Centre Piece – November 2012

Preparations begin for a Royal Commission into Sexual Abuse of Children

This month, Prime Minster Gillard’s announcement of a Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has been welcomed by our sector, and dominated the news.

The Centre has welcomed the announcement and made a submission to the Consultation Paper on the Terms of Reference.

The Centre has also launched preliminary discussions with the leading Ministers’ offices, and we look forward to consulting directly over the coming months.

We are currently working hard to deliver a range of new and exciting opportunities in 2013. Some information about the research and evaluation supports services offered by the Centre can be found below, along with recently announced training sessions. Look out for more in the December Centre Piece, where we will provide a comprehensive preview of opportunities that cannot be missed in 2013.

FRSA National Conference

Amanda Stevenson and Bec Jolly recently presented a paper on program logic and evaluation at the FRSA National Conference in Darwin. More information can be found here.

Look out for more information about how the Centre’s research and evaluation support service can assist your organisation over the coming weeks.

Forgotten Australians Working Group Forum

Recently, the Centre hosted a Forgotten Australians Working Group Forum, which featured presentations from representatives of Victorian Ombudsman’s office and others. More →

Who Am I training resources launch

This month the Centre hosted the launch of the Who Am I project’s e-training materials, which have been created to guide record-keeping practices within the out-of-home care sector. More →

Member Event – Drummond Street Workshop

Drummond Street Services are hosting an Interactive Discussion and Research Workshop focusing on Family Wellbeing and Welfare Reform on December 6th.

Details and a registration form are available here.

Residential Care Learning and Development – Training Forum

The Centre and Residential Care Learning and Development Reference Group have hosted the annual Training Forum to review the 2012 activities and plan for the future. More →

State Funding Announcement

A range of initiatives aimed to strengthen the engagement of vulnerable children and families in early childhood services have been announced.

The $41 million allocation will boost a range of services, including the Enhanced Maternal Child Health program, Supported Playgroups, Early Start Kinder and more. More →

Changes to child protection practice manual

DHS have announced that changes have been made to the child protection practice manual in preparation for the commencement of the new child protection operating model.

The child protection practice manual can be found here.

Media Update

This month has seen headlines dominated by the announcement of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

A number of recent media reports covering issues impacting our sector can be found here

ACF Training Opportunities

The 2013 ACF national seminar series has been announced, with Dan Hughes presenting the Neurobiology of Caregiving. Details are available here.

The ACF will also be offering its Vocational Graduate Certificate in Development Trauma. More information can be found here.

Family Group Conferencing

The Centre is excited to again offer training in Family Group Conferencing, which teaches a participative and human rights influenced approach to decision-making. More →

AIFS Child Family Community Australia (CFCA) alerts

The Australian Institute of Family Studies have released an information exchange that brings together the latest offerings from the child, family and community welfare sectors.

The latest issue can be found here, and you can subscribe here to receive future alerts.