Families at the centre: negotiating Australia's mixed market in early education and care. Despite a surge of policy reforms and Australian government investment in early childhood education and care (ECEC), little is known in Australia about how local ECEC markets function and how low-income families make decisions about the use or non-use of child care services. This project will provide evidence for policy-making and service provision that aims to encourage child care use by low-income familie ....Families at the centre: negotiating Australia's mixed market in early education and care. Despite a surge of policy reforms and Australian government investment in early childhood education and care (ECEC), little is known in Australia about how local ECEC markets function and how low-income families make decisions about the use or non-use of child care services. This project will provide evidence for policy-making and service provision that aims to encourage child care use by low-income families. The direct involvement of child care providers in the research will strengthen its relevance and impact. This research will place Australia at the forefront of international research on local child care markets, and resulting improvements in ECEC policy and services will generate substantial economic and social benefits.Read moreRead less
Farming 4 Care: Using nature to cultivate resilience in young people. This project aims to explore how passive and active engagement with nature might influence outcomes for young people who have experienced trauma, maltreatment and disrupted families. These people are extremely vulnerable, but often slip through the system. As they rarely engage in traditional therapy, non-traditional interventions may offer a viable alternative that should be explored and harnessed for this population. In addi ....Farming 4 Care: Using nature to cultivate resilience in young people. This project aims to explore how passive and active engagement with nature might influence outcomes for young people who have experienced trauma, maltreatment and disrupted families. These people are extremely vulnerable, but often slip through the system. As they rarely engage in traditional therapy, non-traditional interventions may offer a viable alternative that should be explored and harnessed for this population. In addition, traditional interventions are delivered at enormous cost and with minimal success for this group. Using an innovative multidisciplinary design, the project plans to test four hypotheses about nature engagement to contribute to the growing field of nature-based interventions. Our approach offers an alternative that draws on existing community resources and benefits local organisations, young people and farmers.Read moreRead less
Protecting Sexually Abused Children in China. Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a worldwide public health problem. The aim of this project is to better understand how the Chinese state and civil society act to prevent, respond and provide support to the victims of CSA. Findings aim to underpin the development of a more effective system. Organisations in China and Australia aim to cooperate in order to: identify policy, practices and procedures that currently protect and support victims of CSA; develop ....Protecting Sexually Abused Children in China. Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a worldwide public health problem. The aim of this project is to better understand how the Chinese state and civil society act to prevent, respond and provide support to the victims of CSA. Findings aim to underpin the development of a more effective system. Organisations in China and Australia aim to cooperate in order to: identify policy, practices and procedures that currently protect and support victims of CSA; develop comprehensive social, economic and legal strategies to improve the effectiveness of services directed at preventing and responding to CSA; further understanding of the issues in supporting Chinese CSA victims in Australia; and better understand policy transfer from Australia to China.Read moreRead less
Reducing recurrence in the child protection system. The project examines the factors associated with once-only and repeated notifications of child abuse and neglect. It is important that early intervention services for vulnerable children are targeted to ensure an evidence-based match between child and family needs and services.
A study of best practice in intervention with parental agreement: creating change with families in statutory child protection services. This project will explore how parental agreements can be used in statutory child protection services as an alternative to more intrusive forms of intervention. Expected outcomes include better use of parental agreements to enhance the protection of children and promote the well-being of vulnerable families.
Creating better pathways into civic participation for young homeless people through sustainable accommodation and support program models. A sustained independent living environment is a significant contributor to health and well being. This project will offer new insights into how young homeless people use and experience supported accommodation and programs. It will recommend practical models for policy development, practice and service delivery.
Accountability and user participation in Chinese child welfare nongovernment organisations. The project will examine democratic and managerial accountability of Chinese child welfare nongovernment organisations by talking with people who use and manage the services and analysing national datasets and policy.
Lost in Transition: supporting young people with complex support needs. This project seeks to improve the lives of young people with complex support needs who experience overlapping forms of disadvantage. It intends to investigate how best to support their frequent transitions between services, institutions and care environments. These transitions are particularly problematic for this group, and if poorly supported, have significant social and economic costs. The project aims to analyse early li ....Lost in Transition: supporting young people with complex support needs. This project seeks to improve the lives of young people with complex support needs who experience overlapping forms of disadvantage. It intends to investigate how best to support their frequent transitions between services, institutions and care environments. These transitions are particularly problematic for this group, and if poorly supported, have significant social and economic costs. The project aims to analyse early life transitions and the supports available and to suggest best practice for transition support and a framework for how to track transitions using existing data. Intended outcomes will inform policy and practice in how best to invest in supports for young people with complex needs as they make multiple transitions.Read moreRead less
What's best for my child? Parents' perspectives of childcare quality and early learning as contributors to childcare choice. This project will explore parents' understandings of early learning and childcare quality, and how these understandings contribute to childcare choice. The project will inform the Australian Government's policy directive of giving children the best start in life and support parents' capacity to make choices that they consider are best for their child.
Young people and adversity: Stories of resourcing and resourcefulness. This project aims to explore how young people with complex needs can secure the resources they need. Despite recent investments in youth services, many young people with complex needs still struggle to secure resources. Understanding how to better resource these young people is essential if we are to improve their wellbeing and outcomes. Drawing on the life stories of disadvantaged young people, the project aims to provide ne ....Young people and adversity: Stories of resourcing and resourcefulness. This project aims to explore how young people with complex needs can secure the resources they need. Despite recent investments in youth services, many young people with complex needs still struggle to secure resources. Understanding how to better resource these young people is essential if we are to improve their wellbeing and outcomes. Drawing on the life stories of disadvantaged young people, the project aims to provide new evidence on the way they understand, approach, and use formal and informal resources in the context of changing circumstances. This evidence is designed to drive the development of services that are responsive to young people’s needs, cultivate their capacities for resourcefulness, and complement the other resources they have available.Read moreRead less