Reports, Papers and Publications

Person Centred Planning and its Implementation Karyn Hobday, Program Manager, Bayview Disability Services This is a report from Karyn Hobday of her study tour in September/October 2005. The purpose of her study tour was to visit individuals and organisations involved in person centred planning with families of children with disabilities in England and to learn more about implementation of plans.
Submission to the Senate Inquiry into Children in Institutional Care Jenny Glare, John Honner, Zoe London, Terri Scott This submission addresses the following terms of reference: 1 (b)...the adequacy of existing remedies and support mechanisms; 1 (g) (iii) ...any necessary changes in current policies, practices and reporting mechanisms. In the submission we make several recommendations outlining some of the ways in which support can and should be provided to help adults who grew up in care reclaim their identity and their connection to family through a guided exploration of their history. We also explore issues of policy and practice that have a detrimental effect on children today and draw attention to practices that will have a beneficial effect instead. The submission concludes with a set of recommendations for supporting those who grew up in care and relinquishing mothers, and also for improving the care currently provided children and young people today.
Submission to the Premier's Children Advisory Committee John Honner, Kaye Cameron and Suzanne McManus This submission to the Premier's Children's Advisory Committee comments on the difficulties that face marginalised families and children in accessing preschool education, particularly with respect to location, cost and cultural expectation of education. It recommends that preschools be made more readily accessible. It also argues for greater investment in long-term family and community support in order to sustain children in families as much as possible and to reduce the negative impact of placing children away from their family and community.
Centrelink, Child Support, and Family Homelessness Helen Boots and Gail Evans Helen Boots and Gail Evans work out of St Anthony's Family Preservation Services in Footscray. This article notes the vulnerability of mothers receiving parenting from Centrelink to intervention from the Child Support Agency. It appeared in the August edition of Parity, the journal of the Council to Homeless Persons.
National Preschool Inquiry Kaye Cameron and Suzanne McManus This is a submission written for the National Preschool Education Inquiry and is based on the experience of practitioners at MacKillop Family Services. In the submission we argue, based on our experience, that not all preschool education in the western metropolitan region is accessible, nor is it free, and therefore is inadequate in meeting the needs of marginalised children and their families.
The role of demographic characteristics in explaining increases in the incidence of child abuse in the Barwon region. Rhonda Anchen The study identified a number of strong associations between changes in socio economic factors and notification rates over the period 1996-2001.
The Value of Long-Term Multiple Engagement Family Preservation Services John Honner, Lyndal Hickey, Suzanne McManus This paper, presented at the AIFS conference in 2003, forms part of some work undertaken as part of an evaluation of the Family Preservation Service conducted by MacKillop Family Services from St Anthony's Family Centre in Footscray. The first part pf the paper forms a review of the literature from America and Australia and of the arguments for and against family preservation sedrvices. The second part reports on findings from a series of interviews with former clients of the service and a comparison of findings from interviews and from analysis of case files. The focus of the research is on the length of involvement in the service and on the significance of having two workers engaged with each family.
Improving Children's Health and Well Being Suzanne McManus and John Honner This submission was written in response to the House of Representatives Inquiry into Improving Children's Health and Wellbeing and responds to the fifth term of inquiry - "What additional effort is required to meet the needs of Indigenous children, children from diverse cultural backgrounds, children with disabilities, children in jobless families, children known to be 'at risk' and children in foster care". In the submission we argue for long term early intervention in marginalised families and for social vision that will enable the inclusion of their children into the mainstream of community and society.
National Agenda for Early Childhood Submission Suzanne McManus and John Honner This submission to the National Agenda for Early Childhood rests on the premise that community service organisations working with marginalised families and individuals are the early warning indicators of the success and failure of social policies. The submission is primarily based on 'reports form the field'. It consists of an edited collation of comments from MacKillop's workers who are involved in the direct delivery of services, followed by a discussion of enhancing parenting capacity and making communities more child and family friendly.
The 2003-2004 Humanitarian Submission Suzanne McManus In this submission to the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs we argue that the current policy directions developed by the Federal Government opposed to our values: respect for human dignity, compassion, justice and hope. In particular, we highlight that a humane society is a relational society.
On the Borderline - A submission to the Better Services Better Outcomes Consultation John Honner 2001 MacKillop Monograph Series 19. This is a submission to the Victorian Government's review of educational services for students with special education needs. MacKillop works with children and young people who are often on the borderline of exclusion from school or on the borderline of receiving of special support services. In the submission we argue that specialist works should not be seen as an alternative form of education, and that we should work towards a single system of education.
Chroming's Stupid: A submission to the Drugs and Crime Prevention Committee's Inquiry into the Inhalation of Volatile Substances Suzanne Carmody and John Honner This submission reports on the special needs of young people in care who are chronic chromers: inhaling fumes from spray paints sprayed into a plastic bag. The submission recommends immediate harm minimisation strategies be put in place, including special placements for young people known to be chromers, better communication between various services involved in responding to chroming, adequate staffing, and restrictions on the display of chroming materials. It also recommends preventitive strategies through family support and inclusive education.
