Australian Institute of Family Studies
Green line
Family futures: issues in research and policy
7th Australian Institute of Family Studies Conference
Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre,
Darling Harbour Sydney, 24-26 July 2000
Green line

Abstracts


Concurrent Sessions:


Monday, July 24th, 1.30-3.00pm

Session 1a: Focus on Fathering - Symposium


Discussant: Robin Sullivan, Commissioner, Children's Commission of Queensland

Currently there is a public spotlight on men's issues, as changes in gender relationships have led to a questioning of what it is to be a man, and a father in contemporary Australia. We have also, unfortunately, witnessed in the news in recent times, the tragic consequences of desperate men reacting violently to the breakdown of relationships. We are seeing an increasing recognition of the importance of healthy relationships, of the effects of domestic and family violence on children, either as witnesses or victims, and of the costs to men, children, families and society of problematic relationships. This is occurring as part of rapid social change which is affecting all aspects of our lives, including an increase in the number of children who do not have a male figure consistently in their lives.

The Children's Commission of Queensland was established in 1996 and serves to protect and promote the well being of all children and young people in Queensland. The Children's Commission endeavours to promote translation into practice of the principles contained in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCROC) - ratified by the Australian Government in 1991 - through liaison with government and non-government agencies providing services to children.

Given the factors mentioned above, relationships between men and their children are of special interest to the Children's Commission. Mindful of research which demonstrates the link between strong familial relationships and productive and fulfilling adult citizenship, during the year 2000 we are undertaking a specific initiative to raise awareness and inform public debate on contemporary fathering issues, and to promote positive fathering skills.

This symposium will consider aspects of the current context which have led to the Children's Commission Focus on Fathering Project and give insight into some of the activities being undertaken as part of that project.

Session 1a (Monday 24th 1.30-3.00pm)
Robin Sullivan, Jacqui Craig & Sue Howard, Children's Commission of Queensland
Fathering and the welfare of children - the contemporary context


Being a father is challenging in contemporary Australia as many factors shape the way fatherhood is perceived and fathers behave. Much has been written recently on the role of men in our society. Boys and young men now live in complex cultural contexts where experiences of what it is to be a male and a father are rich and diverse, but also confusing and contradictory - even the definition of "father" is currently contested. Their own personal upbringing and factors like socioeconomic and ethnic background affect men's experiences and the ways they express themselves as fathers. It is becoming increasingly common for men to live separately from their children, to father outside of marriage, or to "father" biological offspring as well as the children of their spouse or partner. There is also an increasing number of custodial single fathers. Although "men as fathers" is a comparatively new area of study, it has been argued that when fathers are positively involved in and provide resources for their children's lives, then their children's wellbeing is enhanced, and that what fathers do, the way they relate to their children, is what makes a difference.

The Children's Commission has based its approach in the Focus on Fathering Project on an awareness of the need for research to inform policy development, and for a multilevel approach. This paper will set the context for the symposium by exploring further the above background and presenting an overview of the Children's Commission Focus on Fathering project.

Session 1a (Monday 24th 1.30-3.00pm)
Jacqui Craig, Children's Commission of Queensland
Raising the profile of fathering in the community


In its endeavour to advocate for the needs, interests and aspirations of Queensland's youngest citizens, the Children's Commission is committed to utilising social marketing as a tool to promote child protection, positive parenting and 'child friendly' communities.

Conduct of high profile, community based events such as the Focus on Fathering day seeks to engage the local community in:

  • event planning and management processes;
  • articulating the dimensions of effective fathering; and,
  • raising community awareness of positive parenting strategies.

    • A key component of this initiative is the empowerment of children and young people afforded by the process of consultation and collaboration underpinning event planning and management. Establishment of productive partnerships between Government agencies, non-government human services organisations and the corporate sector also seeks to advance broad based community capacity building, development of social capital and a 'child friendly' philosophy at a local level.
    A significant feature of this initiative is the development of a model to assist local communities to:
  • conduct a Focus on Fathering day that accommodates the local socio-cultural contexts;
  • celebrate positive parenting across the state; and,
  • progress adoption of a 'child friendly' philosophy at a local level.
    •
     
    Session 1a (Monday 24th 1.30-3.00pm)
    Sue Howard, Children's Commission of Queensland
    Fathering behind bars


    The Children's Commission is particularly concerned to support children and young people who are marginalised and in vulnerable situations in society. As part of the Focus on Fathering Project, it is interested in exploring issues relating to fathers in prison.

    There are several aspects to this. Firstly, the long-term effects of incarceration can be devastating on the family unit and in particular on children. It is very difficult for relationships to develop and flourish when one person in that relationship is in prison. Secondly, the antisocial behaviour of prisoners that led to incarceration often includes violence. Links between the incidence of domestic violence and child abuse are increasingly being made.

    Pathways to Prevention, the Report for the National Campaign Against Violence and Crime and the National Anti-Crime Strategy (1999) recognised the importance of intervention and the need to consider groups in society (eg. indigenous peoples) explicitly.

    The Commission is concerned by statistics which indicate the over-representation of indigenous people in prisons (1585 per 100,000 population compared with 116 per 100,000 "other people" according to 1997 Crime and Justice statistics), and youth detention (343 per 100,000 of indigenous young people compared with 15 per 100,000 of non-indigenous young people).

    The Queensland government's Aboriginal & Torres Strait Advisory Board (ATSIAB) is also interested in programs that support Indigenous inmates to maintain strong connections to their families and communities. ATSIAB and the Children's Commission are working together to explore issues around the relationships between fathers and their children when the father is in prison. A scoping paper and an issues paper are being drafted to inform the later development of a fathering program for indigenous prisoners.

    This presentation will explain the nature of this aspect of the Focus on Fathering Project, and highlight the key issues which have been identified regarding fathering behind bars.
     

    Session 1b: Social capital and civil society

    Session 1b (Monday 24th 1.30-3.00pm)
    Wendy Stone & Jody Hughes, Australian Institute of Family Studies
    What role for social capital in family policy - and how does it measure up?
    This paper defines social capital as networks of social relations characterised by norms of trust and reciprocity, and as a resource to action. The paper details the recent rapid escalation in academic and policy interest in the capacity of social capital to generate enhanced macro outcomes such as more efficient economies and more democratic polities as well as micro level outcomes of improved health, family well being and community cohesion. The ways social capital is being discussed in the Australian social policy context specifically are then examined.

    The paper argues that despite debate about the potential of social capital to contribute to active economic, community and political life, and the recent enthusiasm for the concept in public policy circles, there is a gulf between social capital theory and empirical understandings of the concept. The paper demonstrates via review of international, and scant Australian literature available, that it is this gulf between theoretical understandings of social capital and empirical work which has resulted in confusion about the meaning, measurement, outcomes and relevance of social capital.

    In an attempt to bridge the gulf between social capital theory and empirical work, the paper presents a conceptually sound and theoretically informed measurement framework for empirical investigation of social capital, and sets out a research agenda for interrogating the value of social capital for Australian families, communities and policy.

    Session 1b (Monday 24th 1.30-3.00pm)
    Anne Hampshire, Benevolent Society of NSW & Karen Healy, University of Sydney
    Social capital in practice
    Australia's oldest not-for-profit organisation, The Benevolent Society, has identified the building of social capital as its key organisational objective. It has done so because it sees the need to look for more effective ways of meeting long standing and emerging complex social issues. There has been much written on the theory of social capital. The challenge for organisations like The Benevolent Society is the how - how does an organisation build and promote social capital? How is the concept of social capital explained to workers in the field? What relevance does it have for how they work? What relevance, if any, does it have for the clients of services? What, within an organisation, promotes and what works against, the building of social capital?

    In order to begin to marry the theory of social capital with the practice of a medium sized not-for-profit organisation delivering a variety of community services (in the areas of the aged, children and families, women's health etc) The Benevolent Society has done some preliminary work on developing a Community Engagement Strategy. (Given the diversity of understandings around the term 'social capital' and its failure to be "instantly" understood by both staff and clients, The Society has opted to use the term 'community engagement' for this project).

    The Conference paper would:
    The project involved extensive consultation across the organisation, a national and international search for best practice in community engagement, including the use of volunteers, and an examination of some high need communities in Sydney. The Benevolent Society and the University of Sydney are applying for funding to undertake a 3 year project which builds on this initial work.


    Session 1b (Monday 24th 1.30-3.00pm)
    Kerry Flanagan, Department of Family and Community Services
    Social capital and stronger communities - the challenges for policy design and evaluation
    The Family and Community Services portfolio has a strategic outcome of 'Stronger Communities'. Minister Newman has recently announced a Stronger Communities Strategy that will focus on developing and supporting social capital. This signals a relatively new approach for government in social policy, as it shifts the focus towards the social networks of support that assist individuals, families and communities to prosper, rather than focusing solely on specific problems like unemployment, homelessness and low income. This new approach asks the question: why do some communities succeed in the face of social and economic challenges, where others fail?

    This approach has strong parallels in the "joined-up solutions" approach being trialed overseas, most notably through the Social Exclusion Unit in the United Kingdom, and the Enterprise Communities/Empowerment Zones initiatives in the United States. However it raises a raises a number of issues in terms of policy design and evaluation.

    For example:

    FaCS has been undertaking research in a number of these areas, through a mix of commissioned research, in-house research, and through a series of Social Capital Think Tanks. The paper would present some initial findings of this work, its implications for policy directions, and areas of future research.
     

    Session 1c: Youth and adolescent well being

    Session 1c (Monday 24th 1.30-3.00pm)
    Stephen Matthey & Pandora Petrovski, South Western Sydney Area Health Service
    Preventing Depression in Adolescents - The Evaluation of the Resourceful Adolescent Program (RAP) in two South Western Sydney High Schools

    Australia has the highest rate of suicide in the industrialised world, and youth suicide is a growing problem (National Health and Medical Research Council, 1997).

    The current study implemented and evaluated a universal, group-based, resilience-building prevention program (Resourcful Adolescent Program) for depression in young people within two South Western Sydney school settings. Three hundred and ninenty- nine students (55% male and 45% female) aged between 12 - 19 years participated in the program. Three self-report measures were administered prior to (pre-treatment) and after (post-treatment) the program: Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale; Children's Depression Inventory and Adolescent Coping Scale Short Form.

    For each highschool, results are presented for a)the total sample, and b)those participants falling within the clinical range at the start of the program. Overall, the results provide, partial support for the efficacy of RAP with high school students, including those from a non-English speaking background. Limitations of the program and the evaluation process are discussed as well as recommendations for future research.

