An examination of issues around the support and supervision of Kinship Carers, with a particular focus on NSW. This project will be the first in-depth exploration of issues around provisions of support for and supervision of, kinship carers. The exploration will include an analysis of paradigms influencing child welfare provisions. It will also include a study of characteristics and experiences of formal kinship carers, informal kinship carers and foster carers in NSW. The findings of this stu ....An examination of issues around the support and supervision of Kinship Carers, with a particular focus on NSW. This project will be the first in-depth exploration of issues around provisions of support for and supervision of, kinship carers. The exploration will include an analysis of paradigms influencing child welfare provisions. It will also include a study of characteristics and experiences of formal kinship carers, informal kinship carers and foster carers in NSW. The findings of this study will be examined in the context of the paradigm analysis. The findings will contribute to knowledge for policy development on kinship care generally, and in particular, enable ACWA to contribute to the development of kinship care policy in NSW.Read moreRead less
Strengthening Relationships for Young People in Residential Care. Young people in residential care face major challenges in forming positive relationships, many having experienced adults as a source of threat rather than safety. This project aims to investigate practices within therapeutic residential care that enable or limit young people’s identity formation, positive social connections, safety and wellbeing. This research will generate nuanced knowledge informing interpersonal and institution ....Strengthening Relationships for Young People in Residential Care. Young people in residential care face major challenges in forming positive relationships, many having experienced adults as a source of threat rather than safety. This project aims to investigate practices within therapeutic residential care that enable or limit young people’s identity formation, positive social connections, safety and wellbeing. This research will generate nuanced knowledge informing interpersonal and institutional change. Expected outcomes include improved approaches to therapeutic care and to methods for enabling the participation of young people in care in matters that may change their life trajectory on exiting care. Expected benefits include more responsive policies and frameworks for practice.Read moreRead less
Developing An Effective System Of Child Protection In China. Theis project will be of benefit Australia in the following aspects: (1) It will provide Australia greater knowledge of child protection practices in a major East Asian society, where kinship and family networks play an active role in protecting children within their own communities. (2) It offers a unique opportunity for Australia to demonstrate its commitment to utilising its own research to the benefit of a major developing country ....Developing An Effective System Of Child Protection In China. Theis project will be of benefit Australia in the following aspects: (1) It will provide Australia greater knowledge of child protection practices in a major East Asian society, where kinship and family networks play an active role in protecting children within their own communities. (2) It offers a unique opportunity for Australia to demonstrate its commitment to utilising its own research to the benefit of a major developing country with which it is establishing strong linkages across many activities. (3) It will strengthen the existing connections among Australia higher educational institutions, Chinese government and non-government organizations, and international NGO.Read moreRead less
Care Matters: Capturing Outcomes for Children in Foster Care. The issue of child protection is high on the national agenda. Research on outcomes of children placed in protective care has considerable potential to yield important national benefit given that failures in this system result in social breakdown and emotional and financial cost. The ability of children and young people in care to form subsequent interpersonal relationships and achieve healthy developmental outcomes is important to soc ....Care Matters: Capturing Outcomes for Children in Foster Care. The issue of child protection is high on the national agenda. Research on outcomes of children placed in protective care has considerable potential to yield important national benefit given that failures in this system result in social breakdown and emotional and financial cost. The ability of children and young people in care to form subsequent interpersonal relationships and achieve healthy developmental outcomes is important to social stability in Australian Society and elsewhere. Major outcomes of the research will be the advancement of the scientific knowledge base on the dynamics of children's experience of reattachment with new families and the factors that promote or inhibit resilient outcomes for children.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
Aboriginal child restoration from out-of-home care: pathways for success. The soaring rates of Indigenous children living in out-of-home care requires an urgent response. This research aims to considerably advance the knowledge regarding child restoration by investigating the lived experiences and outcomes of Aboriginal parents whose children have been restored from care. The project intends to identify successful child restoration initiatives and produce an empirical roadmap for navigating serv ....Aboriginal child restoration from out-of-home care: pathways for success. The soaring rates of Indigenous children living in out-of-home care requires an urgent response. This research aims to considerably advance the knowledge regarding child restoration by investigating the lived experiences and outcomes of Aboriginal parents whose children have been restored from care. The project intends to identify successful child restoration initiatives and produce an empirical roadmap for navigating service systems with the goal of restoration. The project expects to make a substantial contribution to this largely neglected research area that will benefit birth parents and families, communities, practitioners, policy makers and academics. In doing so, it aspires to reduce the prevalence of Aboriginal children in care.Read moreRead less
Upholding the right to cultural connection for children in care. A positive sense of cultural identity is critical to wellbeing, yet children in out-of-home care often lose their cultural identities and connections. There is little evidence to guide out-of-home care agencies to support a culturally meaningful foster care placement for non-Indigenous culturally and linguistically diverse children. This project tests promising practices identified by the partner organisations and research literatu ....Upholding the right to cultural connection for children in care. A positive sense of cultural identity is critical to wellbeing, yet children in out-of-home care often lose their cultural identities and connections. There is little evidence to guide out-of-home care agencies to support a culturally meaningful foster care placement for non-Indigenous culturally and linguistically diverse children. This project tests promising practices identified by the partner organisations and research literature to produce an exemplary model of cultural care, with input from children, carers and birth families. Trial implementation in the partner organisations will inform guidelines and recommendations so that the model can inform policy and practice in out-of-home care across Australia.
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Enhancing Children's Journey in Out-of-Home Care:A Multi-perspective Study . This study aims to improve the experiences of, and outcomes for, Indigenous and non-Indigenous children in Out-of-Home Care (OOHC). Drawing on detailed longitudinal, qualitative interview data from children in out-of-home-care, their birth families and carers across geographically diverse sites in Queensland, the study will build a rich understanding of their experiences. Outcomes include improved knowledge of how to st ....Enhancing Children's Journey in Out-of-Home Care:A Multi-perspective Study . This study aims to improve the experiences of, and outcomes for, Indigenous and non-Indigenous children in Out-of-Home Care (OOHC). Drawing on detailed longitudinal, qualitative interview data from children in out-of-home-care, their birth families and carers across geographically diverse sites in Queensland, the study will build a rich understanding of their experiences. Outcomes include improved knowledge of how to strengthen children's connections to culture and caring relationships during OOHC and how these connections shape children's well-being. Benefits include improved outcomes for children and better practice to achieve positive social, cultural and emotional well-being for those involved OOHC especially in Indigenous communities.
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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
Grandparents as primary carers of their grandchildren: A national, State,Territory analysis of grandparent-headed families - policy and practice implications. This unique collaboration between researchers, four government Departments in the Commonwealth, NSW, South Australia and the Northern Territory concerned with child and family welfare, and Mission Australia, uses innovative methods to analyse non-Indigenous and Indigenous grandparents as primary carers of their grandchildren. The project w ....Grandparents as primary carers of their grandchildren: A national, State,Territory analysis of grandparent-headed families - policy and practice implications. This unique collaboration between researchers, four government Departments in the Commonwealth, NSW, South Australia and the Northern Territory concerned with child and family welfare, and Mission Australia, uses innovative methods to analyse non-Indigenous and Indigenous grandparents as primary carers of their grandchildren. The project will analyse the circumstances and needs of grandparents and grandchildren in different formal and informal arrangements. It will provide a comprehensive audit of national, state and territory policies and identify gaps for the development of policies and services to promote the health and wellbeing of grandparents and children.Read moreRead less