The School Focused Youth Service - Addressing the Needs of 'At Risk' Young People, Including Those at Risk of Suicide Marjorie Seiffert This paper appeared in Health Education Australia, Winter 2000. Marjorie Seiffert is the Coordinator of MacKillop's School Focused Youth Service, a program that aims to develop a more intergrated response to the needs of 'at risk' 10-18 year. To effectively support these young people, youth and family services in the schools and in the community need to work more in partnership. The role of the School Focused Youth Service is to strengthen that partnership and to assist in developing startegies for a more collaborative approach to the welfare of young people.
Review of Segmented Waiting List John Honner, December 2000 This submission to the Community Reference Group Review of the Segmented Waiting List concentrates on the housing needs of homeless families and of young people leaving residential care. The special needs of families with disabled children are also highlighted. The major recommendation is for greater partnership between agencies and government: for example, appropriate members of agency staff should be accredited for eligibilty assessment and liaison with designated Office of Housing personnel should be established.
School Holiday Survival Kit MacKillop Family Services and others, November 2000 This kit for parents of disabled children was prepared by a group of service providers in the Geelong region and funded by a Disability Services Best Practice Grant. Auspiced by MacKillop Family Services, the kit was authorised by Mirela Uljar. The entire contents can be viewed on www.shsk.org
Doing it for Themselves: an innovation in case practice Helene McNamara and Doug Galbraith, November 2000 This paper was presented at the "Risky Business" conference by members of St Joseph's Adolescent Residential Services Team. It describes the way the team has developed a model for helping "at risk" young people assess their own level of "risk". The model helps young people develop a concept of their own future and build on their ability to resolve their own problems.
Workcover Submission MacKillop Family Services, October 2000 This submission to the Economic Development Committee, Parliament of Victoria, Inquiry into WorkCover Premiums points out the vicious circle that exists when inadequate funds for residential care of high risk adolescents must be stretched between quality practice and WorkCover costs. If WorkCover premiums increase, less money can be spent on quality practice and training: hence WorkCover claims and premiums will continue to increase, and funding for services will be further constrained.
Victorian Homelessness Strategy John Honner, September 2000 This submission to the Ministerial Advisory Committee, Victorian Homelessness Strategy, focuses on the needs of young people leaving care and homeless families. The submission is based on the experience of MacKillop's workers in these fields, and on recent research from the Leaving Care project. It recommends greater planning for young people leaving care, and supporting such young people until the age of 25. In meeting the needs of homeless families, we recommend greater attention be given to the special needs of homeless families for nearby education, employment, children's health and mental health services. In both cases a "whole of Government" approach is needed.
Submission to the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee inquiry into DHS Service Agreements Paul Linossier, June 2000 This submission is based upon a presentation given by Paul Linossier at the Catholic Social Services Forum on "Government Contracts in Health and Welfare". Funding and Service Agreements need to be informed by a broader compact between government and the community sector. Government departments in the one hand will respect the independence of community organisations, and, on the other, community organisations will strive to understand and work cooperatively with government within the agreed common goals of the partnership.
Inclusion and Equity MacKillop Family Services, June 2000 "Inclusion and Equity" is a submission from MacKillop Family Services to the Victorian Ministerial Working Party on Public Education - The Next Generation. This June 2000 submission arose out of a consultation among MacKillop's teachers and educational support workers and was edited by Helen Burt and John Honner. The key concern expressed in this submission is that children and young people who are emotionally, behaviourally and socially disadvantaged are excluded from "mainstream" education and are thus further impeded from attaining a sense of dignity and human worth, as well as having their life choices severely limited. The submission recommends a more flexible continuum of options in public education.
Social Capital and Welfare Reform By John Honner, June 2000 "Social Capital and Welfare Reform", by John Honner, is a review of both the Interim Report of the Reference Group on Welfare Reform, commissioned by the federal Department of Family and Community Services, and the Australian Institute of Family Studies report on Social Capital and Public Policy in Australia, edited by Ian Winter. This review points out that any reform of welfare will need to attend to the factors that destroy or create the intangibles of the interconnectedness of the Human Community. This review was published in the June 2000 edition of Eureka Street. (www.openplanet.com.au/eureka)
Making a Difference to Making a Difference Tanya Bearup and John Honner, 1999 "Making a Difference to Making a Difference" by Tanya Bearup and John Honner, is a research report on the Making a Difference program in Victoria in 1999. This program offers special support for families caring for severely or profoundly disabled children at home, and where there are other complex needs. This report rests on the narratives of workers and families and on an analysis of the numbers of families waiting to receive support. It and demonstrates both the effectiveness of this program and the difficulties that beset it, particularly in terms of the pressures of long waiting lists and inconsistent funding. Tanya Bearup co-authored this report, as part of her final year social work placement, with John Honner, coordinator of social policy at MacKillop Family Services.