    It is stressed that in order to draw more definitive conclusions as to the overall effectiveness of a depression prevention program such as RAP, the collection of longitudinal data is essential. Also as Roberts (1999,p55) notes, "a most important challenge for prevention researchers will involve following youngsters into early adulthood and assessing the impact on the most serious of associated problems, suicide."
     

    Session 1c (Monday 24th 1.30-3.00pm)
    Penny Mitchell, National Youth Suicide Prevention Communications Strategy, Australian Institute of Family Studies
    Families and youth suicide prevention: implications for policy development

    The Australian Institute of Family Studies has recently completed the summative evaluation of the National Youth Suicide Prevention Strategy. The methodology included a qualitative meta-analysis of all the evaluation reports of projects funded under the Strategy. Nearly 50 projects were included in this work. A substantial number of these were either (i) directly focused on risk and protective factors operating in and around families or (ii) confronted these factors while focusing on other approaches to suicide prevention. The findings of the evaluation raise issues that need to be addressed in family and community policy development.

    A wide variety of agencies in a number of different sectors provide services to families. Increased interest in primary prevention and early intervention within these sectors, particularly mental health, criminal justice and education, has led to increasing recognition of the need for agencies in these sectors to work even more closely with families and for the different sectors to collaborate with each other to address common risk and protective factors. Despite recent efforts of the Commonwealth Government to concentrate administration of family services within one department, practitioners continue to experience considerable difficulties in developing the kinds of intersectoral partnerships that are necessary to modify the risk factors that underlie a number of pressing social problems.

    This paper will describe some of the major barriers to the formation of productive intersectoral partnerships, explore the structural factors that appear to underlie these barriers, and offer some recommendations for action that might be adopted under the Stronger Families and Communities Strategy as well as other arms of the Commonwealth, state and territory governments.


    Session 1d: Family and property

    Session 1d (Monday 24th 1.30-3.00pm)
    Alun Preece, University of Queensland
    The Impact of the Law of Inheritance on the Family

    The paper will examine the relationship between the law of inheritance and family law and the economic impact of inheritance on the family. The history of this relationship will be examined as well as current developments and likely future developments in the relationship. The transfer of property in a family context other than by inheritance will also be examined and there will be comparisons made with the legal systems of other countries where appropriate.

    Session 1d (Monday 24th 1.30-3.00pm)
    Wendy Parker, Massey University, New Zealand
    New Zealand Property Rights Legislation: a changing landscape?

    Matrimonial and de facto property law reform proposals reached the New Zealand parliament eighteen months ago. This paper explores the changes and the arguments behind them, including retaining the presumption of equal sharing. The impact of New Zealand matrimonial property law and Australian de facto developments on legal outcomes for New Zealand de facto couples is also considered.

    Session 1d (Monday 24th 1.30-3.00pm)
    Tom Altobelli, University of Wollongong
    The family home in Australia

    The family home plays an important part in contemporary Australian life. It is a place of shelter and nurture of the family. The family home is the most valuable and most commonly owned asset for Australians. Governmental policies encourage home acquisition and ownership, and substantial funds are spent on public housing. Moreover the family home plays a vital role in providing stability and security for children, particularly at otherwise turbulent times in their lives such as when parents are separating.

    This paper examines and critiques Australian law as it relates to the family home. Australian family law, it will be argued, offers no protection at all for the family home, despite the home being a cornerstone of marriage, and a shelter to the family. Australian family law, despite its supposed focus on the best interests of children, in fact favours the economic interests of parents when it comes to dealing with the family home in property division. An examination of Australian civil law, particularly the laws governing insolvency and the relationships between debtors and creditors, leads to the same conclusion. Australian law is compared to laws relating to the family home in New Zealand, California, Ontario and England. These latter jurisdictions have laws which reflect and implement policies which serve to protect the family home for the benefit of its occupants, particularly children, even if the interests of third parties are postponed for a period.

    The writer argues the case for special treatment of the family home in Australian law, particularly when the interests of minor children are involved.
     

    Session 1e: Older Australians

    Session 1e (Monday 24th 1.30-3.00pm)
    Ailsa Burns, Macquarie University & Rosemary Leonard, University of Western Sydney
    Chapters of our lives: life narratives of low-income midlife and older women

    The study used a narrative approach to explore the ways in which midlife and older women perceive their later years. Life review interviews were held with 60 low-income women (20 aged 40-45, 20 aged 50-55 and 20 aged 60-65) living in the western suburbs of Sydney. At the end of the interview, participants were asked to consider their life story as a book (including, if they wished, their future life as they now saw it), to decide how they would divide this book into chapters, and to select a title for each chapter. The average number of book chapters was 8.1 for the total sample and 8.5 for the oldest group, 45.3% of which covered events after age 40. Thematic analysis of the chapters covering the last 20 years of the 60-65 age group identified four story types. These were stories of loss (10%), stories of busy contentment (20%), 'breaking out of role' stories (35%) and 'safe harbour' stories (35%). [The 'safe harbour' stories of the 60-65 age group usually referred back to former chapters describing 'stormy seas'.] Thus 70% of the 60-65 age group described, later life as an notable improvement on the past ('contentment time' 'the best years of your life!'). For half of this 70%, their present situation was a welcome relief after the 'heavy burden' years of hard work (lowpaid and unpaid), stress, money worries, and suppression of self. The other half had at some point broken out from that pattern, for example through terminating a distressing marriage: this increased their difficulties at the time, but brought happiness later.

    These findings suggest that one reason for the later life satisfaction regularly found in surveys (Carstensen, 1982) may be simply the disappearance or diminishment of previous stresses. This interpretation is supported by data on hours of work, which were lowest among the 60-65 age group, and mostly made up of chosen voluntary work. Internal locus of control also increased significantly with age, and this was consonant with the narrative descriptions of having at last escaped the t yranny of their circumstances ('My own woman at last!'). Some of the stories of the two younger group presented the same themes as the 60-65 group, but there was more emphasis on 'stormy seas' than 'safe harbours'.

    Session 1e (Monday 24th 1.30-3.00pm)
    Marianne James & Adam Graycar, Australian Institute of Criminology
    Crime and Older Australians - The role of the family in prevention

    Official crime statistics show that people over the age of 65 are the least likely to be victimised, and that the prevalence of victimisation declines progressively from the early twenties. Older people are however, at risk from four main sources:

    In the first group, some older people might be at slightly greater risk because of vulnerability and dependency (though it is crucial to note that most older people are neither dependent nor vulnerable). In this category, older people are less likely to report their victimisation in a household survey, and thus the low rates associated with older people may be somewhat understated.

    The second group is very small in Australian life, and the routine activity patterns of older people place them at very low risk of victimisation by strangers.

    The third group is an area of potential growth. White collar crime is expected to grow and asset-rich older people may be more likely to be targeted than younger people. As well as becoming victims, it is in this group that older people may become offenders. When we examine criminal careers, we note the falling off in the likelihood of offending as people age.

    The fourth risk category of victimisation is directly related to vulnerability and contains overlaps with the first category. Although it has not been criminalised, the term "elder abuse" covers activities such as physical abuse, psychological/emotional abuse, financial abuse and neglect. In some cases, this occurs in the context of a private residence, and most often, but not always within the family. In other cases, it occurs when there is a duty of care relationship and a paid carer, either in a residential or domestic setting, abuses the older person. This paper will analyse the above issues and examine the role which families can play in safety support prevention for older people in Australia.
     

    Session 1e (Monday 24th 1.30-3.00pm)
    Anita Seibert, Women's Health East
    What About Us? The role of grandmothers in childrearing - a cross-cultural perspective. Work in progress report

    It has been reported that grandmothers are one of the main providers of child-care to young children in Australia (Women's Health in the North 2000; Millward 1996; Grose 1997). Despite the fact that grandmothering involves much more then occasional baby siting, the recognition of the beneficial impact on grandchildren in particular (Levine 1990), and the whole family in general (Cotterill 1992), the role of grandmothers in childrearing is often overlooked.

    Little is known about the positive and negative impact of grandmothering on the grandmothers themselves, with very few service providers offering services specifically aimed at grandmothers performing care-giving roles. Similarly, very little research conducted in Australia focuses on grandmothering.

    This paper focuses on an action research project currently conducted by Women's Health East. The project aims to strengthen existing knowledge about the health impact of grandmothering on grandmothers and to develop strategies for assisting grandmothers in this important role. This is achieved through analysing experiences of two groups of grandmothers residing in the Eastern region of Melbourne: Polish born and Anglo-Australians.

    The project will identify specific health and service needs of grandmothers from the two groups, address cultural differences in approaches to grandmothering, and outline ways in which different communities provide culturally appropriate support to grandmothers caring for their grandchildren. The research will be based on empirical research involving approximately two hundred and fifty grandmothers. The data will be gathered through focus groups, in-depth interviews and questionnaires.

    The paper will also report on the community development component of the project involving activities designed specifically to meet the needs of grandmothers, such as playgroups for grandmother and their grandchildren, health information workshops and leisure activities.


    Session 1f: Adjusting to divorce

    Session 1f (Monday 24th 1.30-3.00pm)
    Bruce Hawthorne,
    Nonresident fathers' struggle with the system

    Nonresident fathers often complain that 'the system' is against them. Although men are far from innocents in the breakdown of relationships, the claims of nonresident fathers have some justification. As mothers more frequently decide to end a relationship and assume the role of resident parent, the majority of fathers experience shock and deep grief at the time of separation. Failure to establish regular contact with children during these early, emotionally charged stages of separation endangers their continued involvement in children's lives. A lack of clarity about the role of nonresident father tends to impede the development of a strong paternal identity after separation, which in turn further threatens fathers' involvement with children. Some divorce literature adopts a deficit paradigm in dealing with nonresident fathers, with reports of evidence that fathers' involvement after separation contributes little, if anything, to children's adjustment.
    When mothering is the yardstick by which the quality of parenting after separation is measured, fathers inevitably emerge as deficient. Fathers usually connect with children through mothers. On losing their relationship with mothers, fathers have to learn a new way of relating to children. The challenge is even greater in families where mothers positively discourage this involvement.
    The legal system demands that nonresident fathers' financially support their children at a level that leaves many low-income fathers living in poverty and unable to provide children with an attractive environment in which to spend time with them. The system offers little encouragement for fathers to retain some control over their financial support of children, and displays a somewhat righteous indignation at attempts by nonresident fathers to retain greater control of their income. The legal system frequently discourages fathers from applying for residence of children in the belief that their application is unlikely to succeed. The legal system also fails to acknowledge the heavy pre-separation involvement some fathers have with children, offering them a contact regime that effectively marginalises them in their children's lives. Nonresident fathers constantly encounter social institutions which are unwilling or unable to acknowledge that most children living in a single-parent household in fact belong to a two-parent family.
     

