of young families who relocate to non-metropolitan communities by developing policy and infrastructure options based on an understanding of their characteristics and needs. The project's significance lies in capturing these characteristics to provide models upon which policy initiatives can be developed and policy outcomes monitored. Th ....Families on the Fringe: Promoting the Social Inclusion of Young Families who have Relocated to Non-Metropolitan Areas. We aim to promote the social inclusion of young families who relocate to non-metropolitan communities by developing policy and infrastructure options based on an understanding of their characteristics and needs. The project's significance lies in capturing these characteristics to provide models upon which policy initiatives can be developed and policy outcomes monitored. The project combines the Office of Economic and Statistic Research's expertise in socio-demographic research and policy development, The Benevolent Society and Mission Australia's experience in community service delivery in geographically diverse communities, with the CI's research skills, towards strengthening the social and economic fabric of Australian communities Read moreRead less