National Research and Developments
- Mission Australia National Youth Survey 2005
- Youth justice: criminal trajectories
- Indigenous housing needs 2005
- Pathways from child maltreatment to juvenile offending
- The 'Teen Triple P' Positive Parenting Program: a preliminary evaluation
- Evaluation of the High risk Service Quality Improvement Initiative Report
- Youth Homelessness: Four Policy Proposals
- Patterns and precursors of adolescent antisocial behaviour: outcomes and connections
- Blueprint for the Bush
- Engaged Government Project: An Update
- Mission Australia’s role in community capacity building
National Youth Survey, Mission Australia, Sydney, NSW, 2005
The 2005 Mission Australia Youth Survey marked the fourth year of this important annual check-in with young Australians, which asks their views on a range of issues. The survey received overwhelming support with around 11,300 young people responding.
This year’s survey provides a wealth of important information about the lives of a diversity of young Australians. Responses came from all parts of the country, including a large number from young people who live outside our capital cities. Over 600 young people who identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander participated as did the children of families who have migrated from every part of the globe. A hundred and eighty homeless young Australians also participated.
Overwhelmingly, young people indicated they highly value their families and friends, and these are the first people they turn to when they need advice or support. They also want to feel needed and valued, and being independent is important to them. Young adults and males in particular see financial security and getting a job as important.
The survey shows young people are active participants in the community, through a range of activities such as sports and the arts and, particularly for those in their early twenties, through volunteering. Many admire their families and the important work of those helping sick or disadvantaged members of the community.
The results this year reveal that young people are facing a number of significant and challenging issues. Suicide continues to be a significant concern, particularly for females and those aged 11 to 19 years. Depression is the major concern for young adults.
Physical and sexual abuse is a more significant issue this year, particularly for females. Concern about alcohol and other drugs has declined significantly since 2004, but it remains an important issue, particularly for males and younger respondents. Emerging concerns this year are discrimination and sexuality, particularly for males and older respondents.
This report is now available at: http://www.mission.com.au/cm/resources/documents/2005YouthSurvey.pdf
Youth justice: criminal trajectories, Australian Institute of Criminology, Canberra, ACT, 2003
This paper presents the key findings of the 'Youth Justice: Criminal Trajectories Research Project', which focused on recidivism among young offenders in Queensland. The project tracked 1,503 young offenders who received supervised juvenile justice orders in 1994-95 from their court appearances through to adult custodial and non custodial orders served up to September 2002. The paper analyses this cohort in terms of socioeconomic status, gender, Indigenous status, peak offending age, and the presence of care and protection orders. The data shows that the vast majority of young offenders on supervised orders progress to the adult correction systems with half of them having served at least one term of imprisonment. Among male Indigenous juveniles, 89% of those on supervised orders in 1994-95 had progressed to the adult corrections system by September 2002, with 71% having served at least one prison term. Analysis of risk factors also finds that 91% of those who had been subject to a care and protection order progressed to the adult system. The results of the project confirm that multiple factors amplify the risk of recidivism and highlight the importance of coordinated whole-of-government responses to youth offending. The paper also summarises recent multi agency initiatives to reduce juvenile crime in Queensland.
This publication can be found at: http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/tandi2/tandi265t.html
Indigenous Housing Needs 2005, A multi-measure needs model, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Canberra, ACT, 2005
The Indigenous Housing Needs 2005, a Multi-measure Needs Model report assesses housing needs with the use of a multi-measure needs model. The report presents data from the five endorsed dimensions of need - homelessness, overcrowding, affordability, dwelling conditions and connection to essential services. It also assesses the feasibility of including an additional three dimensions in the model - appropriateness of housing, security of tenure and emerging housing needs. The report compares the housing outcomes of Indigenous and non-Indigenous households for all the relevant dimensions and discusses future data development needs and priorities.
