Social Work - Research Publications
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ItemNo Preview AvailableFamily Violence and Abuse against Non-Parental Caregivers: An Australian Perspective(SAGE Publications Ltd, 2021)There has been significant discourse around the use of language in the context of domestic and family violence and inconsistencies in language present in policy, legislation, practice, and research. This has resulted in the lack of agreement on a definitive and overarching description of domestic and family violence (Tinning, 2010; Boxall et al., 2015). The Australian Government has adopted the United Nations (1993: 3) definition which states that violence against women is gender-based and results in or is likely to result in physical or psychological harm.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableWorking with kinship care families(Cambridge University Press, 2023-04-30)Kinship care is the fastest growing type of out-of-home care and is the preferred placement option for children who are unable to live with their parents. Kinship carers, particularly grandparents, may experience more vulnerability than foster carers and be exposed to specific stressors related to being kinship carers. This chapter will explore the challenges, needs and resources for kinship carers and the children in their care. Kinship care is among the fastest growing forms of formal and informal out-of-home care in Australia and is the preferred option for formal out-of-home care in Australia. Kinship care is defined as ‘family-based care within the child’s extended family or with close friends of the family known to the child, whether formal or informal in nature’ (United Nations General Assembly, 2010). There is common agreement that formal kinship care occurs in the instance where children have been placed with kin following some form of statutory (e.g., child protection services) intervention or court-ordered placement.
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ItemShifting practice in domestic violence: child protection workers partnering with mothers(Interdisciplinary Research in Motherhood, 2019-12-05)Child protection services have struggled with domestic and family violence (DV) and how to respond to it. Historically it has been slow to recognise the impact of domestic violence on children. Once identified, child protection services have been slow to recognise that affected children are usually best safeguarded by workers supporting the non-offending parent, typically, the child’s mother in situations of DFV. The focus on assessing mothers for their protection or failure to protect their children in the face of fathers who use violence has become characteristic of much child protection practice which has failed to engage constructively with the challenges of domestic violence. Many issues have emerged as problematic, highlighting the poor ‘fit’ between the traditional child protection lens and the demands of an effective response to domestic violence. These include: an exclusive focus on the ‘best interests’ of the child without due regard for two victims of domestic violence (child and usually the child’s mother); the lack of engagement with fathers who use violence; the necessities of engaging with diverse communities; the problems with developing effective domestic violence interventions when separation has not occurred. These are not the problems of an individual practitioner, but rather point to the structural and cultural change required by organisations to support workers to shift their practice. This chapter will draw on recent research (a national case reading of child protection files in Australia) to highlight the gaps in understanding the impacts of DV on parenting skills, and the gaps in recognising and documenting mothers’ strengths and efforts to keep their children safe. Sometimes this has involved mothers being deemed as ‘non-compliant’ with child protection instructions. An intersectional lens will be taken to explore a feminist perspective on child protection practice. The framework developed by Safe & Together™ will be used to inform the chapter and bring a feminist lens which is inclusive of the needs of children for agency, safety and protection. There is evidence that supporting the mother–child relationship is the most effective way of keeping children safe where there is domestic violence. Strategies required at an organisational and a practitioner level will be explored, including the need for a differential response to children exposed to DFV. This response recognises that not all children are significantly affected by DFV and not all mothers find their parenting significantly compromised. While partnering with mothers, it should be recognised that children may have different perspectives on violence and have their own views about what keeps them safe.
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ItemRealist Synthesis: An Innovative Approach to Literature Review for Complex Management Phenomena(Emerald Publishing Limited, 2024)Common literature review methods such as systematic review and narrative review are poorly suited to the investigation of complex management phenomena. Systematic reviews are highly driven by protocol and procedure, and are oft-criticized as reductive and poorly equipped to examine the interaction between phenomena and context, nonlinear processes, and empirical outcomes that are less predictable. Narrative reviews, on the other hand, are pluralistic and iterative and thus better suited to descriptions of the complex and unpredictable; however, they tend to lack methodological transparency, trustworthiness, and pragmatism in application. The “realist synthesis” approach to literature review can be seen as the middle-ground between these two common methods, offering both methodological rigor alongside flexibility and nuance. Realist synthesis takes an explanatory frame, with a focus on unearthing the theorized causal mechanisms at play beneath a phenomenon of interest.
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ItemMigration and Settlement of African People in Australia(IntechOpen, 2022-09-28)Australia is a country that hosts millions of migrants from different countries and continents. This chapter presents the migration history of African Australians and the settlement challenges encountered by these families and individuals. In the last two decades, there has been a growing number of African communities in Australia. African people migrate to Australia for many reasons, including job-seeking and civil wars caused by race, religion, nationality, and membership in particular social or political groups. In the 2020 census, over 400,000 people living in Australia recorded they were of African origin. This represents 1.6% of the Australian population and 5.1% of Australia’s overseas-born population. Most (58%) are white South Africans, but 42% are black Africans from sub-Saharan countries. Some people within these African populations did not settle well or adjust effectively to Australian society due to Australia’s predominantly Anglo-Saxon culture. Therefore, this chapter discusses migration and settlement issues faced by African community groups in Australia.
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ItemResponding to Students Living with Domestic and Family Violence.(Routledge, 2021)
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ItemDomestic violence and the impact on children(Routledge, 2021-03-18)This book makes an important contribution to the international understanding of domestic violence and shares the latest knowledge of what causes and sustains domestic violence between intimate partners, as well as the effectiveness of ...
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ItemNo Preview AvailableUsing Looking After Children Data to link Research to Policy and Practice in Out-of-Home Care(Wilfred Laurier University Press, 2011)
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ItemNo Preview AvailableChild Development in Context(Oxford, 2016)
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ItemNo Preview AvailableL’évolution des Assessment and Action Records de l’approche Looking After Children dans l’État de Victoria en Australie(Presses de l’Université du Québec, 2015)