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Contemporary manifestations of race are dynamic and elusive in the forms and shapes they take. "Colourblind" racism is effective at drawing on seemingly objective and race‐neutral discourses to obfuscate racialized forms of structural exclusion. Framed by Critical Race Theory and Critical Narrative Analysis this paper presents an example from the Australian context that examines the relationships between a grassroots initiative developed by creatives from the African diaspora and two not‐for‐profit human services organizations, to illustrate how ideologies of race are enacted and obscured by managerialist ideologies and discourses of risk. Specifically, it shows how harmful dominant cultural narratives of deficit and danger transforms racialized Africans in Australia into "risky subjects." In a managerialist organization, risk must be controlled, and thus risk becomes the rationality for the control of racialized and risky subjects. Resistance to control by those subjects produces forms of organizational defensiveness that are mobilized through managerialist discourses and practices that work to structurally exclude. These findings illustrate the ways ideologies of race work alongside and through other ideological discourses and practices which render racialized dynamics of oppression race‐neutral. Highlights: Contemporary and color‐blind manifestations of racism are evasive.Ideologies of race are obscured by discourses of risk.Risk discourses contribute to racialized forms of control and structural exclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neighbourhood Houses in Australia are community place-based organisations that provide education, support services, and develop responses to local issues with local communities. The practices within Neighbourhood Houses are informed by community development. Yet knowledge, understanding and practices of community development vary across the workforce. In 2019, Neighbourhood Houses Victoria commenced a programme of professional learning for the workforce. This paper draws on data from an impact evaluation and examines the benefits and barriers to embedding a professional learning programme in community development within its workforce. Using practice theory to examine the tensions and contradictions inherent in delivering professional learning in neoliberal times of managerialism and accountability in not-for-profit organisations. The contradictions of practice will resonate with organisations seeking to implement a professional learning across a broad range of human service organisations such as settlement houses, human services and community education settings. We claim most not-for-profit workforces are impacted by the discursive practices of neoliberalism such as contractual arrangements and the adoption of business practices to comply with funding requirements. These compliance requirements contrast with the philosophy and practices of community development and have the potential to impact on professional learning and the practices within these workplaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relationship‐based practice refers to approaches within human services which centralise inter‐personal relationships—either those between clients and workers or between clients and their own network—as a way to achieve positive service outcomes. Relationship‐based practice is increasingly recognised as a critical component in many areas of human services, particularly youth services. Despite increasing policy intentions for programs to adopt a relationship‐based approach, it is not always clear how services can implement this in practice. While relationship‐based skill training can be offered to individual workers, a question remains as to what can be done at an organisational and policy level to cultivate relationship‐based practice. Within this context, this paper explores how programs can be designed to foster relationship‐based practice. The paper draws on the evaluation of an intensive and tailored service for addressing long‐term youth unemployment in Australia: the your job your way pilot program run by yourtown. A key success of the program was strong relationship‐based practice, and this paper explores five features of the program's design that enabled this: (1) small caseloads, (2) intensive support, (3) staff with complementary skills and a professional and 'youth friendly' demeanour, (4) staff discretion about some aspects of program implementation, and (5) support delivered through social and group activities. The paper draws implications for how service provider organisations and governments can cultivate relationship‐based practice in human services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a content analysis of papers on social work in Australia published between 2002 and 2005. Balance is seen in papers reporting original research or evaluation which comprise 43% of the 112 papers published within the period. Twelve percent focused on describing new or innovative service developments. Sixty-six percent discussed the nature of social work, social work skills, community programmes and knowledge about the characteristics of particular client groups. Calls for papers are also made.