    Session 1f (Monday 24th 1.30-3.00pm)
    Ruth Weston & Bruce Smyth, Australian Institute of Family Studies
    Patterns of economic well being after divorce: an update

    About a decade ago, research conducted by the Australian Institute of Family Studies suggested that women (and their children) were at a considerable disadvantage compared to men in terms of their financial circumstances following marital dissolution. Since this period, significant social and economic change has taken place, including the introduction of the Child Support Scheme, substantial increases in government income support, and new trends in the Australian labour market (particularly the increasing availability of part-time jobs for women). This paper asks: Is there still a clear disparity between the post-divorce equivalent household incomes of men and women? Which family types are most likely to be financially disadvantaged post-separation? Data derive from a random national telephone survey of divorced Australians conducted in late 1997 by the Institute (N=474).


    Session 1f (Monday 24th 1.30-3.00pm)
    Jody Hughes, Australian Institute of Family Studies
    Marginal mates and unwedded women: repartnering after divorce in Australia

    Past research, including research conducted in Australia during the 1980ís (McDonald 1986; Funder, Harrison & Weston 1993), found that women were less likely than men to repartner after divorce, and that women with few economic resources were more likely to remarry than other women. However, significant social and economic change over the past decade may have altered these patterns, including changes in attitudes and values regarding gender roles, changes in the labour market (such as reduced employment opportunities for older men) and changes in law and public policy (such as more rigorous child support enforcement and substantial increases in social security payments).

    This study re-examines the link between gender, economic resources and patterns of post-divorce repartnering using recent Institute data. These data derive from the Australian Divorce Transitions Project, a study based on a random national telephone survey of 650 divorced Australians. First, gender differences in repartnering rates and types of new relationships are assessed. Second, logistic regression models are used to disentangle the relative influence of economic resources and responsibilities for children on men's and women's repartnering patterns.

    Results show that gender remains the most important factor influencing whether or not people repartner after divorce, but the interaction between gender and economic resources appears to have changed in the past decade, in line with social and economic change. Variants of exchange theory are used to interpret these patterns, and the position of children in the equation is also examined. Some policy implications of the data are briefly considered.


    Monday, July 24th, 3.30-5.00pm

    Session 2a: Early childhood intervention programs

    Session 2a
    Ewa Griffiths & Jennifer Hayes, Centrelink
    Towards stability and independence for young families in crisis- Townsville, Queensland

    The Family Crisis Childcare Pilot Project began operations in Townsville on 17 January 2000. One of two new pilot projects in Australia funded by the Commonwealth Department of Family & Community Services, it is the only one operating out of Centrelink and in a provincial city.

    The Centrelink Young Family Support Worker has been funded to examine how childcare services can assist young families in crisis overcome their immediate difficulties and work towards a more stable and independent future. Early intervention and prevention are central to the model of service delivery, as are program flexibility and assisting young parents to actively initiate positive change.

    Participants develop an individual family action plan with the project social worker that encompasses immediate crisis needs and longer term goals. The project provides brokerage funds to improve opportunities for successful independent parenting, covering anything from driving lessons/licence costs to access support or education services, to TAFE fees. When required, access to childcare services is provided to enable the family to use relevant services and facilities.

    The primary target group are partnered or single young parents aged 15 - 25 and the anticipated project outcomes include:
    The project expects to provide an insight into the needs and solutions for young families in crisis as well as identifying gaps and issues within existing service delivery that contribute to the difficulties encountered by the target group.


    Session 2a (Monday 24th 3.30-5.00pm)
    Graeme Vimpani, University of Newcastle
    NIFTEY - The National Investment For The Early Years

    The National Investment for the Early Years (NIFTEY) began during 1999 in response to the emerging evidence of the potential for lifelong impact of early childhood experiences on health and well-being outcomes, many of which appear to be mediated by their impact on early brain development. This evidence was summarised in the Pathways to Prevention report published by National Crime Prevention in early 1999. NIFTEY is now seeking to encourage broad community and political support for a national Investment in this age group.

    NIFTEY is an evolving broadly based coalition of practitioners, policy makers and academics from many domains including child and family welfare, paediatrics and child health nursing, child and adolescent mental health, public health, early childhood education, developmental psychology and criminology. NIFTEY's vision is to build a lifetime on the early years and aims to ensure (a) that the general community knows that the early years of life, especially the first three years, are foundationally important for the rest of life and that action must occur to ensure that all children are provided with the best start in life and (b) better integration of policies and programs for young children across government and society. The importance of connecting families with young children with community supports is regarded as paramount.

    NIFTEY has received seed funding from the Commonwealth government to enable it to become established as a not for profit company limited by guarantee with sales tax exemption. The company is registered as NIFTEY Limited. In late March NIFTEY also received advice of a grant of $25,000 from the trustees of the Sir Sidney Myer Trust.

    NIFTEY has already achieved some success in influencing the political process at a national and state level because of its capacity to build on themes evident in political discourse. For example, early childhood intervention was highlighted as a key preventive strategy at the NSW Drug Summit in 1999, NIFTEY was mentioned by the NSW Premier at a recent peak luncheon for business people in Sydney, and the importance of supporting early childhood and good parenting are key principles of the developing National Families Strategy. NIFTEY's work plan for the next 12 months will be presented at the Conference.


    Session 2a (Monday 24th 3.30-5.00pm)
    Robyn McKay & Lee Emerson, Department of Family and Community Services
    Prevention and early intervention strategies for families

    The Commonwealth Government has been steadily progressing work on early intervention and prevention strategies for families. Most recently, was the announcement in April by the Prime Minister of the Stronger Families and Communities Strategy. The Government recognises that helping to build stronger family and community relationships can do a lot to prevent difficult and expensive problems that arise where these relationships break down or do not work as well as they could. There is good sense and good value in investing in early intervention and prevention approaches. The Stronger Families and Communities Strategy seeks to establish new partnerships to strengthen families and communities and commits over $240 million over the next four years, beginning 1 July 2000, to:
    This will be implemented through nine new initiatives, five of which relate directly to support for families, and the other four to community capacity building.
     
    Research shows us that focusing on prevention and early intervention is more effective in the long-term than responses that only resolve immediate crises. The Stronger Families and Communities Strategy seeks to tackle problems early on, before they become entrenched. The paper will relate themes from the emerging evidence base on early intervention and prevention, especially in relation to early childhood, to this and other recent policy responses including support around the Family Law system, Child Support and Child Care. In particular, it will highlight findings from recently commissioned expert reviews in the areas of early childhood, work and family, and marriage and relationship education.
     

    Session 2b: Out of Home Care

    Session 2b (Monday 24th 3.30-5.00pm)
    Gwynnyth Llewellyn, Kirsty Thompson & Samantha Whybrow, University of Sydney
    Family well being and out-of-home placement for children with disabilities

    Many families continue to seek out-of-home placement for their young children with a disability. In contrast, other families report positive experiences caring for their child at home. This presentation reports a 3-year prospective, longitudinal study (1998-2000) investigating the characteristics of family wellbeing in families caring for their children with disabilities and high support needs aged 6 to 13 years at home. Of the 82 families in the study, 42% have children with intellectual disability. Yearly interviews with the primary caregiver include quantitative and qualitative measures of caregiver health, coping, family functioning, family accommodation, child hassle and out-of-home placement tendency. Characteristics of those families at-risk of placing their child out-of-home will be presented. The significance of this research relates to identifying the factors that influence family wellbeing in addition to those factors influencing out-of-home placement decisions.
     

    Session 2b (Monday 24th 3.30-5.00pm)
    Paul Murphy & Michael Clare, The University of Western Australia
    Peer mentors as partners in the leaving care process: evaluation of a Western Australian initiative

    This paper reports on an tandem Peer Mentoring and Leaving Care Education project for young people in the process of leaving State Care. The project was a joint endeavour by the Department of Social Work and Social Policy at The University of Western Australia (UWA), the Western Australian Association of Young People in Care (WAAYPIC), and (the Department of) Family and Children's Services. The project was funded by the ANZ Foundation.

    The aim of the project was to pilot and evaluate an innovative strategy to support young people making the transition from State Care to independent living by:

    1. developing and running a series of workshops on areas such as legal issues, obtaining accommodation, employment and vocational training, health issues, and money management for young people in the process of preparing to leave care, and

    2. 2.connecting the young people with a peer mentor to assist their transition to independence. After outlining the background and rationale for the project, the paper describes how WAAYPIC conducted the Peer Mentoring training and matching processes.

    The paper then discusses the content and conduct of the seven Leaving Care Education workshops. The final part of the paper presents the evaluation, lessons learned, and recommendations for further development of this pioneering programme.
     

    Session 2b (Monday 24th 3.30-5.00pm)
    Susan Kelly, Australian Insitute of Health and Welfare
    Adoption in Australia - an overview

    This paper examines adoptions data collected by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare from the State and Territory community services departments. Adoption in Australia has undergone dramatic change since the late 1960s. Data show that after a peak of nearly 10,000 adoptions in 1971-72, the number of adoptions in Australia has fallen to 543 in 1998-99. The bulk of this fall is of local children under the age of 1 year. In 1998-99, there were only 60 adoptions of babies who were residents of Australia. There is a variety of reasons for this and the overall fall in adoption, which include the introduction of sole parent pensions, relaxed community attitudes towards ex-nuptial births, more effective birth control and the introduction of alternative legal orders which transfer permanent custody and guardianship of the child. The numbers of intercountry adoptions, on the other hand, have increased 400% since 1979-80. There were only 66 children adopted from other countries in that year compared with 244 in 1998-99. The majority of these children have been from South Korea, followed by India, Sri Lanka, the Philippines and Thailand. The number of 'known' child adoptions, where the child and the adoptive parents have a pre-existing relationship, have also fallen. This is due to changes in community services practices and community attitudes. Data on the Indigenous status of adopted children has only been collected since 1991-92. Of the 7,093 adoptions since 1991-92, only 61 or less than 1%, were of Indigenous children. This is not representative of the Indigenous children in the population which is estimated at 3% of all children aged 0-17. More understanding of Indigenous culture would be a main reason why there are so few Indigenous children adopted. Data on information exchange and contact vetoes have been collected since 1992-93. This is an important aspect of adoption, as it gives people who were party to an adoption the opportunity to obtain information about themselves or others.

