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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Managing risk in community services. A preliminary study of the impacts of risk management on Victorian services and clients. Most older people and those with a disability or a mental illness now live in the community. They receive help from a vast range of community services, which are also expected to keep them safe, and their workers and the wider community safe. Risk management is now an important part of the work of all services and businesses involved in community care. This project will s ....Managing risk in community services. A preliminary study of the impacts of risk management on Victorian services and clients. Most older people and those with a disability or a mental illness now live in the community. They receive help from a vast range of community services, which are also expected to keep them safe, and their workers and the wider community safe. Risk management is now an important part of the work of all services and businesses involved in community care. This project will study the unforeseen impacts and costs of the new risk management, identify the problems, and explore the ways risk management can achieve its goals without reducing services and limiting the lives of the clients.Read moreRead less
Community variations in crime: A spatial and ecometric analysis. Collective Efficacy (CE) is a new theoretical construct (that has never been investigated in Australia). It is a task-specific process for mobilising social capital to tackle specific neighbourhood problems. Research in Chicago finds that communities with high levels of CE experience lower levels of violence regardless of poverty levels. We will conduct a spatial and ecometric analysis of CE and crime using a survey of 3000 residen ....Community variations in crime: A spatial and ecometric analysis. Collective Efficacy (CE) is a new theoretical construct (that has never been investigated in Australia). It is a task-specific process for mobilising social capital to tackle specific neighbourhood problems. Research in Chicago finds that communities with high levels of CE experience lower levels of violence regardless of poverty levels. We will conduct a spatial and ecometric analysis of CE and crime using a survey of 3000 residents in 50 Brisbane communities. We will compare similar data from Chicago and Stockholm to investigate the Australian contribution of CE to spatial crime patterns and its potential for future crime prevention programs.Read moreRead less
Integrated Kids Hubs - Ensuring Equity of Access for Children. The Integrated Kids Hubs - Ensuring Equity of Access for Children project aims to determine if integrated Hubs are effective in increasing access to child and family services for disadvantaged urban and regional families with children aged 3 years and under, thus improving early identification of developmental vulnerability, parental wellbeing and capacity, and addressing unmet psychosocial needs. If these issues are not identified a ....Integrated Kids Hubs - Ensuring Equity of Access for Children. The Integrated Kids Hubs - Ensuring Equity of Access for Children project aims to determine if integrated Hubs are effective in increasing access to child and family services for disadvantaged urban and regional families with children aged 3 years and under, thus improving early identification of developmental vulnerability, parental wellbeing and capacity, and addressing unmet psychosocial needs. If these issues are not identified and addressed early, these children will go on to struggle in school and life. We will use a pragmatic trial design (meaning the research is embedded in our usual practice), determine the social return on investment, and establish what is needed to scale up the Hubs across NSW and Australia.Read moreRead less
Out of the Institution. An investigation of deinstitutionalization, exploring the effectiveness of supported housing for people with psychiatric disabilities leaving care. The project has two objectives. The first is to investigate outcomes of a unique model of supported housing for deinstitutionalised people living in the community. The second is to survey people that are about to be deinstitutionalised along with staff and family and set up a framework for longitudinal analysis of this group. ....Out of the Institution. An investigation of deinstitutionalization, exploring the effectiveness of supported housing for people with psychiatric disabilities leaving care. The project has two objectives. The first is to investigate outcomes of a unique model of supported housing for deinstitutionalised people living in the community. The second is to survey people that are about to be deinstitutionalised along with staff and family and set up a framework for longitudinal analysis of this group. While a major social policy reform, deinstitutionalisation in Australia has been under-researched, despite the potential pitfalls. This project will provide information and analysis that will help government and community agencies to seek and provide better outcomes for clients and communities.Read moreRead less
Post retirement support solutions for people with intellectual disabilities and their parents/carers. The current generation is the first to contain a substantial number of people with intellectual disabilities who have survived to old age. Policy makers have yet to focus on their wellbeing following retirement from supported employment. Evidence cited by agencies such as Centacare, the Industry Partner, indicates that these older people and their ageing parents experience severe disadvantage an ....Post retirement support solutions for people with intellectual disabilities and their parents/carers. The current generation is the first to contain a substantial number of people with intellectual disabilities who have survived to old age. Policy makers have yet to focus on their wellbeing following retirement from supported employment. Evidence cited by agencies such as Centacare, the Industry Partner, indicates that these older people and their ageing parents experience severe disadvantage and worry about retirement. The project aims to redress this situation by investigating ways of preparing people for retirement and mechanisms for enabling supported employment agencies to provide services and supports that optimise post retirement wellbeing.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
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.
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
Improving contact between children in out-of-home care and their birth parents: developing and trialling a contact intervention. There is little evidence on how to best manage contact between the 37,648 children in care nationally and their birth parents. The aim of this project is to develop and trial a new model of contact which will reduce distress, improve children's relationships with their birth parents and increase successful reunifications in the long term.