Over two-thirds of Australians are owner-occupiers and a majority of the population holds most of their wealth in housing. Australian taxation privileges homeowners and retirement income policy is built around the assumption that state pensions can be kept low because an overwhelming majority of older Australians are outright homeowners and therefore have a considerable asset base and low housing costs post-retirement, a situation often referred to as ‘wealthfare’. However, ageing of the population and falling housing affordability mean that the number of asset-poor older Australians unable to rely on ‘wealthfare’ – lifetime renters or those who drop out of homeownership – is likely to grow in the future. In this paper we look at housing career pathways into precarious housing in older age, its impact on older Australians’ ontological security and coping strategies as they grapple with the housing circumstances that typically accompany asset poverty. Based on 30 interviews conducted with older Australians, the paper reports qualitative findings from a mixed methods research project conducted in Melbourne in 2009–2010. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Australia faces an ongoing challenge recruiting professionals to staff essential human services in rural and remote communities. This paper identifies the private limits to the implicit service contract between professions and such client populations. These become evident in how private solutions to competing priorities within professional families inform their selective mobility and thus create the public problem for such communities. The paper reports on a survey of doctors, nurses, teachers and police with responsibility for school-aged children in Queensland that plumbed the strength of neoliberal values in their educational strategy and their commitment to the public good in career decisions. The quantitative analysis suggested that neoliberal values are not necessarily opposed to a commitment to the public good. However, the qualitative analysis of responses to hypothetical career opportunities in rural and remote communities drew out the multiple intertwined spatial and temporal limits to such public service, highlighting the priority given to educational strategy in these families’ deliberations. This private/public nexus poses a policy problem on multiple institutional fronts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. To analyse the short- and long-term costs and benefits of alternative models of primary care for the management of patients with type 2 diabetes in Australia. The models of care reflect differential uptake of primary care-based incentive programs, including reminder systems and involvement of practice nurses in management. This paper describes our study protocol and its progress. Methods. We are undertaking an observational study using a cluster sample design that links retrospective patient data from a range of sources to estimate costs and intermediate outcomes (such as the level of glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c)) over a 3-year time horizon. We use the short-term data as a basis to estimate lifetime costs and benefits of alternative models of care using a decision analytic model. Initial report. We recruited 15 practices from a metropolitan area (Adelaide) and allocated them to three models of care. Three hundred and ninety-nine patients agreed to participate. We use multilevel analysis to evaluate the association between different models of care and patient-level outcomes, while controlling for several covariates. Discussion/conclusions. Given the large amount of funding currently used to maintain primary care-based incentives in general practices in Australia, the results of this study generate the knowledge required to promote investment in the most cost-effective incentives. What is known about the topic? Collaborative models of care can improve the outcomes in patients with chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes (T2D), and the large amount of funding is currently used to maintain primary care-based initiatives to provide incentives for general practices to take a more multidisciplinary approach in management of chronic diseases. What does this paper add? There are few model-based studies of the cost-effectiveness of alternative models of care defined on the basis of the uptake of financial incentives within Australian primary care settings for diabetes management. Using routinely collected data, this project evaluates the effectiveness of alternative models of care and estimates long-term costs and benefits of various models of care. What are the implications for practitioners? This study explores opportunities for the use of linked, routinely collected data to evaluate clinical practice, and identifies the optimal model of care in management of patients with T2D, with respect to differences in long-term costs and outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To date, people with intersex variations have been mainly studied via small-scale clinical research, with only a small amount of reflective commentary contributed by sociocultural scholars. This paper reports on findings from a 2015 online Australian survey of 272 people with intersex variations, which aimed to redress the gap in research on this groups’ experiences and perspectives concerning education. Participants ranged in age from 16 to 87 years, and represented all Australian states and territories. Most had experienced two medical treatment interventions related to their intersex variation: commonly reported interventions included hormonal treatment and genital surgery delivered to participants when they were aged under 18 years of age. Participants reported various physical and psychological impacts from these treatments. Well-being risks were high; most of the group had engaged in suicidal ideation, particularly when individuals first found out about their variation. This impacted on their schooling – almost one-fifth of survey respondents had received no high school certification due to their early dropout and the overwhelming majority did not attend schools with inclusive puberty/sex education provision or counselling. Most survey participants had not disclosed their intersex variation to staff, although more than half had done so to their classmates. Many had experienced bullying. Only one-quarter of participants rated their overall education experiences positively. Participants suggested improvements to schools’ information provision and support features. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: While there is a growing interest in the field of research translation, there are few published examples of public health interventions that have been effectively scaled up and implemented in the community. This paper provides a case study of the community-wide implementation of the Melbourne Infant, Feeding, Activity and Nutrition Trial (InFANT), an obesity prevention program for parents with infants aged 3-18 months. The study explored key factors influencing the translation of the Program into routine practice and the respective role of policy makers, researchers and implementers.Methods: Case studies were conducted of five of the eight prevention areas in Victoria, Australia who implemented the Program. Cases were selected on the basis of having implemented the Program for 6 months or more. Data were collected from January to June 2015 and included 18 individual interviews, one focus group and observation of two meetings. A total of 28 individuals, including research staff (n = 4), policy makers (n = 2) and implementers (n = 22), contributed to the data collected. Thematic analysis was conducted using cross case comparisons and key themes were verified through member checking.Results: Key facilitators of implementation included availability of a pre-packaged evidence based program addressing a community need, along with support and training provided by research staff to local implementers. Partnerships between researchers and policy makers facilitated initial program adoption, while local partnerships supported community implementation. Community partnerships were facilitated by local coordinators through alignment of program goals with existing policies and services. Workforce capacity for program delivery and administration was a challenge, largely overcome by embedding the Program into existing roles. Adapting the Program to fit local circumstance was critical for feasible and sustainable delivery, however balancing this with program fidelity was a critical issue. The lack of ongoing funding to support translation activities was a barrier for researchers continued involvement in community implementation.Conclusion: Policy makers, researchers and practitioners have important and complementary roles to play in supporting the translation of effective research interventions into practice. New avenues need to be explored to strengthen partnerships between researchers and end users to support the integration of effective public health research interventions into practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of Australia's strategy to Close the Gap on Indigenous disadvantage in employment, this paper tells my personal story as an example of the challenges that Aboriginal people face in moving to new jobs and to face new responsibilities. In my case, I became employed as a researcher in the Empowerment Research Program of James Cook University (JCU) in Cairns and a facilitator in the related Aboriginal-developed Family Wellbeing Empowerment Program. As the first paper in a two-part series, this paper explores why change and the unknown had a large part to do with my reluctance to move to new jobs, and the rewards of facing my fears. The second paper will describe the opportunities and challenges associated with facilitating the Family Wellbeing program. Both papers are based on reflections written during the training and facilitation processes over the last couple of years. I used thematic analysis to code the reflections and identify themes. I reviewed the themes and created a mind map to see how the themes related to each other. This paper concludes that becoming personally empowered through meaningful employment is an ongoing process involving both personal courage and a supportive environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to examine current policy reforms that situate education as a means of addressing social inclusion. Borrowing from the work of Popkewitz and Lindblad, the paper takes the form of a cross-disciplinary literature review that informs understanding of the relationship between educational governance and social inclusion/exclusion in policy research in Australia. To do so, the author examines the assumptions, omissions and contradictions in policy direction via two problematics - the engagement problematic and the early intervention and prevention problematic - to emphasise how policy discourse produces ways of thinking about inclusion/exclusion. The author argues that discourses of engagement and intervention and prevention reinscribe each other, acting as a palimpsest which produces notions of the 'proper' family and 'proper' participation. These notions of propriety ironically exclude particular types of individuals and families by situating them outside of possibilities for 'success' in social and systemic participation. Therefore, the author seeks to examine the 'systems of reason' that enable these discursively produced notions of propriety to become normalised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on the discourse of interpreter-mediated examinations of Korean-speaking witnesses in an Australian courtroom, this paper explores court interpreters’ renditions of reported speech contained in witnesses’ evidence. Direct reported speech is generally preferred in the courtroom because of the evidentiary rule against the admission of hearsay. However, Korean-speaking witnesses who are not familiar with this rule and with the discursive practices of the court tend to use indirect reported speech. This paper examines how Koreans’ general preference for indirect reported speech is handled by court interpreters. The findings suggest that the tendency among Korean interpreters to convert indirect into direct reported speech in English renditions may have implications for the accuracy of interpreted evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite an aged-care system that provides a wide range of residential and community-based aged care services to elderly men and women that are appropriately monitored and audited, homeless people in Australia have historically found it difficult or impossible to access those services. It remains an appalling blight on the aged care industry in general, and the social work profession in particular, that this apparent selective exclusion of the most vulnerable of elderly people should continue with little or no comment, criticism, or action. The present article is a policy commentary rather than an academic research paper that aims to alert readers to the plight of elderly homeless people. The paper provides some insight into the life of an elderly homeless person; describes the interaction between elderly homeless people and the aged care system; discusses services provided by Wintringham, a welfare company specialising in providing aged care and housing services to aged homeless people; and explores some of the policy responses suggested by Wintringham. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper reviews some of the major governmental policy directions that are shaping Australian universities in terms of funding, teaching and learning, research and community engagement, and international development, and draws out the implications of these for social work education and its relationship to the social work profession and the wider human services field. The paper is designed to provide an Australian context for the discussion of higher education policy. However, it recognizes that, given the pace of change in Australian government policy in higher education, such analyses are merely a snapshot at a point in time and that social work educators need to be constantly monitoring the higher education policy environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a brief history of Catholic social services in Australia. The underlying theological base has beenCatholic Social Teachings. The paper outlinesCatholic Social Teachingsand its impact on the development of distinctive Catholic social services. Catholic social services is an umbrella term, which includes the diocesan based services– Centacares, religious orders and lay associations such as St Vincent de Paul Society. A condensed history is presented, which highlights the various stages of the development of Catholic social services. These stages have been identified as the early years of the colony– charity for those in need, Industrialisation and‘Rerum Novarum’– the right of all people to live in dignity, Catholic Welfare Bureau– improving coordination, training and expertise, Conservatism/Innovation and Advocacy– 1949–1986 and Restructuring of human services– the recent period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper defines the state's apparatus as a site of power and contestation. This view enables contingency in the realm of government to be taken seriously. Accordingly, the paper takes a critical view of the idea of neoliberalism as a general global process. The paper reviews Paul du Gay's history of the state's apparatus, including his nostalgia for bureaucracy and his disdain for entrepreneurship. The paper contrasts du Gay's stylised take with a study of shifts in institutional structures and behaviours in Australia's state apparatus since the mid 1970s leading to the present period of Howard neoliberalism. The paper positions these shifts in the context of Coombs-led institutional reform in Australia; it examines the potential for institutional resistances and responses; and draws implications for how we view institutions as having agency in the political processes of state apparatus reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the implications of welfare reform for the meaning of social citizenship in Australia. Australian welfare reform has been under way since the late 1980s, and reflects the themes of activity and participation that are shaping social policy in many advanced industrial nations. The paper suggests that Australian welfare reform is following a liberal trajectory of change which places a continuing emphasis on market and family as the preferred institutions for social support with a newly salient appeal to moral ideas about the responsibility of citizens to be self-sustaining. The paper argues that welfare is being transformed from a limited social right to support provided on condition, and from treating the claimant as a sovereign individual to a subject of paternalistic supervision. Together, these changes are redefining the meaning of equality in Australian social citizenship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The strategic public governance of health services in Australia, as a federation of states and territories, is shared between three levels of government and the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. While national and sub-national governments hold the legitimate authority for most strategic decision-making and service delivery, many powerful actors with vested interests influence policy agenda-setting processes. Unlike the broader public governance systems in Australia, which are founded largely on the market-based model of neo-classical economic principles, the health governance system is more socially oriented. However, there is evidence that suggests that continuing moves by governments towards a more competitive model of governance with greater private sector involvement could impact negatively on health outcomes. At the same time, it is equally apparent that the structural, instrumental and dynamic aspects of the strategic health governance system, as they stand, could create more adverse indicators of public health. In fact, some trends in the health care system put state capacity for strategic governance in doubt. This paper will use the basic principles and assumptions of the now largely universal neo-liberal economic public governance model, based on market principles, to examine how these ideas are reflected in the conceptual and practical approaches to health services management in the Australian context. In this sense, the focus is on the ill health, treatment system rather than on the governance of public health broadly interpreted. First, to provide a more global context of health governance in Australia, some comparative analysis relating to Anglo-American polities will be presented. Second, the fundamental value of health as a market product or merit good will be considered. Third, the structural, instrumental and dynamic aspects of the health governance system in Australia will be explored. Finally, the paper examines whether the Australian s [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the changes in the terms of citizen-state relations that are coded in Australia's current program of welfare reform. It argues that welfare reform entails a shift from welfare as a limited social right of citizenship to welfare as a form of support conditional upon completing specified obligations, and from the provision of support as a cash payment to support coupling cash with personal services. Together, these shifts have the scope transform the relation between citizen and state fundamentally. This is no less than a shift from social policy citizenship in which claimants are presumed to act on their own behalf to paternalistic support and care directed to reforming character and values as well as to meeting need. The paper argues that this shift violates the fundamental equality essential to social policy citizenship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent developments in the environment surrounding the nonprofit human services sector in Australia have been viewed with some concern, especially given the role of the sector within the Australian welfare state. This paper reviews these developments, noting that some are less visible than others, and that the process of change is more widespread than often perceived. By explicitly employing a theoretical framework derived from organisational theory the paper argues that the