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This article reflects on the developmental process of a case-based experiential learning model: the Federation University model, in an undergraduate community and human services program at a regional university. There is abundant literature that addresses the use and need for introducing experiential learning at the subject/unit level in community and human services/social work content. However, despite the expansion of research on experiential learning, there is limited literature that bridges the gap between course/program level teaching philosophy and using experiential learning activities in individual subjects. The article will demonstrate how Kolb's four stage cycle (Kolb, 1984) and case-based experiential learning were integrated to develop curriculum at a program level. It will also demonstrate how a move to experiential learning facilitated better alignment with face-to-face and online learning. As a way of argument, we suggest that case-based experiential learning is very relevant and useful to human services/social work education because of its emphasis on bridging the theory and praxis nexus and providing graduates with an opportunity to work effectively in a complex, fluid and ever-changing sector.

The connections between sport events and violence against women are an emerging area of research and align with the UN's Sustainable Development Goal 5–Gender equality. This article explores the connection between sport event leverage initiatives and raising awareness about violence against women, through a case study of an arts and cultural initiative that ran in conjunction with the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games: One Million Stars to End Violence (OMSTEV). Event leverage literature and a gendered lens informed our study. We focused on the official messaging of the initiative, as a key aspect in social event leverage. We conducted a document analysis of 30 documents including event reports, government media releases, and public media articles to explore how official messaging and media coverage reported the initiative to the broader public. We found official messaging and media coverage portrayed OMSTEV as a successful community engagement initiative that produced a beautiful artistic installation. However, the official reporting and media coverage failed to communicate in a way to raise the broader public's awareness regarding violence against women. We provide suggestions for practice and research to better contribute to the value of sport events for targeted social causes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This constructivist‐grounded‐theory study explored how foster and kinship carers conceptualize and experience their role. Background: Internationally, amid growing emphasis on home‐based care for children and young people living outside parental care, issues such as carer shortages, dissatisfied carers, and placement instability present significant challenges. Method: Sixteen carers (seven foster carers and nine kinship carers) from a regional area in Victoria, Australia, participated in in‐depth interviews following constructivist‐grounded‐theory protocols. Results: Six categories reveal the central ways carers go about caring for children and young people and the main challenges they face in doing so. The core category of "being a parent, but not" demonstrates tensions that carers experience in trying to establish a sense of belonging and connectedness with a child, within the limits of the Victorian home‐based care system. Conclusion: Home‐based carers view their role through a parental lens, but with various limitations that restrict their sense of being a parent. Implications: The current research acknowledges the role tensions inherent within the Victorian home‐based care system and emphasizes the importance of raising the status of foster and kinship carers to provide more recognition of the expertise they hold in the care of children and young people within this complex context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trauma-informed care is a growing practice approach in child and family social work. Current policy directions in out-of-home care (OOHC) in Victoria, Australia show an interest in further implementation of trauma-informed care, particularly through training for foster and kinship carers. Drawing upon findings from grounded theory research with sixteen foster and kinship carers, this article considers the application of trauma-informed practices in home-based care in the Central Highlands region of Victoria, Australia. The research reveals that whilst carers utilise principles of trauma-informed care to support children and young people, they do not always experience trauma-informed support from the wider OOHC system. This discrepancy suggests that the implementation of trauma-informed care has the potential to increase pressure on home-based carers if it is only encouraged at the interpersonal level between carers and children, without incorporating associated systems-level change. These findings propose that whilst micro-level support and training for carers are necessary and useful, it is crucial for OOHC systems to move beyond such initiatives to plan and enact macro-level reforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]