Family Matters articles from December 2006

Family Matters archives from December 2006

Director's report.(Australian Institute of Family Matters)
December 22, 2006... The "new" Institute On 1 July 2006, the Institute moved from its current Board structure under the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997, to an Executive Management structure under the Financial Management and Accountability Act...

Starting early, starting late: the health and wellbeing of mother and child.
December 22, 2006... This article examines indicators of health and wellbeing of new mothers of different ages and their infants. Five age groups of mothers are compared, ranging from teenagers to those who were 38 years or over when their first child was born....

Closing the research-policy and research-practice gaps: ideas for child and family services.
December 22, 2006... The move towards evidence-based practice and policy in the human services has been accompanied by an increasing recognition of the common goals and key differences between the three distinct cultures of research, policy and practice. These key...

Parents of adults with an intellectual disability.
December 22, 2006... There are an increasing numbers of adults with an intellectual disability living into middle and old age, and often these adults are cared for by their parents in the family home. Individuals who live in other accommodation generally still...

Views of the village: parent's perceptions of their neighbourhoods.
December 22, 2006... Parental views of their neighbourhoods can influence many decisions they make including their choice of where to live and the extent to which children play outside. This paper explores several factors that have the potential to influence these...

Paid work characteristics of mothers with infants.(Statistical data)
December 22, 2006... The labour market participation of mothers with young children has undergone significant changes in recent decades. Despite the extent of these changes, surprisingly little is known about the types of jobs in which mothers with infants are...

Investing in the early years: a community development approach: this article reports on the work of the Institute in supporting the first phase of the Australian Government's investment in early childhood. It assesses the extent to which community development principles were put into practice in providing support to initiatives funded under the Stronger Families and Communities Strategy.
December 22, 2006... Since 2002, the Australian Institute of Family Studies has been contracted by the Australian Government Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (formerly the Department of Family and Community Services) to support the...

Families do matter.(VIEW POINT)
December 22, 2006... Over the last decade, The Smith Family, along with other community organisations, has undergone significant transformation from a welfare-oriented model to a social enterprise organisation focused on children and education. Every step of this...

Snapshot of Australian families with adolescents.
December 22, 2006... Over the last few generations the composition of families and the roles and responsibilities of parents have changed substantially. Despite these transformations, the family unit remains the foundation of society and the place in which children...

Researching married and cohabiting couples: a step in the right direction.
December 22, 2006... The research literature generally presents a fairly rosy view of married life: marriage is portrayed as conferring happiness, health and wealth on those who enter it. But is the picture really as simple as it appears, and are methodological...

"Shared parental responsibility" and the reshaping of family law: after a long and arduous process of inquiry and debate, far-reaching reforms to the Family Law Act 1975 have been passed into law. Complemented by developments in family services provision, the Australian Government's reform package aims to effect a cultural shift in the way disputes over children following separation are resolved.(FAMILY LAW UPDATE)(Law overview)
December 22, 2006... Amendments to the Family Law Act 1975 made law The penultimate step in the legislative passage of the Family Law Amendment (Shared Parental Responsibility) Bill 2005 occurred on the 10 May when the House of Representatives approved the...

Vice-regal visit.(INSTITUTE ACTIVITIES)
December 22, 2006... Their Excellencies, The Governor-General and Mrs Jeffery joined staff of the Institute for a series of presentations on our research followed by informal discussion. Dr Matthew Gray, Deputy Director (Research) was joined by the General Managers...

Institute researcher attends conference in the USA.(INSTITUTE ACTIVITIES)(Brief article)
December 22, 2006... Dr Bruce Smyth, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute recently attended the 43rd Annual Conference of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC). The conference was held in Tampa Bay Florida on 31 May--3 June. It was originally...

Second wave of growing up in Australia.(NEWS FROM GROWING UP IN AUSTRALIA)(Brief article)
December 22, 2006... Interviewers are now in the field for the second wave of data collection for Growing Up in Australia: the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC). In 2004, over 10,000 families agreed to take part in this landmark study, and the first...

Growing up in Australia seminars.(NEWS FROM GROWING UP IN AUSTRALIA)(Brief article)
December 22, 2006... Institute staff have taken advantage of being interstate to give a number of presentations to government, research and not-for-profit agencies about LSAC, and the wealth of data available for research and policy purposes. Carol Soloff, LSAC...

Meeting of the growing up in Australia Consortium Advisory Group.(NEWS FROM GROWING UP IN AUSTRALIA)(Brief article)
December 22, 2006... The Growing Up in Australia Consortium Advisory Group (pictured below) met in Canberra on 23-24 May to provide detailed advice to the Institute about Wave 3 content for the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. Representatives from the...

Visit of delegation from Japan.(INSTITUTE ACTIVITIES)(Brief article)
December 22, 2006... On 5 July, a delegation of nine Okazaki City Council administrators visited the Institute to learn about the Institute's formation and its research, and to discuss family trends in Australia--most particularly, trends in Australia's total...

Institute at the work, families and wellbeing forum.
December 22, 2006... Institute staff Michael Alexander, Dr Jennifer Baxter, Dr Matthew Gray and Professor Alan Hayes attended the second Work, Families and Wellbeing Forum that was held in Canberra, 4-5 May 2006. The Forum was organised by the National Centre for...