contemporary experience of the sector, characterised as the existing institutional order of the field, is set to undergo substantial revision as it is incorporated within an emerging new institutional order of the market and the state as market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Government contracting with not-for-profit agencies, particularly those characterised as 'religious' and 'faith-based', to deliver social welfare has been the subject of substantial research in the United States and the United Kingdom in recent years. In contrast, attention to the role of 'religious' and 'faith-based' agencies in service delivery in Australia has been relatively limited. This paper explores conceptual issues relating to research into the impact on 'church-related' not-for-profit social welfare agencies in Australia of engagement in government contracting. It commences with a critical analysis of typologies in recent US and UK literature that use the terminology 'religious', 'faith-based' and 'secular', and identifies why this terminology is not analytically helpful. An alternative conceptual approach is developed, to guide research into the engagement of these agencies with government focusing on issues of governance, identity and mission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores some of the theoretical and practice issues in relation to feminist oral history. The central theoretical premise is that transcripts from interviews are to be understood as constructed texts rather than as windows into the past. It draws on the author's conduct of a research project that documented the history of the Victorian domestic violence services movement from 1974 to 2005. The author's position is analysed in relation to the production of historical evidence—which was done by conducting oral interviews and producing transcripts—and in writing feminist history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Governments in Australia have increasingly outsourced human-services provision to the non-government sector. As an innovative outsourcing model, the Facilitating Partner model is used by the Commonwealth Government as part of its Communities for Children program. Unique features of the model include the manner in which non-government organisations are chosen as Facilitating Partners and the quasi-governmental role required of them. This paper explores the implementation of the model and the facilitators and barriers to changes in service-delivery and coordination. It is based on findings from 97 in-depth interviews conducted in ten sites as part of the National Evaluation of Communities for Children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rise of evidence-based practice, there have been calls in social work for practice research that examines the efficacy of its interventions. For the present paper, the authors conducted a content analysis of all articles published in Australian Social Work in the period from 1998 to 2007 to examine the nature of published research and evaluation. Of the 313 articles, 138 (45%) reported on research findings. Of these, only six articles involved practice evaluation or testing of an instrument, but there were positive signs of a developing empirical research culture primarily utilising a qualitative approach or mixed methods studies. The authors suggest that there is a need for more research on social work interventions, a more conscious decision by the profession about its attitude to evidence-based practice (EBP), specific directions for research education, and greater rigour in reporting all types of research studies, but particularly qualitative studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the research reported in this paper was to explore the perspectives and insights of emergency relief recipients in relation to their complex health problems, which had contributed to their position of needing to seek emergency relief. The sample consisted of 20 adults aged between 19 and 51 years who had received emergency relief in a regional city in Victoria, Australia. Non-probability sampling was used, employing the convenience sampling procedure. A qualitative, exploratory research approach utilising in-depth interviews was selected to obtain data from the respondents. The method of data analysis used involved open, axial and selective coding. The main findings were that the participants experienced abuse and neglect in childhood, the effects of mental health problems, going without food, lack of access to and the high cost of health care, and the interactive aspects of health problems and poverty. Implications for policy and service delivery are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An Indigenous social work guided by Indigenous Australians' participation and experience that has, at its heart, human rights and social justice is in its infancy in Australia. The present paper continues a discussion on Indigenous Australian social work theory and practice developments being generated by those working in this field. Aspects of this “praxis” include recognition of the effects of invasion, colonialism, and paternalistic social policies upon social work practice with Indigenous communities; recognition of the importance of self-determination; contemporary Indigenous and non-Indigenous colleagues working in partnership; the impact of contemporary racist and neocolonialist values; and rethinking contemporary social work values and practices. There is discussion of appropriation and reinterpretation of social work concepts, incorporation of international and local Indigenous theory, and the framing of social work by Indigenous Australians' views and values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the question of optimal duration of maternity leave through the lens of Australian mothers' perceptions of satisfaction with their leave: specifically, whether and why they returned to work earlier than they would have liked. Analysis of The Parental Leave in Australia Survey identifies financial need and limited access to paid maternity leave as the most common reasons for returning 'early'. Mothers taking leave for less than 9 months were significantly more likely than those taking longer periods to report that they had returned earlier than they wanted to, although leave periods over 12 months were not consistently associated with further declines in dissatisfaction with duration. Overall, the analysis highlights the financial pressures underpinning women's decisions, and suggests that enhanced availability of paid leave is more likely to be welcomed than further extension of leave duration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Education policy intervention for schools in high poverty neighbourhoods has focused on the capacity of local schools to make a difference and on the kinds of co-ordinated