    Session 2c: Walking a tightrope: therapeutic responses to family violence - workshop (Monday 24th 3.30-5.00pm)

    Facilitators: Heather Roche, Jane Van der Stoel & Tom Griffiths, Relationships Australia — Victoria

    The presenters work therapeutically in a relationship counselling agency and their shared history of coming from the community sector with its sharp structural analysis has led them to explore how these two contexts influence their work. This has led them to explore how holding these different perspectives affects and enables the outcomes of the work as opposed to only holding one perspective. The work with violence in relationships highlights the complexity and argues against the desire for simplistic thinking or that there are 'right' or 'simple' interventions. The search for understanding has led us to believe that clarity is not always possible and that at times we have to sit with uncertainty. The work they present in this workshop is the result of their struggle to find ways of working between these two perspectives.
     

    Session 2d: Child residency litigation: processes and effects

    Session 2d (Monday 24th 3.30-5.00pm)
    Eric Baker, NAPCAN Australia
    Children's wishes in residence and contact disputes

    Historically, judges have had difficulty in coming to terms with the concept that children are able to express a rational and informed opinion n relation to their future custodial placement. Public opinion however, in recent years, has recognised not only that children are able to express their own views and opinion but also that childrens' wishes must be heard and taken into account in proceedings concerned with residence, guardianship and contact. In Australia, this approach has been adopted in s68F(2)(a). of the Family Law Act 1975.

    Research indicates that children from age seven are capable of expressing a choice between parents and of evaluating the respective environments which each has to offer. The research supports a rebuttable presumption that children aged seven are capable of making a considered decision, a decision in which reason is employed. A child's wishes must not only be considered, but must be shown to have been considered in the reasons for judgment of the trial Judge, in any determination of custody or access disputes. Furthermore, if the trial Judge decides to reject the wishes of a child, then clear and cogent reasons for such a rejection must be given. The wishes of children should not be discounted simply because they are expressed by children. The weight to be given to the wishes of a child depends upon the individual child and an assessment of the validity of the wishes must be made by the trial Judge in each individual case. Such an exercise will require a consideration of both the child's level of maturity and understanding. The goal is to take the wishes of children seriously by giving them careful, detailed consideration. To merely regard the wishes of children in a token manner, or to be dismissive of them, does not accord with the findings of psychologists as to the competence of children to express soundly based wishes and ignores the statutory requirements in many jurisdictions world-wide.

    I have not considered, for the purposes of this paper, questions of either manipulation or indoctrination of the children by one of the parents, for the reason that in most cases, such behaviour is readily identifiable and will form part of any psychiatric or psychological assessment of the family which may be carried out by a qualified expert. Counsellors, psychologists and psychiatrists must, in each case, endeavour to assess the level of maturity of each child and the extent to which the child may have been influenced by a parent. If this is done, the child's competence in regard to any wish expressed by him or her can be properly considered by trial Judges. This must result in decisions based, not only on proper principles, but reflecting where the best interests of the child lie.


    Session 2d (Monday 24th 3.30-5.00pm)
    Kristyn Kemp, Family Court of Australia & Peter Wilson, Flinders University of South Australia
    Efficiency, satisfaction, psychological adjustment, and self reported disadvantage after mediated or litigated child residency and contact disputes in the Family Court of Australia

    The study investigated whether the mediation service of the Family Court of Australia (directive/educative model) was able to provide an efficient and satisfying service and whether these benefits translated into improved psychological adjustment for parents and their children compared to litigation. The study also aimed to determine whether victims of violence were disadvantaged in mediation compared to nonabused participants. Participants were 115 families (mother/father/one child) who were mediating or litigating their disputes.

    Participants were assessed on 3 occasions:
    For efficiency of dispute resolution, results indicated that the mediation group waited fewer days for a mediation appointment, were more likely to obtain an agreement in mediation, spent less time in the system, and paid less money in legal fees compared to the litigation group. The content of outcome was unlikely to change for both groups and compliance with outcomes did not differ between the groups. The mediation group were more satisfied with their method of dispute resolution than the litigation group, specifically with regards to change in psychological adjustment over time, with parents and children in both groups showing a similar level of improvement after dispute resolution.

    There were no consistent differences between abused and nonabused participants in mediation (and litigation) for efficiency of service received, satisfaction, psychological adjustment, and self-reported disadvantage.

    It was concluded that the mediation service provides a more efficient and satisfying service for parents, but the benefits do not translate into improved psychological functioning for parents or their children compared to litigation and there was no evidence that mediation disadvantaged victims of violence.


    Session 2d (Monday 24th 3.30-5.00pm)
    Lawrie Moloney, La Trobe University
    Family Court Parenting Judgements as Social Narratives: An Empirical Analysis of Appeals relating to 'Finely Balanced' Published Judgements Delivered between 1988 and 1999

    This paper reports on a largely qualitative analysis of appeal judgements delivered between 1988 and 1999 and published electronically by the Family Court of Australia. Through the use of Boolean descriptors, electronic data of this sort permits a high level of confidence in the selection of case content with particular characteristics. The judgements selected were those which address child and parenting issues in "finely balanced" disputes. Excluded were judgements relating only to procedural issues or formal points of law, even if the judgement at first instance concerned itself with a finely balanced parenting dispute. Also excluded were cases in which matters such as violence, abuse or parental neglect were alleged.

    The focus of the analysis is on judgements as social narratives - that is, rather than examining how they demonstrate applications of the law, the research takes a social-constructivist approach to the judgements. From this perspective, the task of judges is to construct within judgements, a narrative of events which is internally consistent and which is capable of leading logically, even if not exclusively, to the conclusions contained in the court orders.

    The analysis also concerns itself with what values are privileged and what values are down-played or ignored in the service of the particular narrative. The research addresses the question of the extent to which the judgements reveal patterns of privileging around matters such as gender, social roles and behaviour; or the extent to which the expressed and implied values prove to be as individual as the judges and/or the cases themselves.
     

    Session 2e: Work and family

    Session 2e (Monday 24th 3.30-5.00pm)
    Susan Donath, The University of Melbourne
    Pipe and slippers or kitchen sink? Coming home from work

    In the idealized family of the 1950s, the smiling wife farewells her husband in the morning and, after his day of hard work, welcomes him home to dinner on the table and an evening of leisure. Does this picture in any way describe the current reality of Australian family life? This paper presents results from a secondary data analysis of the 1997 Australian Time Use Survey. Using data on married and defacto couples on days when at least one of the couple did paid work outside the home, the paper investigates gender differences in: time of leaving home for work, time of arriving home from work, whether a person's partner is still at home when they leave for work, whether a person's partner is already at home when they arrive home from work, activities in the last hour before leaving home for work and in the first hour after arriving home from work. The paper reports considerable gender differences in all these areas. Men are much more likely than women to have a partner at home when they leave for work and when they arrive home from work. Men are more likely to do no domestic tasks (food preparation, housework, laundry, gardening, pet care, child care) in the first hour after they arrive home from work than are women. Of those people who do some domestic tasks in the first hour at home women, on average, spend longer on these tasks than men. These results seem to indicate that for many Australian couples, family life is still structured in quite traditional ways.


    Session 2e (Monday 24th 3.30-5.00pm)
    Elizabeth Reid Boyd, Edith Cowan University
    'Being There': Mothers Who Stay at Home

    This paper is based upon my PhD research which has been carried out between 1996 and 2000. The focus of this research was mothers who stay at home to care for their children, in the context of the Australian child care debate between mothers at home and mothers at work. The research process included qualitative interviews with 20 mothers at home in suburban Perth and interviews with 'advocates' for mothers at home, such as Choice for Families, The Australian Family Association and Women's Action Alliance. It incorporated analysis of government policy which has affected mothers at home over the last five years, a media analysis and analysis of child rearing literature. I also examined the role and position of feminism in this debate, and explored the relationship between feminism and mothers at home.

    I argue that as a discourse, the child care debate operates as both a reflector and producer of the male and female, with powerful effects for the parameters of male and female responsibility for children. I argue that the apparent dichotomy between mothers at work and mothers at home is misleading, and disguises deeper divisions, what I call 'old divisions', the dualisms of work/care, public/private, productive/reproductive and male/female. These divisions constrain policy and practice, debates and imaginings about child care, but they do not accurately reflect the lived experience and desires of many mothers. However, because these divsions govern much of our discourse, this too is disguised.

    I argue that mothers staying at home, or ("being there" as over 75% of the mothers I interviewed termed it) is bio-social, dialectical and political and must be re-viewed as such, for new discussions, beyond division (beyond work/home, public/private and male/female) to take place. "Being there". I suggest, is a rhetoric of possibility.


    Session 2e (Monday 24th 3.30-5.00pm)
    Suzanne Higgins & Carol Morse, Victoria University
    Combining Parenting and Paid Work: sharing child care in dual income families

    First time parent couples are more likely to be a dual income family now than ever before. Existing literature details the transition to parenthood and provides snapshots about challenges in their lives but to date there is no story about their journey of combining parenting and paid work.

    This longitudinal study compares the experiences of single and two income couples on a range of variables including their relationship satisfaction, gender role beliefs, work spillover, division of household labour, division of child care and their satisfaction with family work division.

    Seventy couples were recruited into the study when their infant was between the ages of 3 and 15 months. Data was collected on 4 occasions over a 10 month period of time using valid and reliable measures collated into a booklet. Both men and women completed their booklets which were administered by mail.

    Two income couples were recruited prior to the mother's return to the paid workforce and data collection occurred on 3 occasions after. Preliminary results will be presented regarding the division of child care to determine if there is any change in 'who does what' when the mother returns to the paid work force. In addition data will be presented about the level of satisfaction with childcare division of labour and how participants would like it to be. Comparative data will be presented from single income families.
     

    Session 2f: Images and concepts of family

    Session 2f (Monday 24th 3.30-5.00pm)
    Vivienne Muller, Queensland University of Technology
    'Paper, scissors, rock' - images of American family suburban life in some films of the nineties

    Family structures have changed dramatically since the fifties. The emphasis is now on diversity, plurality and flexibility - a range of configurations f family life in the postmodern age. However, the fifties image of the idealised family life - a house in the suburbs, where a man is cosseted by his wife and children, still haunts our present age as much in advertising and other cultural representations as in the 'real' life organisations of social and gendered relationships. The image of course is Western, white, middle-class and heterosexualised, and its borders are strictly patrolled by this supportive ideology. In American society, the potency of the suburban ideal has generated a brace of films n the nineties that both satirically embrace and parodoxically condemn its limitations. At a time of social change in which individuality, freedom ad civil rights have become pre-eminent global issues, Edward Scissorhands, Pleasantville, The Truman Show and American Beauty expose the inadequacy of the 'perfect' family life as a solution to these concerns. In each of these filmic narratives the loss of individuality and freedom is the price paid for maintaining 'pleasantville'. However, the disruptive nature of repressed desires and the presence of the 'other/outsider' in these films unsettle the domestic idyll, and reveal the sometimes tragic consequences of attempt to salvage or sustain it.
     

