Staff papers and presentations

This paper will outline some of the recent research findings from AIFS research, on fathers, paid work and care.

Australian Rotary Health is running a symposium on prevention of mental disorders in Canberra. The symposium will take a lifespan perspective, examining what is known about prevention and what needs to be done next for research or implementation at various stages of life. The stages covered are: perinatal and early childhood, childhood (5-12 years), adolescence, adulthood and old age.

The results from the National Research Study on the Service Response to Past Adoption Practices has provided valuable information as to the complexity of needs of those affected by closed adoptions in Australia and identifies specific workforce development strategies that can assist those seeking support. This conference provides an ideal opportunity to discuss such implications for the workforce, as well as to generate discussion within the public health as well as broader health and welfare service sectors as to how they can work collaboratively to more effectively meet the needs of their service users affected by past adoptions.

This presentation will discuss the appropriateness of methods used to collect Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander Promising Practice Profiles. The aim is to assist researchers, policy-makers and practitioners to consider how particular research approaches can improve service responses for Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander children and their families.

This presentation will be part of the session 'Embedding child awareness is everyone's business: adult focus'.

This keynote address will discuss attitudes that may reflect a growing tendency to regard children and their care as a private rather than a public, shared responsibility. The address explores the intersection of these wider changes and child-specific attitudinal shifts. The discussion will be framed by consideration of some of the historical changes in concepts of childhood, and contemporary ideas about wellbeing, safety and the place of children in Australian society.

The Integrity Section of the Australian Sports Commission has commenced work on enhancing child safe environments within the sporting sector. The first stage of the project is to raise awareness of the important role sport can play in creating child safe environments. The purpose of the forum is to highlight the need for action within the sports sector, reinforce the importance of leadership in driving cultural change and provide examples of how sporting organisations can create child safe environments within their sport.

This address will be presented as part of the session on 'Understanding Disadvantage' and will discuss definitions of disadvantage, which tend to refer to circumstances or conditions that influence one's choices, chances and life outcomes, relative to others. These defining elements convey the sense of disadvantage as a state as opposed to a fixed trait. And yet, there is a pervasive tendency to treat disadvantage as a fixed characteristic of individuals, rather than a state that is dependent on one's current circumstances or life conditions.

Alan Hayes will be presenting in the session on 'Understanding the tension and challenges: Making maximum use of data assets: Knowledge and capability issues'.

This seminar explores the theory and practice of typologies of intimate partner violence, including a critique and reflections on practice in the Australian context. Using data from the Longitudinal Study of Separated Families, this presentation reviews the empirical evidence on family violence among separated couples and consider the practice implications of these findings.

The presentation will link research and policy, examining different roles and ways of working across institutions and portfolios.

On 1 January 2013, Australia introduced two weeks of government-funded Dad and Partner Pay for eligible working fathers or partners, including adopting parents and parents in same-sex couples. In this free webinar, Penelope Rush (CFCA) and Dr Richard Fletcher (Fatherhood Research Network) will describe Australia's family leave policy history, the social context and current family models in Australia. The webinar will consider: Key findings from a review of international paternity leave policies and practices that may inform Australia's future approach to parental leave; Recent research highlighting the importance of father-infant attachment for children's development; and Resources that assist practitioners to include fathers in their support for families with newborns.