Learning from Past Practice: Maintaining Client Records and Providing a Service to Adults who as Children were in Foster Care International Foster Care Organisation Conference 1999 Jenny Glare is the Coordinator of MacKillop's Heritage and Information Service. This paper describes the work of the service. It is important to assist adults who were in care as children to access information about their childhood history, their family of origin and their time in care, and to then search for separated family members should they so desire. Client records, no matter how minimal in content, are valuable tools to assist adults who were in foster care or institutional care as children to learn about their childhood history.
Telling the Story - Working for Justice AASW Victorian State Conference, November 1999 This paper by John Honner gives an account of the formation and fruitfulness of "Telling the Story" groups among workers at MacKillop Family Services. The "Telling the Story" groups arose out of a need felt by some staff to raise issues of poor policies and unnoticed social breakdown and to advocate on behalf of those they worked with caught in policy traps.
Residential Child Care - Ensuring Good Care of Children through effective Staff Recruitment Asia Pacific Forum on Families 1/1 (1999), pp. 3-17 In Australia residential child care has moved progressively towards smaller group care, with units of care ranging from two to twelve children, most commonly from four to six. Meredith Kiraly reports on research into staff selection to improve the quality of residential care and to prevent abuse in care.
Family Sensitive Practice in Current Service Paradigms Intensive Family Services 3rd National Practice Symposium (1999) This presentation by Helen Boots and Chris Beasley was given at symposium in July 1999. Helen and Chris work at St Anthony's Placement Prevention Service in Footscray. St Anthony's has been a part of the much larger MacKillop Family Services. This paper is in part a story about change when an organisation and a way of practice were challenged by new ideas, put very forcibly and directly by the funding body. A new model of practice was developed that reshaped the mode of service delivery.
I'll be home for Christmas Albert Street Productions/MacKillop Family Services. Screened nationally on Channel 7 on 19 December 1999. This program, produced by Chris Downey, reflects on the increase in family homelessness in Australia and the nature of current policies. It was watched by over 600,000 viewers. The video consists of interviews with academics, practitioners, and homeless people, interwoven with novel renderings of the Christmas story and Christmas carols.
Negotiating Change: Refounding and MacKillop Family Services Children Australia 24/1, 1999 This article by John Honner tells the story of the formation of MacKillop Family Services from seven small well-established agencies. Many small agencies are considering mergers or partnerships today, and MacKillop's story provides some useful lessons. In particular, important factors were the commitment to change, the allowance for a practical period of transition, the equal respect for all partners, and the care to keep employees involved.
Voices From Our Schools: Report of the Public Inquiry into Victoria's State Education System. People Together Project, 1999, pp. iv + 115. This report contains a digest of the submissions received by the People Together Inquiry under headings that begin with the adequacy of resources available to schools and the needs of disadvantaged students and ends with Visions for the Future. MacKillop Family Services contributed both to the cost and the contents of the Inquiry.
Choose with Care: A Recruitment Guide for Organisations working with Children ECPAT and MacKillop Family Services, 1999, pp. 59 The aim of this handbook, written by Meredith Kiraly, is to promote the principles of an aware culture and good selection processes for the appointment of staff and volunteers in non-government organisations working with children both in Australia and overseas. These strategies will assist organisations to deter potential abusers and deny them entry into the organisations.
Educating for Resilience: Prevention and Intervention Strategies for Young People at Risk. Catholic Education Office, Melbourne; MacKillop Family Services; Victorian Government Department of Human Services, 1998, pp. ix + 221. This report , prepared by Graeme Withers and Jean Russell, was commissioned by the Catholic Education Office, Melbourne; MacKillop Family Services; Victorian Government Department of Human Services. It consists of a reading of the literature on the subject of marginalised and at-risk youth and the programs and strategies which have been successful in strengthening the resilience of young people and/or ameliorating the conditions of risk. The report presents a generalised model for the development of policy and practice in the care, education and support of all young people.
Contesting Welfare Eureka Street, December 1998, pp. 29-33. This article by John Honner summarises the history of the moves to apply national competition policy to the funding of community and welfare services. It is argued that competition policy was not originally intended to be applied in the welfare sector, that its application is for the most part unhelpful, and that the focus on measurement by numbers reflects an limited comprehension of human reality.
Fathers Speak: A Research Study of Fathers of Children with a Disability. MacKillop Family Services, 1998, pp. 38. Catherine King interviewed fifty fathers in the Western Region on their views about having a disabled child has affected their family life, the supports they have, and their experience of disability services. The project was overseen by an advisory group or representitives from MacKillop Family Services, Parent to Parent West, Interchange Western, Abercare Family Services, Carers Link West, Action on Disability within Ethnic Communities, Disability Servcies, Department of Human Services Western Region, and a very helpful lone father of a child with a disability.
A Model of Practice for the Placement Prevention Service MacKillop Family Services, 1997. pp. 36. This presentation of the Model of Practice for the Placement Prevention Service was prepared by Susan Day and Brian Mitchell with the help of the staff of St Anthony's Family Service, Footscray, and the Reference Group. It presents the work of the staff in the Placement Prevention Service as it is carried out a day-to-day basis, and the complexity of their struggle to maintain effectiveness and continuity of service delivery in a volatile welfare environment.