    Session 2f (Monday 24th 3.30-5.00pm)
    Debbi Long, University of Adelaide
    Family Fluidity: Concepts of Family, Bodily Fluids and Connectedness

    This paper will be a work-in-progress discussion based on anthropological fieldwork currently being undertaken in the maternity unit of an Australian public hospital. The topic of the fieldwork is to explore meanings and understandings of the bodily fluids blood, milk and semen in the context of a reproductive (medical) environment.

    The theoretical framework used in examining ideas of family and kinship is an anthropological one, and therefore cross cultural. It calls on David Schneider's critique of kinship studies within anthropology, and is informed by the work of a number of 'kinship and gender' theorists, including Sylvia Yanagisako, Carol Delaney and Marilyn Strathern. The data will also be examined in the light of the presenter's previous fieldwork in a rural community in Turkey, where she researched concepts of milk kinship. The central trope running through the data on fluids (at the date of writing) is that bodily fluids offer connectedness, which is seen as family(like).

    This paper will explore concepts of family as they are expressed by members of the research community: couples having babies, their family and friends; and the health care workers who look after them. It will also discuss links between concepts of family and bodily fluids.


    Session 2f (Monday 24th 3.30-5.00pm)
    Peter West, University of Western Sydney
    From Tarzan to The Terminator: boys, men and body image

    After the sustained exploration of body image by women, writers like Dutton and Drummond are beginning to explore body image as it applied to men. Presentations of the male body are generally made for an audience. This audience can be gay men, or women (as in the 'Bachelor of the Year' contests in Cleo). There are also many ways of presenting male bodies in the context of sport, generally seen as non-sexual. Whatever the stated intention, the effect is that all these merge. Thus gay men admire Rugby League stars, and the same men are admired by women in a heterosexuial context.

    The paper builds on earlier work by West in which he explored ideas of 14 year old boys regarding bodies. The ideas seemed fairly simple, not inmappropriate to pubestent/prepubescent males. The current project has involved interviews with men between the ages of 15 and 50, and sometimes with their partners. Three contexts were envisaged: Bondi, Boggabri and Byron Bay. The thesis is masculinity is not immutable, but made in a context of time and place (West, 1996). Men were interviewed and asked a series of questions about themselves and their bodies. Further, they were asked to react to a series of images from the mass media.

    The project reveals a number of paradoxes. First, ideas of masculinity among some men were not vastly diferent from those among 14 year old males. Second, however much the text of advertisements and bodybuilding magazines argues for hard masculinity,the reality is that bodies are soft. Bodybuilders who take steroids can develop very soft and rather female bodies which are also shaved or waxed free of masculine-signifying hair on chests and legs.Third, however much the imagery speaks of 'rock-like abs' and so on, the reality is that (in Foucault's phrase) the body is a volume in a state of perpetual disintegration. Although the bodies are set in confident poses, the men and boys interviewed speak of huge fears - of not being masculine enough, sometimes of fear of being seen gay. almost all the men interviewed are afraid of ageing. And finally, although the fitness industry speaks of hard work, it serves the master of the visual imagery it produces. Image is all, reality is nothing.

    The paper asks how this data interfaces with theories of masculinity. It ends by asking questions about the underlying reasons for men's intense exploration of the beautiful body and seeks to understand the humanity behind this exploration.

    Session 2g: Issues in family policy research

    Session 2g (Monday 24th 3.30-5.00pm)
    Bill Muehlenberg, Australian Family Association
    The historicity & universality of the natural family

    Many modern detractors of the natural or traditional family claim that it is in fact of recent origin and not widely found throughout the world. Indeed, many claim it is a development of America society in the 1950s.

    This review of the research shows that what may be called the natural family is neither so recent nor so limited. Rather, it has been the primary social grouping throughout most cultures through most of human history.

    Not only is the traditional family the norm of much of human history, but the institution of marriage has also been the primary means by which couples relate and procreate. Marriage is not some middle class invention but the accepted means of regulating sexuality and reproduction in most cultures throughout most of history.

    The apologetic nature of this historical and sociological overview is emphasised. Critics of the natural family have not made their case nor supplied the evidence. This brief review shows that the natural family is not so easily dismissed.
     

    Session 2g (Monday 24th 3.30-5.00pm)
    Babette Francis, Endeavour Forum Inc
    Is gender a social construct or a biological imperative?

    The potentially tragic life of David Reimer, injured in a circumcision accident and subsequently brought up as a girl on the advice of 'gender researcher' Dr. John Money of Johns Hopkins Hospital, is an extreme example of the harm being done to many boys and girls by the theory that gender is a social construct and not a biological imperative. This policy implemented in child care centres, kindergartens, primary and secondary schools and tertiary education through feminist education policy focuses on 'eliminating sex-role stereotyping'. The assumption is that humans are not male or female but exist on some kind of continuum with a range of options in between or even outside the male/female parameter.

    At some UN Conferences feminists have suggested there are five or more genders. (and this would not surprise anyone who has been to a UN Conference...) The underlying feminist ideology is that psychologically and emotionally babies are little more than blobs of playdough on which a parent, teacher (or researcher/experimenter) can imprint whatever he or she chooses.

    Thus in the Child Care Accreditation Guidelines under the Federal Labor Government, child carers were warned not to tell a little girl that she has a pretty dress ( presumably it was acceptable to tell the boys they had pretty clothes) and to persuade the boys to play with the dolls' house. With this strategy it was hoped that the children would all grow up to be happy androgynous persons unconscious of their male/female identity. However, as the story of David Reimer reveals, policies of 'counter-sexism' are far more likely to produce unhappy, confused adolescents. 'Vive la difference' is a better recipe for a joyous society.


    Tuesday, July 25th, 9.00-10.30am

    Session 3a
    Session 3a: Why we think Good Beginnings is making a difference to children, families and the community - Symposium

    Discussant: Barbara Wellesley, Good Beginnings National Parenting Project

    To achieve its goal, the Good Beginnings National Parenting Project has researched, developed and tested a number of family centred programs and initiatives. For the Project to develop the strong family and community links identified in current literature as so necessary to strengthen families and neighbourhoods, the family centred approach (building on strengths, not weaknesses) is central to its success. The rapid expansion of Good Beginnings has provided a challenge to test and develop alternative models that are cost effective without jeopardising quality.

    Good Beginnings undertakes a variety of programs that build on the strengths of families with babies and young children. These programs work to meet families' needs for information on local services, child development, friendship and social support indifferent settings. Good Beginnings operates programs that promote strong cohesive communities. The planning and development of these programs is based on needs identified by local communities and agencies. Good Beginnings develops and values the support of local professional services and community groups, encouraging a partnership approach for programs.

    Due to the diverse range of activities undertaken, Good Beginnings is developing and testing service strategies based on known best practices that assist in building collaborative community partnerships to ensure children and their parents have access to a range of services in their local community and ideally in the same locations, to enable valuable resources to be shared and to increase the capacity of the partnerships to attract corporate funds.

    A key component of Good Beginnings is the creation of a marketing and fundraising strategy that will enable the continuation and expansion of Good Beginnings Parenting Projects. Lack of ongoing funding and resources has been the downfall of many community service activities. Good Beginnings acknowledges the importance of evaluating the effectiveness of programs and to this end has been externally evaluated and is in the process of designing a database which will reflect activities from a wide range of community based programs. The importance of developing and maintaining creative partnerships across the board is a key strategy and one of the great strengths of Good Beginnings. These partnerships include relationships with like-minded professionals, researchers, community agencies and at all levels of government. Equally critical to the success of the program is the business and corporate partnerships being developed.

    In this symposium, three papers will be presented using the Good Beginnings experiences from across the country.


    Session 3a (Tuesday 25th 9.00-10.30 am)
    Jenny Scharer-Smith, Good Beginnings National Parenting Project
    The importance of using a community development model when considering service delivery in high needs communities.

    This paper discusses processes used by Good Beginnings in two very different locations and the positive results achieved. The results point to the importance of using a community development model when considering service delivery in high needs communities.


    Session 3a (Tuesday 25th 9.00-10.30 am)
    Paul Prichard, Good Beginnings National Parenting Project
    The relationship between volunteer and professional workers in providing support to families with young children who are experiencing difficulties

    This paper outlines the complimentary nature of the differing roles, the strength of linkages between the volunteer and professional worker and the positive outcomes for the families as a result of this relationship.
     

    Session 3a (Tuesday 25th 9.00-10.30 am)
    Rosemary Sinclair & Barbara Wellesley, Good Beginnings National Parenting Project
    Good Beginnings National Parenting Project

    The strategies that, in our experience, are critical to program sustainability include positioning the program though fundraising and marketing, evaluation, data design, and community, government and business partnerships.
     

    Session 3b: Child Care

    Session 3b (Tuesday 25th 9.00-10.30 am)
    John Powlay & Liza Carroll, Department of Family and Community Services
    Child Care Affordability

    Child care affordability is an issue concerning many Australian families. This paper will examine the changing environment of child care and factors that contribute to child care affordability including, workforce participation, child care fees and government assistance. Over recent years, there have been reports that have indicated that affordability of child care is a major concern for many Australian families.

    The provision of government assistance to assist families with the cost of child care for low and middle income families is a critical factor to assist families in their choice of child care. Fees charged by child care centres are influenced by a variety of factors such as changes in wages, charging practices, changes in State regulations and increases in overheads such as rates.

    The effect of government assistance not keeping pace with fee increases has meant that from 1995-1999, the percentage of disposable income going to child care costs has increased, albeit slightly. The increase has been in the order of 2-5% of disposable income, varying according to income levels, sectors and different geographical locations. The extent to which this change may have led to significant behavioural changes in labour market participation is unclear, as the labour force participation rate of mothers with dependent children aged under 15 has remained steady at 58%-59%, between January 1996 and January 2000, seasonally adjusted.

    There are other factors such as personal income tax rates, impact of social security entitlements, other costs associated with working, labour market factors and lifestyle choices which may also contribute to labour market participation. Some writers have also suggested that increased child care costs and reduced affordability has pushed women out of the labour force or reduced their use of formal child care. The extent to which changes in affordability have contributed to significant changes in formal child care usage is also unclear.

    Many of the changes in the usage patterns of child care may be the result of an increase in the availability of part-time work. This paper will provide some analysis of the current situation in child care and will consider the impact of the new Child Care Benefit on the affordability of child care.
     

    Session 3b (Tuesday 25th 9.00-10.30 am)
    Sarah Wise, Australian Institute of Family Studies
    AIFS study of early childcare in Australian multi-cultural society: A research plan
    The AIFS study of early childcare in Australian multicultural society aims to direct new knowledge to the design of early childhood services which are sensitive to the needs of a multicultural society by investigating child care experiences of children from four different ethnic groups. The study goes beyond a narrow concern with main effects of childcare to examine whether children do better in childcare that is characteristic of the cultural orientation of the home, and how children cope when there are substantial differences between home and childcare settings. Further, the study aims to delineate roles and responsibilities ascribed to family and non-parental care in child development so as to ascertain whether the childcare system is meeting current expectations. Parental perceptions of what comprises good quality childcare, and their ratings of their childís current care will be examined to test whether the Anglo-Australian definition of 'quality care' is ethno specific. Objective assessments will also be made of childcare arrangements in terms of the childcare attributes that have been associated in the literature with good quality childcare, and in terms of child outcomes.

    Adopting a more sociological perspective, the study also seeks to understand the child, family and cultural determinants of childcare experience in order to understand whether children from different social and cultural backgrounds use particular types of childcare and experience childcare in different ways (eg. earlier initiation, longer hours). The impacts of childcare choices on key familial outcomes (eg. stress, community attachment) will also be explored.

    The research involves an in-depth study of approximately 400 children 0-3 years attending day care (community-based and private), family day care, or receiving care from nannies across four cultural communities- Middle Eastern, Asian, Italian and Anglo-Australian. The paper provides a summary of the research plan, including specific aims of the research and their theoretical and policy relevance, and the design strategy together with sampling plan, subject recruitment, and approaches to measurement.


    Session 3b (Tuesday 25th 9.00-10.30 am)
    Sue Leppert, UnitingCare Australia
    Implications of Government Funding Cuts on Child Care - UnitingCare Long Day Care Centres

    UnitingCare Australia's research into the impact of government funding and policy changes on UnitingCare child care centres complements other community endeavours to supply 'hard', factual evidence of changes experienced in community based long day care since 1 July 1997. The research was conducted from November 1999 to March 2000. Forty eight UnitingCare long day care centres were surveyed, and thirty two centres in Queensland, NSW, Victoria and SA responded. Questionnaires targeted centre staff, and parents who had been using the centre since before changes were introduced.

    Preliminary findings indicate that overwhelmingly, increased fees were a serious concern for the majority of parents, with about 40% of all parents making significant changes to their working and/or child care arrangements. Over the period in question, centres have undergone many changes in order to accommodate resource constraints. Parent respondents observed higher staff turnover, an increased use of casual staff over the period, a greater need for fundraising to supplement income, a reduction in the number of outings, the introduction of mixed aged groups, and the introduction of charges for, or total removal of, nappy or food services.

    However, parent respondents were still able to comment favourably on the quality of care provided at centres, and many applauded their centres for maintaining high quality service despite the obvious increased pressures. The evidence from staff supports this picture. Overall, the number of full time child care places is declining, with 91% of staff reporting a significant increase in the number of part time places. This means a larger number of children to care for, and more parents with whom to build relationships. Observations included difficulty in getting 'part-time' children settled, especially those children who were being cared for in several different locations each week (70% of respondents noted that a significantly higher number of families were now using a mix of child care, compared to 2-3 years ago).

    Nearly 40% of staff respondents reported a reduction in staff numbers to the bare minimum of child:staff ratios, noting especially a reduction in support staff, ëfloatersí, and ancillary staff such as cleaners and gardeners. Staff workloads, therefore, have increased since removal of operational subsidy on 1 July 1997, and related activities such as professional development and program planning are now often undertaken 'out of hours', with training courses sometimes only accessible if staff are willing to meet the costs personally.

    The implications of these and other observed changes are manifold for children, their families and the communities in which they live, workloads and professional aspirations of direct care staff, and child care administration and planning generally. The paper further explores the wider consequences of these changes, and suggests a social policy response.
     

    Session 3c: Marriage Education

    Session 3c (Tuesday 25th 9.00-10.30 am)
    Terrance Olson, Brigham Young University, USA
    Marital conflict and self-deception: Educational interventions

    It may be possible to invite more of those caught in seemingly inescapable destructive conflicts simply to give them up. Such a possibility exists if individuals can deceive themselves about the meaning of the relationship conflict in the first place. Then the solutions are not grounded in gaining knowledge, skill, insight or new habits, because the individual deceives him or herself about the nature of the problem in the first place.

    A case has been made for the possibility of self-deception (Warner, 1997). In this view, people who are self-deceived are systematically perverting their own beliefs about the world, including their moral beliefs about how to treat others. An early sketch of this theory (Warner & Olson, 1981) has served as the foundation for marriage education programs (Family Harmony, 1985; FamilyWorks, 1993) and for a public school family life education and character curriculum (AANCHOR, 1982). More recently, the concept has been used to generate a unique business seminar on relationships (Berrett-Koehler, 2000).

    If it is possible for persons to pervert their own personal moral experience, it is possible to give up the deceptions they create. When people give up their self-deceptions, the quality of their attitudes and feelings changes. For example, for the self-deceived person, 'The way they see the problem is the problem.' When the self-deceived view of the problem is given up, many of the supposed reasons for the relationship conflict disintegrate, and the remaining problems (perhaps grounded in ignorance, incompetence or lack of insight), can be addressed.

    This paper presents the conceptual framework and a variety of empirical results which suggest that this approach to relationship education has promise, and can be extrapolated to a variety of educational, therapeutic and business contexts.


    Session 3c (Tuesday 25th 9.00-10.30 am)
    Robyn Parker, Australian Institute of Family Studies
    Marriage and relationship research and education in Australia - where to from here?

    In the past few years, creating and sustaining strong and resilient marriages and families has become a more prominent focus of government policy (via the National Families Strategy). Relatedly, researchers are directing their energies towards identifying and exploring the characteristics of strong families (eg the University of Newcastle Family Action Centre's 'Family Strengths Project') and marriages (the Australian Institute of Family Studies study, 'Marital Perspectives'). In the search for ways to promote and sustain stable and well functioning families, the long-established field of marriage and relationship education is receiving attention from both government and academics that is well overdue. This paper will attempt to integrate recent developments in the study of marriage and relationships in general and the field of marriage and relationship education in particular, and discuss the implications of those developments for future research, practice, and the formulation of social policy.
     


    Session 3d: Co-parenting after divorce

    Session 3d (Tuesday 25th 9.00-10.30 am)
    Lisbeth Pike, Edith Cowan University
    Single Mum or single Dad? The effects of parent residency arrangements on the development of primary school-aged children

    Research describing the effects of parental separation or divorce on children has tended to examine the effects of custody (residency) arrangements on children without differentiating between the gender of the parent and the gender of the child. Typically, studies have examined child outcomes where the residential parent is the mother. Very few studies have examined child outcomes where the father is the residential parent, or compared child outcomes for children of both genders resident with either their mothers or fathers. The prevailing wisdom has been that boys will be disadvantaged and girls advantaged when the custodial parent is the mother and the reverse when the custodial parent is the father. This concept has been described in the literature as the same sex tradition.

    This paper presents the findings of a study which examined the effects of different parent residency arrangements on the growth of competence and self-esteem in primary school-aged children of both genders resident with parents of both genders. These single parent children were also matched and compared with children from two parent families. In all there were 272 participants in the study, 136 single parent children (72 girls and 64 boys) and 136 two parent children. Child outcomes assessed were academic competence (Wide Range Achievement Test (Revised), Jastak, 1984), self-esteem, (Self-Perception Profile for Children, Harter, 1985) social support (Social Support Scale for Children Harter, 1985) and everyday skills (Everyday Household Responsibilities Life Skills Inventory, Amato, 1986).

    Results showed that overall the single parent children's scores on the dependent measures were average or above and there were very few statistically significant differences between single parent and two parent children on these measures. Results also suggest that it is not necessarily advantageous for single parent children to raised by a parent of the same gender. Implications from the study will be discussed.


    Session 3d (Tuesday 25th 9.00-10.30 am)
    Anna Byas, Flinders University of South Australia
    Post-separation parenting - what's law got to do with it?

    After separating, how do most parents get on with parenting and with each other? Family law now states that separated parents should co-operate and agree with each other when making arrangements for their children and that parenting responsibilities should be 'shared'. But are the expectations of the law realistic? Are they in tune with the practices and perceptions of separated parents? Does it matter? That is, do such family law guidelines really have much influence on what the majority of parents think or do?

    This paper outlines a qualitative research project designed to answer such questions. The study analyses the diversity of practices, preferences and perceptions among separated/divorced parents and examines the relationships and arrangements of more mainstream and low-conflict parents. It is now timely for such broadbased 'bottom-up' research, in order to discover the wealth of interpretations given to these new legal guidelines, by a wide range of separated parents, many of whom undoubtedly 'dabble' with family law services. This knowledge will hopefully complement the recent evaluative research on the impact of such reforms within the Australian legal setting or as perceived by legal and psycho-social professionals.

    It is anticipated that this study will highlight the diversity of parenting styles and beliefs and, importantly, glean insights into parents' idiosyncratic notions of fairness and justice about parenting after separation. Preliminary findings from interviews will be presented. Data of this nature could make a valuable contribution to debates about the positive and negative possibilities for the rather simplistic and indeterminate, if well meaning, legal blueprint for shared parenting after separation.

    The paper will draw together theoretical threads from recent qualitative studies and locate the current study within the increasingly post-structuralist approach to analysis of 'the family' and family law reform.
     

    Session 3d (Tuesday 25th 9.00-10.30 am)
    Paul Murphy, The University of Western Australia & Janice Dickinson, Anglicare
    'Mums and Dads Forever': A Cooperative Parenting Initiative

    'Mums and Dads Forever': A Cooperative Parenting Initiative
    This paper reports on an innovative co-parenting education and support initiative being piloted by Anglicare in Perth, Western Australia. The project was conceived as a way of:
    • supporting separated parents by teaching them new skills,
    • facilitating and encouraging a cooperative post-separation parenting relationship with a former partner, and
    • reducing the reliance on the Family Court of Western Australia to resolve disputes concerning Contact Orders.