This report can be found at: http://www.aihw.gov.au/publications/hou/ihn05/ihn05.pdf
Pathways from child maltreatment to juvenile offending, Anna Stewart, Susan Dennison and Elissa Waterson, Criminology Research Council grant, Qld, 2002
This is a report on a project partially funded by the Criminology Research Council. The original title of the research project, in the name of Dr Anna Stewart and Dr Susan Dennison, was 'Pathways from child maltreatment to juvenile offending'. The project aimed to examine in detail the risk factor of child maltreatment and the effect maltreatment has on engagement in juvenile offending. All children born in 1983 who had contact with either the Queensland child protection system or the juvenile justice system, as recorded by the Queensland Department of Families, were included in the study. There were 4,655 children who came into contact with the child protection system. The majority of these children (62%) were the victims of multiple incidents of maltreatment (30% of substantiated notifications). Children with substantiated maltreatment were more likely (17%) to come to the attention of the department for juvenile offending than children with notifications that were not substantiated (10%). Of children who offended, 18% had been the victim of child maltreatment. Maltreated children who offended were more likely than maltreated children who did not offend to be male, Indigenous, to be older at the final maltreatment episode (but not younger at the first), neglected or physically abused, have more notifications and be more likely to be placed outside the home because of maltreatment. Although not all children who are maltreated offend, these results indicate that the frequency, severity and type of maltreatment increases the risk of children offending. The results have important implications for the prevention of juvenile offending.
This report can be found at: http://www.aic.gov.au/crc/reports/stewart.html
The 'Teen Triple P' Positive Parenting Program: a preliminary evaluation, Alan Ralph and Matthew R Sanders, Australian Institute of Criminology, Canberra, ACT, 2004
Adolescents who develop severe conduct disorders are at greater risk of becoming involved in juvenile crime, including property crime, interpersonal violence, theft, arson and illegal substance use. Prior research has found that dysfunctional parenting practices often place children at risk of developing conduct problems and are among the strongest predictors of later delinquent behaviour. Various programs have been developed to assist parents in improving their parenting skills. This paper evaluates one such program, the 'Teen Triple P' Positive Parenting Program. Preliminary results suggest positive outcomes for most participating parents. There have been significant reductions in a variety of risk factors, with some evidence of improvements still being maintained after six months. Further extensive evaluations are being undertaken to assess the reliability of these preliminary findings.
Dysfunctional parenting practices place children at risk of developing conduct problems (Hawkins, Catalano & Miller 1992) and are among the strongest predictors of later delinquent behaviour (Loeber & Stouthamer-Loeber 1986). Family conflict and dysfunctional parenting practices are also related to a wide variety of adverse developmental and behavioural outcomes in adolescence including drug abuse, poor school achievement and truancy (Sanders 1995). Where children display antisocial behaviour, parents are often poorly equipped to provide consistent affection and discipline (Greenwood et al. 1997).
Serious conduct problems have been shown to be strongly associated with substance use and abuse (Hawkins et al. 1992; Kellam, Brown & Fleming 1983). Studies show that behavioural problems are more likely to begin before drug abuse than vice versa, however an escalation of delinquent or antisocial acts is often accompanied by substance abuse (Prinz & Connell 1997). Indirect evidence suggests that family support reduces the likelihood of adolescent substance abuse and conduct problems (Cauce et al. 1990; Cohen & Wills 1985; Wills, Vaccaro & McNamara 1992).
Interventions aimed at reducing adolescent delinquency have typically been based on a treatment model, however there is limited evidence that such treatment is effective once adolescents have developed severe and pervasive antisocial behaviour patterns. The Pathways To Prevention report (National Crime Prevention 1999) defined the need for a developmental approach to crime prevention. Two developmental pathways have been identified that explain the emergence of antisocial/conduct behaviour problems in childhood (Patterson 1982; Patterson, Capaldi & Banks 1991; McMahon & Estes 1997):
- the early-starter model and
- the late-starter model.
Although the early-starter model becomes entrenched in the preschool years, a significant number of children do not exhibit problem behaviour in early childhood, but become part of a late-starter group, with problems emerging in early adolescence (McMahon & Estes 1997).
This publication can be found at: http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/tandi2/tandi282t.html
Evaluation of the High Risk Service Quality Improvement Initiative Report, Department of Human Services, VIC, 2001
Informed by a substantial body of research and focusing on known best practice, the High Risk Adolescent Service Quality Improvement Initiative (HRASQII) was an attempt to provide an intensive and highly resourced response to young people who present with serious personal or community risk issues and pose difficult management problems. It is estimated that, at any point in time, there are 200 young people within the Protection and Care population of the Department of Human Services (DHS) who are high risk, registered with the Protection and Care High Risk Schedule.
The target group for the HRASQII evaluation was young people aged between 12 and 18 years of age, who were clients of Protective Services, and whose behaviour was considered to be high risk. These young people were characterised by: challenging behaviour at home, in placement and at school; substance abuse; suicidal tendencies; aggression; chronic running away; prostitution; association with paedophiles; emerging or diagnosed psychiatric or psychological disorder; consistent; escalating offending; sexual offending; estranged or non-existent relationships with their family.
This report can be found at: http://hnb.dhs.vic.gov.au/children/ccdnav.nsf/fid/-ACF72A87A0BAC6A4CA256EBA00838B07/$file/cp_eval_hrasqi_report.pdf
Youth Homelessness: Four Policy Proposals, Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, VIC, 2004
Schools are strategic sites for early intervention. The 1994 national census of homeless school students found that homeless teenagers usually have their first experience of homelessness while they are still at school (MacKenzie and Chamberlain 1995). The researchers estimated that 25,000 to 30,000 students experience a period of homelessness each year, and that most homeless students drop out of school. Since 1995, the early intervention perspective has been widely adopted around the country.
This report focuses on three issues:
- understanding the main causes of, and pathways into youth homelessness
- identifying effective prevention and early intervention strategies in schools
- outlining policy initiatives to strengthen Australia’s early intervention capacity.
The causes of, and pathways into youth homelessness were investigated using two qualitative databases, containing 1,600 case histories of young people who were homeless at the time of the 2001 census. The first data set was collected as part of the second national census of homeless school students. Schools provided 1,220 case studies of homeless students. The second data set was provided by SAAP agencies. They provided 812 case histories, including 377 on young people aged 12 to 24.
http://www.ahuri.edu.au/global/docs/doc845.pdf?CFID=605307&CFTOKEN=50446205
Patterns and precursors of adolescent antisocial behaviour: outcomes and connections, Australian Institute of Family Studies and Crime Prevention, VIC, 2005
This is the third and final report from the collaborative partnership between the Australian Institute of Family Studies and Crime Prevention Victoria. It further explores issues concerning adolescent antisocial behaviour and outcomes arising from it. The research draws upon data collected as part of a unique Australian study – the Australian Temperament Project.
The Australian Temperament Project (ATP) is a large, longitudinal study which has followed the development and adjustment of a community sample of children from infancy to early adulthood. The study began in 1983 with the recruitment of a representative sample of 2443 infants and their families living in urban and rural areas of Victoria. Approximately 65 per cent of the sample was still participating in the project in 2004. Thirteen waves of data have been collected over the first 20 years of the children’s lives, using mail surveys. Parent, teachers and the children have reported on the child’s temperament style, behavioural and emotional adjustment, social skills, health, academic progress, relationships with parents and peers, and the family’s structure and demographic profile.
The Third Report focuses on six distinct issues: (1) the transition to early adulthood, and the continuation, cessation and commencement of antisocial behaviour; (2) connections between antisocial behaviour and victimisation; (3) the role of substance use in the development of adolescent antisocial behaviour; (4) why do some low risk children become antisocial adolescents; (5) motivations to comply with the law, attitudes, and antisocial behaviour; and (6) concordance between official records and self-reports of offending and victimisation.
This report can be found at: http://www.aifs.gov.au/atp/pubs/cpv/report3.pdf
Blueprint for the Bush, Department of Communities, Qld, undated
In February 2005, the Honourable Peter Beattie MP, Premier of Queensland, announced the government's commitment to work in partnership with AgForce Queensland to deliver a joint Blueprint for the Bush – a 10-year plan to help rural and remote communities and industries manage change and grow the strength and sustainability of rural Queensland.