FaCSIA secretary at the institute.(INSTITUTE ACTIVITIES)
December 22, 2006... Seen here with the Director, Deputy Director (Research) Deputy Director (Corporate and Strategy) and the General Managers Research, Dr Jeff Harmer, Secretary of the Australian Government Department of Families, Communities and Indigenous...

Meeting of minds: two institutes participate in a workshop.(Australian Institute of Family Studies, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare )(Brief article)
December 22, 2006... The Australian Institute of Family Studies and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare held a two-day workshop 14-15 June to discuss the various areas of research conducted by each Institute, and to identify issues of common interest....

Book launch at the institute.(Brief article)
December 22, 2006... Approximately 60 people gathered at the Institute on 17 July for the launch of Gay Ochiltree's book Grandparents, grandchildren and the generation in between which has been published by ACER Press. Gay was a foundation staff member of the...

Measuring population wellbeing: data gaps workshop.(Australian Treasury and the Department of Families Community Services and Indigenous Affairs )
December 22, 2006... On Thursday 8 June, Institute Director, Professor Alan Hayes attended a facilitated workshop of invited participants from government, academia and the not-for-profit sector. Hosted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the Australian Treasury...

Institute at International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development conference.(Richard Tremblay, Deborah Phillips, Robert Siegler)
December 22, 2006... A number of Institute researchers attended the prestigious conference of the International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development, recently held in Melbourne on 3-6 July 2006. The theme of the conference was "the interface of research...

SFIA interviewer training.(Stronger Families Study in Australia)(Brief article)
December 22, 2006... The Stronger Families Study in Australia (SFIA) commenced fieldwork in June 2006. SFIA is funded by the Australian Government Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs as part of the Stronger Families and Communities...

New project--families caring for someone with a disability.(Ben Edwards and Daryl Higgins)(Brief article)
December 22, 2006... The Institute has received funding from the Australian Government Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs Disability Carers Branch, to conduct a study of families caring for someone with a disability. In this joint...

Institute seminars 2006: in 2006 the Australian Institute of Family Studies continues its series of public seminars presenting contemporary research on national and international issues related to the family.(Child support policy: Some reflections on the past, present and future)
December 22, 2006... "Child support policy: Some reflections on the past, present and future" (Seminar held at the Institute on 3 May 2006) The Australian Government recently announced that it is introducing significant reforms to the Child Support Scheme....

Grandparents, Grandchildren and the Generation in Getween.(Brief article)(Book review)
December 22, 2006... Grandparents, grandchildren and the generation in between, by Gay Ochiltree, ACER Press, Camberwell, 2006. Price: $34.95 In this text the author, (a former Institute staff member), sets out the major issues involved in being a grandparent...

After Abuse.(Brief article)(Book review)
December 22, 2006... After abuse, by Gita Mammen, ACER Press, Camberwell 2006. Price: $39.95 This book is written as a practical guide for health practitioners who come into contact with adults who were sexually abused as children. It outlines principles...

Orphans of the Living: Growing Up in 'Care' in Twentieth-Century Australia.(Brief article)(Book review)
December 22, 2006... Orphans of the living: Growing up in 'care' in twentieth-century Australia, by Joanna Penglase, Curtin University Press, Fremantle, 2005. Price: $29.95 The purpose of this book is to highlight a forgotten chapter in the history of...

Integrated Family Intervention for Child Conduct Problems: A Behaviour-Attachment-Systems Intervention for Parents.(Brief article)(Book review)
December 22, 2006... Integrated family intervention for child conduct problems: A behaviour-attachment-systems intervention for parents, by Mark Dadds and David Hawes, Australian Academic Press, Brisbane, 2006. Price : $77.00. This manual is for therapists who work...

Shared Parenting: Raising Your Children Cooperatively After Separation.(Brief article)(Book review)
December 22, 2006... Shared parenting: Raising your children cooperatively after separation, by Jill Burrett and Michael Green, Finch, Lane Cove, 2006. Price: $24.95 This practical Australian guide is written by a psychologist and lawyer with considerable...

The Lives of Foster Carers: Private Sacrifices, Public Restrictions.(Brief article)(Book review)
December 22, 2006... The lives of foster carers: Private sacrifices, public restrictions, by Linda Nutt, Routledge, Abingdon, 2006. Price: $56.00 This UK book aims to address the lack of research available about foster carers (as distinct from foster...

Families with Futures: A Survey of Family Studies for the Twenty-First Century.(Brief article)(Book review)
December 22, 2006... Families with futures: A survey of family studies for the twenty-first century, by Meg Wilkes Karraker and Janet R. Grochowski, Lawrence Erlbaum, 2006. Intended for tertiary students, this substantial text focuses on the interdisciplinary...

Making Children Count: Children, Violence, Homelessness and the Law.(Brief article)(Book review)
December 22, 2006... Making children count: Children, violence, homelessness and the law. by J Oberin, P Foster and C Kirkwood, WESNET, Canberra, 2005. Price: $30.00 WESNET is the peak body for domestic and family violence women's services across Australia....

Conferences.
December 22, 2006... This short selection of forthcoming family-related conferences is taken from the Australian Institute of Family Studies Internet conference listing, which is updated weekly. For the complete, up-to-date list, refer to...