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
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
Social Cohesion through Football. This project will help strengthen Australia's social and economic fabric, one of the priority goals aimed at promoting and maintaining good health for all Australians. The proposed inter-disciplinary study will provide new evidence on how sports programs can foster community building, social inclusion and social cohesion, helping families and individuals to live healthy, productive, and fulfilling lives. The proposed study will provide critically needed guidance ....Social Cohesion through Football. This project will help strengthen Australia's social and economic fabric, one of the priority goals aimed at promoting and maintaining good health for all Australians. The proposed inter-disciplinary study will provide new evidence on how sports programs can foster community building, social inclusion and social cohesion, helping families and individuals to live healthy, productive, and fulfilling lives. The proposed study will provide critically needed guidance on best-practice for governments and communities to develop and evaluate sport-based and related programs to address social cohesion and social inclusion. The result will enable humanitarian refugees to overcome barriers that hinder their participation in Australian communities.Read moreRead less
Sowing the Seeds of Innovation in the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect. The approach developed in this project will have significant benefits for child and family service organisations. It will enhance the spread and sustainability of promising preventive programs within the child and family services sector. In this way, vulnerable children and families will benefit from the increased availability of such programs designed to enhance their life opportunities. The project will also have sign ....Sowing the Seeds of Innovation in the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect. The approach developed in this project will have significant benefits for child and family service organisations. It will enhance the spread and sustainability of promising preventive programs within the child and family services sector. In this way, vulnerable children and families will benefit from the increased availability of such programs designed to enhance their life opportunities. 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.Read moreRead less
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
A Randomised Trial of Early Childhood Sustained Home Visiting in a Disadvantaged Community. Home visiting programs comprising intensive and sustained professional home visits over the entire first two years of life (SPHV) show promise as interventions to promote child health and family functioning, and ameliorate disadvantage. This study is the first Australian randomised trial to determine the impact of a comprehensive SPHV program commencing antenatally in a population group living in an area ....A Randomised Trial of Early Childhood Sustained Home Visiting in a Disadvantaged Community. Home visiting programs comprising intensive and sustained professional home visits over the entire first two years of life (SPHV) show promise as interventions to promote child health and family functioning, and ameliorate disadvantage. This study is the first Australian randomised trial to determine the impact of a comprehensive SPHV program commencing antenatally in a population group living in an area of known disadvantage. As such this trial is a best-practice demonstration model for professional home visiting in Australia, with significant implications for the development of early childhood policy and strategy throughout Australia.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
Enabling engagement and inclusion: organisational factors that embed active support in accommodation services for people with intellectual disability. The study will investigate the processes and structures necessary to ensure frontline staff deliver high quality support to people with intellectual disability, which enables them to engage in meaningful activity. This knowledge will inform disability service organisation processes and provide indicators of structures necessary for effective servi ....Enabling engagement and inclusion: organisational factors that embed active support in accommodation services for people with intellectual disability. The study will investigate the processes and structures necessary to ensure frontline staff deliver high quality support to people with intellectual disability, which enables them to engage in meaningful activity. This knowledge will inform disability service organisation processes and provide indicators of structures necessary for effective services.Read moreRead less
Reaching Isolated Carers: Contacting Carers with Unmet Needs for Information and Support. The proposed study ?Reaching Isolated Carers? is an extensive collaboration between the Social Policy Research Centre, a consortium of the relevant New South Wales government departments and Carers NSW. The project aims to use an innovative method for identifying isolated carers (i.e. carers who do not self-identify) and their needs. Isolated carers may be unaware of support services and the way these servi ....Reaching Isolated Carers: Contacting Carers with Unmet Needs for Information and Support. The proposed study ?Reaching Isolated Carers? is an extensive collaboration between the Social Policy Research Centre, a consortium of the relevant New South Wales government departments and Carers NSW. The project aims to use an innovative method for identifying isolated carers (i.e. carers who do not self-identify) and their needs. Isolated carers may be unaware of support services and the way these services can satisfy their needs. The project proposes evidence-based strategies to develop an effective policy for reducing the isolation of these carers. Informing isolated carers about support services would lead to significant improvements in carers? lives.Read moreRead less
Enhancing services to Australian children and families: linking workforce characteristics, job quality, and quality and outcomes in social services. This project aims to promote best practice in child and family welfare services, and to improve the industrial and social recognition of child and family welfare work in Australia. The CIs will construct an analytical framework for explaining the links between the nature and deployment of the child and family services workforce, service delivery sys ....Enhancing services to Australian children and families: linking workforce characteristics, job quality, and quality and outcomes in social services. This project aims to promote best practice in child and family welfare services, and to improve the industrial and social recognition of child and family welfare work in Australia. The CIs will construct an analytical framework for explaining the links between the nature and deployment of the child and family services workforce, service delivery systems and outcomes, and social policy regimes, with wider application to other personal social services. Judicious use of international comparison will assist identification of best practice. The project will inform policy and research in social service provision to vulnerable families, and the aged and disabled.Read moreRead less