    The programme consists of a three-hour general information forum, up to four one-hour individual counselling sessions, and a six-week workshop programme.

    This paper reports the formative evaluation of the first three workshops. Half of the twenty participants were referred to the programme by the Family Court, a high proportion had been separated for less than twelve months, and all had difficulties establishing a cooperative parenting relationship with their former partner.

    The workshops examine topics such as individual differences, issues of grief and loss in relationships, different parenting styles, the effect of parental separation on children, the children's reactions, and possible ways of addressing these issues. All the participants in the first workshop were men and it became evident that this group composition did not stimulate balanced discussion. The second two workshops included both men and women, and the evaluation feedback suggested that these groups experienced more positive interaction which they considered highly beneficial. The formative evaluation indicates that, although this initiative is very useful, it is not sufficient of itself. In most cases, people require continuing support and guidance as they seek to re-establish their lives and their new post-separation parenting roles.
     

    Session 3e: Work and family vs business reality

    Session 3e (Tuesday 25th 9.00-10.30 am)
    Lauren Reader, Department of Premier and Cabinet, Vic
    Business Versus Bath-time: The Work and Family Report

    The paper will present the findings of 'Business versus Bath-time' - The Work and Family Report, a qualitative report of the Office of Women's Policy, Victoria. The report examines:
    1. The types of family friendly policies and practices available in Victorian public and private industry sectors.
    2. The issues women (and men) face in the workplace when accessing an organisation's family friendly policies.

    The project commenced in April 1998, and underwent significant revision in scope and focus during its initial stages. The report was completed in February 2000 and the Office of Women's Policy expects to publish the report by mid-2000. The report contains a literature review and data obtained from focus group discussion and brief questionnaires.

    Key findings of the report include: - a number of barriers still exist in achieving a satisfactory outcome of balancing work and family life, such as organisational culture and attitudes, employment conditions, and industry sector. - negotiation within workplace agreements and enterprise agreements can be disadvantageous to women, particularly women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, and women with disabilities; - many organisations have no (or very few) formalised family friendly policies available for the use of their employees, with resulting disadvantages for employees and the organisation; - employees who utilise family friendly practices to achieve a work and family balance often experience a negative effect on their career, including unsatisfactory outcomes after utilising maternity leave (such as job review or dissolution), a fear of losing job quality, less access to training, and a lack of promotion and bonus opportunities; - the most highly sought after provisions that participants in the study would like made available in their workplace were: working from home; support for and/or access to childcare (including school holiday care); variable full time and part time work; and work and family information.


    Session 3e (Tuesday 25th 9.00-10.30 am)
    Lee Wightman, Department of Human Services (SA) & Don Edgar, Centre For Workplace Culture Change
    What about small business?

    Research indicates that Australian families are having difficulty in balancing their work and family responsibilities. Large corporations have the capacity to implement a range of measures to assist employees but small businesses do not. In South Australia 80% of the workforce is employed in small to medium sized businesses. How are these employees to be assisted in regard to balancing their work and family responsibilities?

    This paper will report on the development of a pilot project in South Australia which addresses this question. The project uses a community development approach to assisting small-medium sized businesses respond to their employees needs in balancing work and family responsibilities.

    Based on work undertaken by Dr. Don Edgar as part of the Newlinks Workplace Project, the pilot project is to be implemented in the Barossa Valley. It will test the assumption that better work and family outcomes for employees in small business will result from improved linkages between small business, big business, the community and the community services sector.

    The project is being undertaken by the South Australian Department of Human Services and Business Vision 2010 Inc, an initiative of the South Australian Employers Chamber of Commerce and Industry.


    Session 3e (Tuesday 25th 9.00-10.30 am)
    Prue Warrilow, Susan Biggs & Jennifer Ng, Families at Work
    Learning to think flexibly? The reality versus the rhetoric of flexible work practices
     
    This paper builds on a presentation made by Susan Biggs in 1998 at the AIFS conference in Melbourne with the preliminary findings for one company presented. The research was conducted in 1998/99 with 3 companies who had been recognised as best practice by the Business Council of Australia and Financial Review Work and Family Awards. Research was conducted through interviews with representatives from each organisation's human resources division, unions, employees through focus group participation and individual employees who were utilising some type of flexible workplace policy. The significant findings were:
    • there is a distinction for employees between working flexibly and using flexible work practices;
    • trust between the employee, manager and organisation is essential if workplace flexibility is to work;
    • workplace change and ways of working impacted greatly on whether employees thought they could use flexible work practices and the type of flexibility used;
    • the need to manage flexibly- employees who worked flexibly were not provided with the same opportunities as those who did not use flexible work practices;
    • inflexible systems impacted through work practices, the actual systems and the workplace infrastructure;
    • long hours were an impediment to working n a flexile manner;
    • prominent theme expressed by all the organisations was that flexible work policies are great but if managers are not prepared to think flexibly, they are of little use;
    • employees talked about the lack of education that managers had to ensure they could manage alternate work practices. Managers talked about how hard it is to manage employees all working in different ways and how it is easier for them if everyone is working the same way.

    Strategies that were identified to help organisations provide flexibility included the following:
    • identifying the link between customer service and flexibility;
    • integrating flexibility training into effective management of employee development;
    • increasing employee awareness and skills on how to work more flexibly;
    • working towards a reasonable number of working hours;
    • organising a campaign to highlight that employees who have flexible arrangement are hard working dedicated staff and
    • running and education campaign to ensure that workers without family responsibilities do not feel disadvantaged and make sure they have equal access to flexibility.
    Session 3f: Constructing meanings and identities in child protection practice - Workshop (Tuesday 25th 9.00-10.30 am)

    Facilitator: Heather D'Cruz, Deakin University

    Child maltreatment is a major professional concern, particularly when children may die or suffer serious injuries, sexual trauma or deprivation. Child protection policy and practice aim to minimise risk of harm to children by working from a perspective that child maltreatment is an objectively real entity which knowledgeable persons, like social workers, can identify easily. Associated with this perspective is the view that identities called 'persons believed responsible' are also identifiable, as 'dangerous persons', being easily differentiated from those who are 'not dangerous'.

    This workshop will present an alternative view that 'child maltreatment' and the 'person believed responsible' are socially constructed meanings and identities. The social constructionist perspective takes the view that there are different meanings given to children's experiences, which the dominant perspective tends to reduce to a few 'types of maltreatment'. Similarly, the 'person believed responsible' is also not necessarily a shared perspective of identity between different participants in the intervention process. It is important to emphasise that the realities of harm to children are not in dispute here.

    Case studies will show how the meanings of 'what happened' to children and 'who was responsible' are processes of construction and negotiation between different participants, within particular family and practice contexts. Data are from a PhD thesis, Constructing Meanings and Identities in Child Protection Practice.

    Target audience: policy makers and practitioners, human service academics
    Knowledge/experience: as required for the occupational positions of the target audience
    Structure of session: Introduce the theoretical perspective.
    Discuss selected cases (extracts from files and interviews with workers), drawing out the theoretical issues for child protection practice
    Number of participants: 20 (maximum)
     

    Session 3g: Community formation and capacity building

    Session 3g (Tuesday 25th 9.00-10.30 am)
    April Lawrie-Smith & Sally Castell-McGregor, Department of Human Services, South Australia
    Manufactured communities: sick land - sick people

    'We come from red sand country, we are now on white sand, this is not our country, this country makes us sick.'(Report on the Royal Commission into the Maralinga Bombing - Quote from Mr Hughie Windlass, Senior Man, Aboriginal Elder, Custodian and Traditional Owner of the Maralinga Lands).

    The history of dispossession of Aboriginal people in South Australia has resulted in established and well functioning communities being forcibly removed from traditional land, relocated in alien and foreign localities, away from camping sites, traditional ties, songlines and water holes. One such community in South Australia who herald from the Western Desert Cultural bloc and have over the past fifty years have been constantly displaced; first from Maralinga Land's due to Atomic testing; relocated to Yalata and then to various camp sites along the West Coast, finally ending up in Ceduna at 8 Kuhlmann Street. The history of the Kuhlmann Street mob presents a microcosmic portrait of all that has gone wrong since white possession of Aboriginal land. The history reflects the inherent racism of the white dominant culture with its philosophy of 'out of sight out of mind'. An added strain to the scenario is the tension between urban Aboriginal people and traditional visitors.

    The Anangu residents of number 8 Kuhlmann Street, Ceduna reflect the extreme social disadvantage of Aboriginal people in Australia, with high levels of injuries and accidents, hospitalisations, high alcohol consumption, poor health and shortened life span. Until recently, services have failed to respond to their needs and to the needs of traditional homeless and transient people living or staying in urban environments elsewhere in South Australia.

    This paper tells the story of how the Aboriginal Services Division of the Department of Human Services in partnership with Aboriginal and mainstream organisations has successfully implemented a new approach to the recognition and delivery of service needs to traditional Anangu in Ceduna and surrounding areas. The story tells how a Human Rights and Social Justice framework that recognises the integrity of the Aboriginal voice, Aboriginal traditional healing, Aboriginal kinship, inter-relationship with the land and respect of the wisdom of Elders, has led to an integrated service system, which for the first time in fifty years, treats Anangu with dignity and respect.


    Session 3g (Tuesday 25th 9.00-10.30 am)
    Robyn Seth-Purdie, Department of Family and Community Services
    Accumulated adversity and human capital formation: implications for social policy
    Data collected independently from health, education and welfare sectors show that accumulated exposure to 'adversity' is a key factor in predicting negative outcomes in physical and mental health, educational achievement, labour market participation, illness and disability in middle age and long term dependence on welfare receipt. Data from the Christchurch longitudinal study (Christchurch Study on Health and Development) provides Australasian data in support of the proposition that accumulating adversity affects the likelihood of welfare receipt. The cross-sectoral data suggests that the development and maintenance of human capital (defined to include the sum total of an individual's physical, psychological, and economic capabilities) is seriously affected by exposure to multiple risk factors/an accumulation of adverse circumstances, particularly those occurring in early childhood. The implications for social policy that seeks to emphasis prevention, early intervention and investment in human capital formation, are explored.
     

    Session 3g (Tuesday 25th 9.00-10.30 am)
    Dimi Giorgas, Australian National University
    Community Formation and Social Capital in Australia

    An ethnic community's social capital encompasses resources available to an individual through their membership in that community or group. It involves the shared feelings of social belonging that enable groups to set up institutions and other networks that members can access. Social capital in these communities exists in the social relations among parents, between parents and their children and their relationship with the institutions of the community.