Following this announcement, the government held community consultations at Regional Ministerial Community Forums at Barcaldine and Mitchell, and AgForce undertook a listening tour across rural Queensland.
Based on feedback from these consultations with rural and regional communities, a discussion paper was developed to promote discussion among stakeholders and encourage responses to the issues and questions raised in the discussion paper.
The Blueprint for the Bush team (comprised of Department of Communities and AgForce staff) is currently consulting widely to raise awareness of the Blueprint for the Bush with rural community members and gathering their feedback and suggestions to help inform the development of the final Blueprint for the Bush.
Further information can be found at: http://www.communities.qld.gov.au/community/regional/blueprint/resources.html
http://www.agforceqld.org.au/blueprintforthebush.htm
Engaged Government Project: An Update, Griffith University, Qld, undated
The Queensland Government is committed to addressing rural and remote community and industry sustainability in a changing world. The recent discussion paper on the Blueprint for the Bush has identified a number of challenges for government, communities and industry in working together to shape the future of rural, remote and regional Queensland. In many cases, responding to the challenges will require collaborative ways to move forward to achieve a sustainable difference.
The Engaged Government Project is a research project investigating when, how, where and why different departments and tiers of government should collaborate with each other and with communities and industries to better plan and deliver services and programs for citizens. The project is looking at case studies in the Central Queensland region on regional decision making processes and regional government-community engagement.
This Australian Research Council Linkage Project is in its second year and involves the departments of Main Roads, Queensland Transport, Natural Resources and Mines, the Local Government Association of Queensland, Griffith University, the University of Queensland and Central Queensland University collaborating on the public policy, sociological and economic dimensions of collaboration. The project team expects that the final outcomes will benefit all government agencies as they work with communities, industry and other levels of government on regional issues.
The outcomes will also add value to the Blueprint for the Bush by contributing to ways to meet the challenges ahead.
For further information about this project go to: http://www.griffith.edu.au/centre/cgpp/projecteg/
Mission Australia’s role in community capacity building, Patrick McClure, University of Western Australia, undated
The increasing divide between rich and poor is a phenomenon which can be felt on both macro and micro levels. Globally, the gap between developed and developing nations continues to expand. Even in an affluent nation like Australia, the growing divide between job rich and job poor communities continues.
People living in remote and regional areas have suffered greatly from the closure of banks and a general reduction in services. The decline in job opportunities in these areas has left many people with limited opportunities to participate in their community in the numerous social and economic ways many of us take for granted.
As Mission Australia's recent research into community building shows, 'communities are more than just the physical spaces in which we live, work and play. They are as much about the people we interact with in the different facets of our lives, as they are about geographic locations'.
The aim of this research was to determine the extent to which new approaches to community capacity building were being trialed in Australia. Community capacity building refers to the process of increasing the level of human, financial and social capital in disadvantaged communities. There are four approaches needed to build stronger communities: community economic development, social enterprises, community-business partnerships and fostering micro-businesses.
In surveying staff in our community and employment services in 300 locations across Australia, we sought their views on what was happening 'on the ground' in their communities, in terms of capacity building programs and schemes. While the responses cannot claim to be entirely representative of Australia as a whole, the range of services offered by Mission Australia to some of the most socially and economically disadvantaged people gives an indication of what is happening 'at the coal face'.
Most respondents (85%) said they knew of new or innovative programs operating in their area. Although many experts in the area of community capacity building point to the need for more programs, which have an economic as well as a social focus (community economic development), it was disappointing that 'non work related programs' were cited in 50% of all responses we received about new or innovative programs operating in communities. This was somewhat surprising, given that most responses (69%) came from staff in our employment services.
Any attempt to redress the declining fortunes of 'job poor' communities must offer employment opportunities for people, as well as making changes to the social 'feel' of a community. By increasing people's abilities to participate in their community, particularly in economic activities like work and occupational training, we offer people a way to move forward with their lives.
For this article go to: http://www.whitlam.org/its_time/8/Mission.html
This report to which this article is reflecting on entitled “there’s something different about this place ” is available at: http://www.mission.com.au/cm/Resources/documents/SPR10_Something%20Different.pdf
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