human services provision that might support individual families with “high needs”. In this paper I suggest that a more detailed analysis of “the problem” represented in such schools might yield a richer and more integrated policy approach. I use the notion of “scale”, arbitrary and imperfect approximations of spheres of activity, and apply it to a specific context in Adelaide, South Australia, to demonstrate the connections between the local school and factors which impinge on its capacities to make a positive difference. I suggest that the implication of the analysis is a more holistic approach to policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Linguistic diversity is an essential part of the living heritage of humanity. Libraries have developed within literate cultures and have traditionally promoted linguistic diversity through a wealth of resources and services to diverse communities. The focus for public libraries now is to engage with new and emerging communities from oral cultures. This has led to the libraries in Queensland reevaluating their collections and services to be inclusive of the tangible and intangible cultural heritage for future generations. Edited version of a paper presented at the November 2007 Queensland Multicultural Summit [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Australia, systematic and widespread provision of family-support services is just 30 years old. The present paper traces some of the developments, recurrent tensions, and themes in family-support services, principally in Victoria, over those decades, drawing attention to challenges for social workers' continuing participation in the development of family services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Health policy was an integral component of the post-war welfare state, which represented a nationally based class compromise providing concessions in the form of income support and service provision outside the ambit of the market. In Australia, development of a universal health system was delayed until the introduction of Medibank, and subsequently Medicare. Since its inception, Medicare has been subjected to retrenchment pressures that have dominated welfare state developments since the mid 1970s. This paper traces developments in the Australian health system, revealing that the major trends, privatisation and the transfer of responsibility from the collective to the private sphere, represent a movement towards a more residual system that threatens the Medicare goal of equitable access to quality medical treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Findings are presented from an Australian study on the implementation and evaluation of a Social Work Ethics Audit Risk Management Tool. The aim of the research is to determine the extent to which ethics audits are useful and applicable to Australian human service organisations. Over the period of the study, social workers and other human services staff and volunteers used the ethics audit to achieve outcomes that included provision of legitimate space for discussion of ethics in the workplace, and identification of gaps in knowledge and skills about ethical practice, and the policies and procedures that support and enhance such practice. The paper provides an analysis of how practitioners and managers grapple with the concept of ethical risk management, and outlines strategies that were developed in an effort to move towards greater accountability and ethical reflection in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on various social themes dealt by the "Australian Journal of Social Issues." The journal's writers have not necessarily understood each paper as situated within a tradition of concerns about issues that are inescapably part of democratic social policy, concerns about professional authority, academic representation and the encouragement or inhibition of various kinds of individual and collective agency. One of the earliest themes identified in the journal was professional representation. That is, there is much comment on the process by which social phenomena become social issues and thus enter the domains of academic commentary and of the human services professions. In a variety of ways, the journal's writers have considered how social policy could or should be an expression of the values of Australians. A third theme called citizens and social capital, the relationship between state and civil society agencies, and how they interact to construct the agency of individuals and communities.

Church related agencies are major providers of community services in Australia (Lyons, 2001:34-35). While the history of church related welfare service provision is not well known in Australia it is asserted that many have a long tradition of outreach and service provision to marginalised groups regardless of the government social policy of the day (ACSWC, 2000; Mendes, 2003). This paper examines the current environment of human services restructuring and the impact of the shift to contractualism on one church related provider: Catholic social welfare provision in Australia. It explores the significance of the church's social teachings and history on concerns that service innovation, diversity and advocacy are currently under threat. Finally it calls for greater appreciation of the distinctive contribution of church related agencies and what they have to offer in service delivery and as contributors to the social policy discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

State and local governments in Western Australia increasingly identify 'community development' as a key approach for the delivery of community services. In this paper I explore how the concept of community development is understood and practiced by workers in the context of government community services. While definitions are most often presented as a universally understood approach, my key argument is: that there are instead, community development 'discourses' that are variously applied to diverse situations. Foucauldian notions of discourse and power are used to propose that, while there may be core and recognisable traits found within the language of community development, in any given situation these combine with a number of variables (most notably stemming from the organization responsible for community services) to form a 'situated' community development discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines employment trends in social welfare occupations and challenges to the industrial and cultural recognition of professional social work in the new human services market place. Following examination of the threats posed by market reform and the crisis in public confidence in some domains of human services work, I focus on three key concerns. First, through analysis of Census data from 1996 to 2001, I compare trends