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We're featured in Transition Support Inquiry Report

The NSW Legislative Council Standing Committee on Social Issues has recently released its report on Transition Support for students with additional or complex needs and their families – and UnitingCare CYPF is referenced several times.

The Social Justice Unit made a major submission to the inquiry in August last year. Dave Ryan, Operations Manager Orana Far West, and Cathy Lambert, Manager Child and Family Team Dubbo, also had the opportunity to attend a consultation with the Committee in Dubbo.

UnitingCare CYPF is extensively cited in the Committee’s report across a range of areas, including school suspension, early childhood education and care, the importance of the middle years and issues for children in out of home care. There is considerable discussion on the impacts of suspension within the report, which is a great outcome.


New report on Outside School Hours Care shows children from disadvantaged communities are missing out

UnitingCare Children, Young People and Families (UnitingCare CYPF) commissioned the National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling (NATSEM) to undertake research in the area of usage patterns of outside school hours care (OSHC).

The Outside School Hour Care: Social gradients and patterns of use report shows that children in highly disadvantaged communities aren’t accessing OSHC, and UnitingCare CYPF wants more discussion and research to reveal how to improve access, if necessary.

This new research is based upon data from the 2009 HILDA survey and examines the use of formal OSHC by parents in paid employment in different socio economic groups and communities.

You can see the full report here:

You can also read the Sydney Morning Herald article on our report here:

 

Advocacy on domestic and family violence

Consultations with managers and practitioners across UCYPF programs highlighted domestic and family violence as one of three key challenges facing the clients that they seek to support, together with housing and mental health issues. UCCYPF has prioritised domestic and family violence as a key strategic priority across our practice, research and policy work.

The Social Justice Unit has recently made a submission to the Legislative Council Standing Committee on Social Issues Inquiry on Domestic Violence. The submission calls for a strengthened focus on early intervention, including strategies for children and young people affected by domestic and family violence.

 

...because children matter

The UnitingCare Burnside centenary campaign '...because children matter' was launched in June 2011, highlighting 50 stories from our staff, our services users and our supporters. You can read the stories here, follow the campaign on Twitter or Facebook and sign-off to our advocacy community to get email updates. 

The campaign has collected diverse stories, from the NSW Attorney General, the Hon. Greg Smith SC on juvenile justice, to Susan, mother of five, who has broken the cycles of educational disadvantage with the support of Burnside.

Click here to listen to more about our advocacy campaign.

 

Reducing the use of school suspension

The Social Justice Unit is currently working on a major project to inform our understanding of the rapid growth in school suspensions and advocate for better ways of supporting chldren with behavioural difficulties or who have disengaged from learning. Between 2005 and 2009, the number of long suspensions (50 to 20 school days) across all grades (K to 12) in NSW schools has increased by 33% to 14,887 per year. A fact sheet on school suspension is available here.

Toni Beauchamp and Samia Michail recently presented at the Australian Social Policy Conference on this work. You can read the presentation here. The presentation also resulted in a major story in the Sydney Morning Herald. In the article, the Director of Social Justice Unit, Karen Bevan highlights the impact of suspension on Aboriginal children, children in out-of-home care and disadvantaged students. 

The Social Justice Unit has released a literature review on the ways schools respond to students' challenging behaviour. It presents examples of effective strategies and programs for working with children and young people with difficult behaviours. You can also find this paper on Australian Policy Online.

 

Juvenile Justice

UnitingCare Children, Young People and Families is one of many voices calling for reform of the juvenile justice system. The Social Justice Unit's work in this area began in 2009 with the development of our background paper Locked into Remand which highlights the impacts of remand detention on vulnerable children and young people, particularly Aboriginal children and young people. This work led to our development of the sector's position paper Releasing the Pressure on Remand. This paper was launched by the then-Minister for Juvenile Justice Graham West. 

The Social Justice Unit's latest work is a submission to the NSW Law Reform Commission's review of the Bail Act for the NSW Government.

 

Views & Opinion

Director Social Justice, Karen Bevan writes about the complexities of child protection.
Child protection is complex: engage with care, Karen Bevan, The Drum, 22 July 2011

To see more views and opinions, please click here.

 

Recently Released Papers & Submissions

The Social Justice Unit's recently released submissions and papers are: