Current projects
Filling The Gap
"Filling The Gap: Integrated Post Crisis Response for Women Who Have Experienced Family Violence" addresses a number of long-standing gaps in existing service provisions which make it harder for many women leaving situations of violence to rebuild their lives.
The model draws upon extensive primary research commissioned by Good Shepherd Youth & Family Service, in addition to research reports undertaken by a number of community sector and government bodies.
It was developed in consultation with a reference group comprising a range of key sector stakeholders as well as policy and practice experts in the field of family violence.
Good Shepherd Youth & Family Service, in association with McAuley Community Services for Women, released the model for comment from the family violence sector in July 2011.
The model recommends complementing existing service provisions to create a systematic response for women and children who require more targeted and longer term support than the current Victorian Integrated Family Violence Service System provides.
"Extensive research into family violence and homelessness has identified that some women having experienced sustained family violence or childhood abuse find it extremely difficult to re-establish their lives after fleeing the situation of violence," says Dr Kathy Landvogt from Good Shepherd Youth & Family Service's Social Policy and Research Unit.
"They are trying to stabilise and rebuild their lives, often with minimal personal or financial resources, and without longer term support these women and their children risk returning to violent situations because they lack alternatives."
While the family violence service system in Victoria has improved significantly in the past five years there are still significant omissions in the provision of systematic long-term post crisis support for women and children fleeing situations of family violence.
The new model aims to help women sustain the changes they have already made in their lives and regain true independence and economic and emotional stability. It is designed to extend the capacity of the current service system and prevent women returning to violent relationships due to lack of support: to break the cycle of family violence.
Dr Landvogt was interviewed by Richard Stubbs on ABC774's afternoon show about the model. Listen to the interview here.
Microenterprise
Funded by Consumer Affairs Victoria, this project examines the availability of micro-lending for business in Australia, the interaction with the consumer credit market in micro-business financing and the potential role and paradigm for community service organisation providers.
Financial Management Program
Funded by FaHCSIA, there are three projects under this program:
- "A Case Study Approach to understanding the impact of NILS and StepUP loans." A retrospective analysis of practice and impacts drawn from the Microfinance collection of case studies. Contact: Marilyn Webster
- "The Economy of the Family: Improving individual financial capability through access to microfinance." A prospective case study involving 40 families aimed at understanding the impact of Microfinance on family wellbeing, financial inclusion and social and economic participation. Contact: Tanya Corrie.
- "Developing Effective Local Financial Service Networks: A description of community-based financial support pathways, how they interact and how capacity can be built to facilitate economic and social inclusion". An examination of of service networks in the areas of Cairns, Western Sydney and Collingwood. Contact: Kathy Landvogt.
Projects in partnership
The Social Policy and Research Unit is currently working on a number of projects in partnership with other organisations and individuals, including:
The High Cost of Financial Insecurity: exploring the role of the fringe economy in the lives of low-income Australians
Funded by Australian Research Council Linkage Grant. Our partners: University of Queensland, RMIT School of Social Work and School of Economics and National Australia Bank. The project is an analysis of pay day lending and the fringe lending market from the perspective of providers, borrowers and regulators.
Who Am I?
Funded by Australian Research Council Linkage Grant. The project is led by the Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare and the University of Melbourne, with participation by a majority of out of home care providers in Victoria, including GSYFS. The project entails mapping the records of people who have been in out of home care; skills development and support for agencies required to keep records of children in out of home care; and the dynamic archiving of contextual information to assist inquirers about their records.
Respite Care Project
Funded by Nelson Alexander Fund, the Office of the Child Safety Commissioner and the project consortium which includes MacKillop Family Services, Berry Street, Anglicare, VACCA and Latrobe University School of Social Work.The project aims to build the case for respite foster care as a family support service thus making it more widely available for children and their families. The research component has encompassed a literature review, a mapping of respite services and several practice forums.