in the employment of social workers, welfare workers and community workers. Second, drawing on the work of Nancy ), I argue that the challenges facing social workers can be understood as problems of ‘recognition’. Using this framework, I examine the external contests to the valuing of professional social work and also the internal challenges, that is, threats from within the social work profession to the industrial and cultural recognition of social work. Finally, I will consider how social workers, particularly new graduates, can respond to the challenges facing them in the new human services marketplace. I propose that social workers should claim a position as practice leaders and I outline practical strategies for achieving this goal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores contemporary issues in Australian social work education. It examines formative influences on the structures and content of education, specifically the ways over time in which demographic, political, economic and social forces have influenced the composition, demand and domain of social work education and practice. It describes the current political context of social work and social work education and the response of the authors’ own institution to change and uncertainty. It concludes by proposing that for change and diversity to be addressed, three moves would be productive. The first is to establish structures for closer dialogue amongst schools of social work, the professional association and employers. The second is to extend experimentation and innovation in social work curricula. The third is for educators to establish a collective voice and promote the values which should desirably underpin tertiary education in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

‘Quality of life’ experiences for people with disabilities who are highly dependent on services that are delivered in home-based environments are strongly influenced by the nature of their interactions with service workers. Service workers may not be aware of the felt attachments of people living in services because their own lives are relationally enriched. Role descriptions of service workers, which focus on task-orientated service, rather than relational serving, distances them from the people they serve. It is more difficult for people living in services to expand their social world and relationships with service workers may be the only validating relationships in their lives. Human service delivery involves relationships between people, which necessarily address ethical questions. This paper discusses findings of a study involving 14 agencies in Western Australia, which provide living environment services for young people with disabilities and older adults, to gain insight into service users’ daily experiences and their perceptions of quality in receiving services. Immersion in different models of services over a 2-year period, and inductive analysis of interview data, has found that relationships between service users and workers lie on a continuum, with mutually supportive relationships between service users and workers at one end, and physical and psychological abuse at the other. Experiences were variable in single service contexts, highlighting the problems of using currently employed extant measures to evaluate quality in living services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper; the level of HACC funding under the South Australian Dementia Support and Respite Projects and the Community Support Scheme was compared across Domiciliary Care and Human Services and Health regions. Results revealed that metropolitan regions generally received more than their per capita share of HA CC funding despite the greater cost of community services in rural areas and the relative paucity of supplementary or alternative rural services. The need for greater planning in the distribution of HACC funds, including moving towards formula funding is identified [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have all experienced the challenges of finding a job. For 12-24s this can be a particularly difficult and unfamiliar process. Because libraries already provide safe and comfortable community learning spaces, there is huge potential to attract and retain 12-24 year old users and their parents by offering career education resources and job search skills. North American and UK libraries already promote career search resources, offer job development skills, online resumé and cover letter writing assistance, and encourage continued library use with workshops and upskilling support. Australia and New Zealand's public libraries have the infrastructure and capacity to build on existing youth services, including homework support, to further position themselves as career development hubs. Edited version of a paper presented at '12 to 24s @ your public library in Australia and New Zealand conference' Qld 11.-12 June 2010. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents abstracts of research papers, government policy and practice literature on family and social issues in Australia. To mark the International Year of Older Persons this bibliography provides an overview of research dealing with families and older people. The main purpose of "Interim Report: Prepared for the Minister for Family Services," is to provide a summary of the work undertaken to date by the Conference for Older Australians in preparing for the 1999 International Year of Older Persons. A number of key themes and issues important to older people have been suggested as priority areas for consideration during the International Year. According to "Valuing Older Australians: Federal Budget Submission 1999-2000," the Council on the Ageing has responded to the 1999 International Year of Older Persons by publishing this submission to the federal government for the 1999-2000 budget. The Council on the Ageing has prepared this year's Commonwealth Budget submission from the point of view that there is a crisis of confidence amongst older people.

The article informs that Family Services Australia Ltd. is the peak body representing the Commonwealth Government funded programs: Adolescent Mediation & Family Therapy, Family Skills Training Program, Marriage Counselling; Marriage Education; and Family Mediation. It published the first issue of a new journal titled "Scope": Journal of Family Services Australia. The journal aims to cover each of these program areas with papers by professionals involved or interested in them, and to provide a vehicle for exchange of information. This first issue provides summaries of the programs funded by the Attorney-General's Department and includes a paper by Michele Simons addressing the implications of the National Council for the International Year of the Family's report Creating the Links: Families and Social Responsibility.