    This paper explores ethnic community formation and social capital among six groups: Germans, Dutch, Hungarians, Poles, Italians and Greeks. It argues that social capital within the family is particularly important in overcoming deficiencies in other forms of capital; although it can only be successfully utilised when close relations exist between parents and children. Thus cultures that place greater emphasis on the family and are collectivist in nature, such as Greeks and Italians, are more likely to utilise social capital. In contrast cultures that have an individualistic focus, for example, Germans and Hungarians, are more likely to under-invest in social capital.

    Moreover, social closure is important for social capital to be effectively facilitated. Closure helps facilitate norms and creates trustworthiness, allowing for the proliferation of obligations and expectations. In an open community, groups are less able to sanction behaviour because of the absence of mobilising forces and reduced consensus in regards to standards (Coleman 1988: S106-107).

    Overall, the findings of this paper suggest that ethnic community formation has served as a positive strategy for immigrants in overcoming social isolation and economic difficulties by providing employment opportunities and a sense of familial surroundings within their own ethnic group. Social capital is utilised more effectively by groups with stronger cultural boundaries and a collective sense of identity.


    Tuesday, July 25th, 1.30-3.00pm


    Session 4a: Issues in child abuse and protection

    Session 4a (Tuesday 25th 1.30-3.00 pm)
    David McConnell & Gwynnyth Llewellyn, University of Sydney
    Parental Disability and Statutory Child Protection Proceedings

    This presentation reports findings of a study investigating Process and outcomes for parents with disabilities and their children involved in statutory child protection proceedings. Court files were reviewed for 407 consecutive cases finalised over a nine-month period in the NSW Children's Court. Interviews and focus groups were conducted involving all eight specialist children's magistrates, 34 legal representatives and 155 child protection officers. In addition, 35 days were spent in the courtroom observing proceedings. The study found that close to one-third of all care matters initiated by the Department of Community Services, NSW, involved parents with formerly diagnosed disabilities. A significant association was found between parental disability and court outcomes. Notably, children of parents with intellectual disability were subject to a disproportionately large number of wardship orders. Critical factors influencing court outcomes will be discussed. These include 'expert' assessment, parent compliance, the suitability of support services and advocacy.


    Session 4a (Tuesday 25th 1.30-3.00 pm)
    Patrick O'Leary, University of South Australia
    Gender Differences in Disclosure and Predicting Psychological Outcomes

    The aim of the study was to identify any gender similarities and differences in disclosure, and how details of the child sexual assault predict later psychological outcomes. A telephone survey of one hundred and ninety one people (151 females and 40 males) who responded to a sexual assault survey in Victoria, Australia reported that they were sexually assaulted while under the age of eighteen.

    Respondents reported details about the nature of the sexual assault experience, disclosure details and psychological effects they attributed to the assault. Multiple regression analysis was performed with psychological effects as the dependent.

    The effect of gender on length of time to disclosure was also examined using an independent samples t-test. In the case of males, psychological effects were best predicted by, the number of physical injuries, disclosure at the time of the assaults and frequency of assault. In the case of females, a lesser amount of variance in psychological effects could be accounted for and different predictor variables were statistically significant.

    Generally, both females and males reported an inadequate response to their disclosure. Males were equally likely to disclose at the time of the sexual assault, but they took significantly longer to discuss their experiences. On average it took ten years for men to feel they had discussed the experience, whereas for females it took under ten years.

    Results of the study identify gender differences in the predictors of distress. These predictor variables should be incorporated into therapeutic assessment interviews. The importance of an appropriate response at the time of disclosure is also highlighted.


    Session 4a (Tuesday 25th 1.30-3.00 pm)
    Karen Fisher, Cathy Thompson & Marilyn McHugh, Social Policy Research Centre
    The Link between Children's Services and Child Protection: The Perspective of Directors of Children's Services

    The NSW Department of Community Services (DoCS) Office of Childcare commissioned the Social Policy Research Centre in 1999 to examine the relationship between children's services for children under school age and the DoCS child protection function. The project also investigated the effectiveness of children's services as a protection and prevention strategy for abuse and neglect. The study comprised three components: a literature review, a survey of directors of children's services and focus groups with workers in child protection and children's services. The survey with directors of children's services included questions on details of children at risk of abuse and neglect placed in a service as well as the effectiveness of communication with DoCS from initial placement through to case closure.
    The survey contained a number of open-ended questions in relation to children at risk, including:

    • whether the care differed from care given to other children;
    • record keeping in the service;
    • adequacy of meeting needs of children from Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander and non-English speaking backgrounds and children with a disability;
    • demands on primary contact carers;
    • training in child protection;
    • prevention programs;
    • abuse in care; and,
    • the effectiveness of a placement as both a prevention and protection strategy.

    This paper will review the findings from the survey of directors of children's services highlighting some of the strengths and weaknesses of the present system from the perceptions of workers in the field.


    Session 4b: Fathers' role in families: barriers and opportunities

    Session 4b (Tuesday 25th 1.30-3.00 pm)
    Maggie Walter, University of Tasmania
    Australian Unwed Fathers: What is their relationship with their Children? What factors impede or facilitate their level of parental involvement?

    Modern western fatherhood is a paradox of competing images. While the importance of fathers to children and the unique value of father's role is increasingly recognised the number of fathers who no longer live with their children is escalating. While most one parent families occur through marital breakdown, child bearing and marriage are also increasingly separated. Over the last 30 years, Australia has seen a dramatic rise in the number of ex-nuptial births. The proportion of ex-nuptial to nuptial births rose from 6 percent in 1963 to 28 percent in 1997 and the trend continues upward.

    Despite the growing interest overseas in research and policy implications of unmarried fathers and their parental involvement, Australian empirical knowledge in this area is virtually non-existent. Australia is socially similar to other western countries but we cannot assume overseas research findings are transferable or relevant. Australia has significantly different ex-nuptial birth and paternity acknowledgment patterns and Australian social policies contribute to a singularly Australian set of social conditions. The uniqueness of the Australian situation poses important questions. While we can approximate the numbers of unwed fathers, we know very little else about this group.

    This research will test the hypothesis that increased ex-nuptial births results in increased numbers of children being raised without significant paternal involvement. The major aims of the project are to establish the social, economic, personal and cultural characteristics of Australian unwed non-residential fathers and examine the level of parental involvement these fathers have with their children. Additionally, the research plans to investigate the factors that work to constrain or enhance father's ability to assume active and responsible roles in their children's lives.
     

    Session 4b (Tuesday 25th 1.30-3.00 pm)
    Helen McKeering, Jan Nicholson & George van der Heide, Queensland University of Technology; Kenneth I. Pakenham, The University of Queensland & Owen Pershouse, MENDS Program
    Separated fathers' parenting: aspirations and obstacles
     
    Fathers' parenting post separation has historically been sparsely researched except in the context of deficit or absentee parenting. However, over the past 15 years in Australia, there has been an increasing interest in research, public debate, and services focusing on separated and divorced fathers, resulting in national conferences targeting men's health and men's relationships. This upsurge in interest in men's parenting post-separation, has been driven by societal factors and public health concerns.

    Separated fathers' reaction to the breakdown of the marital relationship and loss of the parental role, is often manifest in a number of psycho-physical health problems, at times resulting in suicide. Separated men are 6 times more likely to suicide than married men. In Australia, there are over 52,000 divorces per annum, involving over 28,000 children (ABS, 1996) with marriage breakdown increasing.

    Common post separation arrangements result in many fathers being precluded from daily care of their children. Therefore, strengthening and supporting child/father ties, has become a priority. To facilitate this aim, it is necessary to understand separated fathers' parenting aspirations, and their perceptions of the obstacles which prevent them from effectively parenting their children. This study employed a qualitative research strategy to determine context-specific concerns of 23 separated fathers in the Brisbane metropolitan area.

    Topics discussed included separated fathers' perceptions of their parenting role; and the obstacles and stressors that impinged on their fathering role. Fathers' aspirations to continue their role as nurturers, guides, and educators of their children were highlighted. Fathers also identified barriers to achieving these aims such as inflexible access arrangements; time constraints; and their fathering role being undermined by conflict with institutions and the ex-partner over parenting issues. Fathers' perceptions of societal and institutional double standards regarding the importance of parenting to separated fathers and mothers, will be discussed.
     

    Session 4b (Tuesday 25th 1.30-3.00 pm)
    Katherine Wilson, Melbourne University and The Victorian Parenting Centre
    Father Involvement With Pre-school and School Aged Children: Motivators and Barriers

    The aim of the study was to examine maternal and paternal beliefs about the parenting responsibilities of fathers of children in the early and middle years of childhood. a secondary aim was to obtain measures of what parenting is actually done by fathers on a day to day basis. Motivators and barriers to father involvement (FI) were also explored. In addition, perceptions of maternal support for involved fathering, satisfaction with current involvement, confidence in paternal parenting ability and knowledge, and beliefs about the outcome efficacy of FI were evaluated. FI was conceptualised as including the dimensions of engagement, availability, and responsibility (Lamb, 1997), plus time spent in sole responsibility. FI includes care in the physical, emotional, social, educational and financial domains. The present paper will present preliminary data from an ongoing study of 100 intact families containing two or more children aged 3 to 11 years. Participating mothers and fathers were given individual structured home interviews of approximately 75 minutes, followed by an involvement questionnaire completed jointly. Discussion regarding the development of a model to explain FI will be provided.


    Session 4c: Partnerships Against Domestic Violence - Workshop (Tuesday 25th 1.30-3.00 pm)

    Facilitators: Dianne Heriot & Tricia Szirom, Office of the Status of Women

    In November 1997, Heads of Government launched Partnerships Against Domestic Violence (Partnerships).

    Partnerships is concerned with building a strategic collaboration between the Commonwealth, States and Territories, in consultation with the community sector, to test new approaches to domestic violence, to enhance and share knowledge and develop and document good practice in preventing and responding to domestic violence. It aims to do this by conducting a wide range of projects designed to stimulate new developments as well as enhance existing programs.

    Six priority themes have been identified as the focus for projects funded under Partnerships over the next few years:
    • Working with children and young people to break the cycle of violence between generations.
    • Working with adults to break patterns of violence; working with victims and perpetrators.
    • Working with the community, educating against violence.
    • Protection of the Law.
    • Information and best practice.
    • Helping people in rural and remote communities.

    In the 1999-2000 Budget, the Commonwealth committed a further $25 million to domestic violence prevention to build on and extend the work of Partnerships. Priority areas are: children affected by domestic violence, family violence in indigenous communities; perpetrators of domestic violence; and community education.

    Dr Dia