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
Early childhood sustained home visiting: outcomes at 4 years and the transition to school. The Commonwealth has been committed to developing a national agenda for early childhood, with a strong focus on development and use of Australian-relevant evidence, an outcomes focus, a focus on vulnerable communities, families and children, and strengths-based approaches. This agenda is also reflected in the key research priority areas of the Commonwealth Government. The proposed study is a critical next ....Early childhood sustained home visiting: outcomes at 4 years and the transition to school. The Commonwealth has been committed to developing a national agenda for early childhood, with a strong focus on development and use of Australian-relevant evidence, an outcomes focus, a focus on vulnerable communities, families and children, and strengths-based approaches. This agenda is also reflected in the key research priority areas of the Commonwealth Government. The proposed study is a critical next step in the development of an Australian evidence base for professional home visiting: a key strategy for the delivery of services to promote the health and development of young Australians. The findings of this study will have significant implications for the development of early childhood policy and strategy throughout Australia.Read moreRead less
Promoting successful further education and work transitions for young people in state care. The national benefits of this research include:
. understanding the impact of being in care on educational participation, career aspirations and transitions
. knowledge about further education, work pathways and employment outcomes for care leavers
. informed policy and program responses to young people transitioning from care aimed at reducing early exit from education and enhancing their work ....Promoting successful further education and work transitions for young people in state care. The national benefits of this research include:
. understanding the impact of being in care on educational participation, career aspirations and transitions
. knowledge about further education, work pathways and employment outcomes for care leavers
. informed policy and program responses to young people transitioning from care aimed at reducing early exit from education and enhancing their work readiness
. raising expectations for young people in care and improving their capacity to make choices towards positive pathways.Read moreRead less
Family Violence and Problem Gambling in Help-Seeking Populations: Prevalence, Comorbidity, Impact and Coping. The impetus for the current proposal emerged from concern expressed by the Partner Organisations (service providers) regarding the high levels of co-occurrence of problem gambling and family violence reported by their service users. The primary expected national benefits include informing the development of effective screening protocols at the Partner Organisations and other problem-spec ....Family Violence and Problem Gambling in Help-Seeking Populations: Prevalence, Comorbidity, Impact and Coping. The impetus for the current proposal emerged from concern expressed by the Partner Organisations (service providers) regarding the high levels of co-occurrence of problem gambling and family violence reported by their service users. The primary expected national benefits include informing the development of effective screening protocols at the Partner Organisations and other problem-specific community-based services. It will provide an evidence base to assist these organisations to design effective prevention programs and innovative and integrated individual and family services to reduce family impacts and enhance family coping. The project will contribute to the national priority area of promoting and maintaining good health.Read moreRead less
Too close for comfort? Adoption and management of professional and personal roles in rural welfare practice. Stressors such as maintaining role boundaries, dual and multiple relationships, professional practice, personal and family safety exist for rural welfare professionals who live and work in the same communities. Rural social welfare practice presents dilemmas due to potential conflicts between personal and work roles. The study examines individual attributes for coping and resilience, and ....Too close for comfort? Adoption and management of professional and personal roles in rural welfare practice. Stressors such as maintaining role boundaries, dual and multiple relationships, professional practice, personal and family safety exist for rural welfare professionals who live and work in the same communities. Rural social welfare practice presents dilemmas due to potential conflicts between personal and work roles. The study examines individual attributes for coping and resilience, and contextual issues. Implications for employing agencies, and educational and training institutions regarding recruiting, retention and training welfare professionals, as well as management of occupational health and safety concerns will be highlighted. The study will provide recommendations for employing agencies, professional associations, and educational institutions.Read moreRead less
Changing modes: A study of the knowledge economy of human service research in Australia. Significant national benefits will accrue through this study of the human services knowledge economy. The creation of human services employing knowledge-based interventions will address the real needs of Australians in the current socio-political environment. In investigating how current systems of knowledge production contribute to the creation of relevant and effective human services, the research will ide ....Changing modes: A study of the knowledge economy of human service research in Australia. Significant national benefits will accrue through this study of the human services knowledge economy. The creation of human services employing knowledge-based interventions will address the real needs of Australians in the current socio-political environment. In investigating how current systems of knowledge production contribute to the creation of relevant and effective human services, the research will identify the restraints to innovation in human services and the structures in which knowledge production is articulated. In modelling an 'ideal-type' of knowledge transfer conducive to the development of socially accountable research, it will inform changes needed for effective human service delivery. Read moreRead less
Womens access to welfare after prison - an international comparison. The aim of the proposed research is to undertake an comparative analysis of the services accessed by female prisoners following their return to the community and the potential of these services to reduce re-offending. This analysis will build upon the current ARC project in Victoria and a similar project in Scotland. Scotland and Victoria provide an interesting focus for comparative research, having similar populations, similar ....Womens access to welfare after prison - an international comparison. The aim of the proposed research is to undertake an comparative analysis of the services accessed by female prisoners following their return to the community and the potential of these services to reduce re-offending. This analysis will build upon the current ARC project in Victoria and a similar project in Scotland. Scotland and Victoria provide an interesting focus for comparative research, having similar populations, similar numbers of women imprisoned and similar increases during the last decade in the daily female prison population. Moreover in both jurisdictions initiatives are being introduced to enhance women's access to services when they leave prison.
The purpose of the proposed research will be to develop and implement a framework for the comparative analysis of data on women's experiences after prison that will be generated by two funded studies in Scotland and Victoria.Read moreRead less
Women's access to welfare after prison. This project aims to examine the nature of welfare services available to women after they leave Victorian prisons, how the women access these services and the extent to which the services meet their needs and contribute to their rehabilitation. Although female ex-offenders are likely to have a high need for welfare services, and the evidence suggests that these services can make a difference to their successful re-integration, little is known about whether ....Women's access to welfare after prison. This project aims to examine the nature of welfare services available to women after they leave Victorian prisons, how the women access these services and the extent to which the services meet their needs and contribute to their rehabilitation. Although female ex-offenders are likely to have a high need for welfare services, and the evidence suggests that these services can make a difference to their successful re-integration, little is known about whether and how women access services or benefit from them. The results of the project will inform the development of welfare services by the industry partner and elsewhere.
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Creating pathways to child wellbeing in disadvantaged communities. This project aims to test, in nine disadvantaged communities, a model for action that blends new human and digital resources to support respectful, data-driven collaborations between schools, families and community agencies.
The project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of translational prevention science about how to influence risk and protective factors for child wellbeing in a cost-efficient manner and at a scale ....Creating pathways to child wellbeing in disadvantaged communities. This project aims to test, in nine disadvantaged communities, a model for action that blends new human and digital resources to support respectful, data-driven collaborations between schools, families and community agencies.
The project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of translational prevention science about how to influence risk and protective factors for child wellbeing in a cost-efficient manner and at a scale within existing service systems. Project benefits should include a methodology for achieving lasting improvements in child wellbeing, behaviour and school success.
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Forgotten Australians: identifying long term outcomes for people who lived in institutional and other forms of out-of-home care. In line with international recognition that children who lived in orphanages have suffered disenfranchisement and disadvantage in adulthood, this project will add to empirical knowledge of this population, track experiences associated with adverse and the more optimal life outcomes, and identify areas for intervention to promote their wellness.