Event Reflection: How facilitating the voice of children and young people in disaster recovery improves post trauma growth and healthy development April 28, 2021 VCOSS Disaster Recovery Conversation series: Facilitating the voice of children and young people in disaster recovery. On the 25th of February 2021, the Victorian Council of Social Service (VCOSS) hosted a webinar as part of their monthly series – Disaster Recovery Conversation. February’s event, Facilitating the voice of children and young people in disaster recovery,… Read full article
Event Reflection: The Digital Divide and Remote Service Delivery March 24, 2021 Considerations for child, family and community services to improve remote delivery within the digital divide and challenging times. On February 24th, 2021, the Child Family Community Australia (CFCA) hosted ‘The digital divide and remote service delivery.’ The event was aimed at professionals working in domestic and family violence, mental health, child protection, out-of-home care and remote service delivery. The presentation was led by three speakers: … Read full article
OPEN Learning System Grants 2020-21: Kick-off session February 1, 2021 Update The Learning System Grants (LSGs), funded by DHHS and administered by OPEN (CFECFW) are seed grants provided to sector organisations to deliver projects which build their capacity and develop, apply and share evidence and transferable learning. In 2020, nine diverse projects have been funded. These projects use client-centred models to design innovative interventions and… Read full article
The Brighter Futures Transformation Pilot December 22, 2020 A collective impact approach to building connections and social capital for young people leaving care The Brighter Futures Transformation Pilot: Learning for Life through Community Connections (Brighter Futures Pilot) was a two year pilot program which connected young people with a care experience with local community members who could help them build their strengths, explore… Read full article
Event Reflection – Inside Story: The lived experience of how to support people exiting prison December 21, 2020 On November 10th 2020, the Reintegration Puzzle and After Prison Network hosted ‘Inside Story: the lived experience of how to support people exiting prison’. During the webinar we heard from individuals who have had varying experiences in the justice system. The panel shared their thoughts on how services can offer the best support to individuals… Read full article
OPEN Learning System Grants 2020-2021: Introducing the projects December 4, 2020 Fostering strong evidence informed practice and decision making The Learning System grants, funded by DHHS, and administered by OPEN, CFECFW, are seed grants provided to sector organisations to deliver projects which build their capacity and develop, apply and share evidence and transferable learning. The Learning Systems Grants are a key support to progress the recommendations… Read full article
Event Reflection – Unpacking the Invisible: examining domestic and family violence in culturally diverse communities December 4, 2020 Settlement Services International (SSI) recently organised a panel discussion on unpacking the invisible struggles of domestic violence victims within our migrant and refugee communities. Nicola Berkovic (Moderator) – Legal Affairs Correspondent, The Australian Maria Dimopoulos – Former Chair, The Harmony Alliance Juliana Nkrumah AM – Domestic & Family Violence Project Manager, SSI Pallavi Sinha –… Read full article
Event Reflection: Impact Measurement Best Practice at Mission Australia August 27, 2020 Last month, OPEN attended a fantastic webinar hosted by SIMNA (Social Impact Measurement Network Australia), where Victoria Baird from Mission Australia spoke about their implementation of an impact measurement framework across the organisation. Victoria shared lessons for how to successfully embed measurement practices across a large organisation and a diverse range of programs – and… Read full article
Increasing fees for social work students would negatively impact workforce capacity and outcomes for children and families August 3, 2020 Proposed Australian Government changes are threatening to increase the cost of studying social work. This runs contrary to strong evidence of the need for more qualified social workers. The Job-Ready Graduates Higher Education Reform Package 2020, which reportedly aims to attract students to qualifications in fields with good employment outcomes, is likely to more than double the cost… Read full article
Evaluation insights from a sector/university partnership on the Rapid Response Trial July 14, 2020 Earlier this year, OPEN spoke to David Poynter from Anglicare Victoria and Dr Bengianni Pizzirani from Monash University about their Rapid Response™ Trial evaluation. You can read more about this program in the case study here. In this blog, we expand on the case study by sharing some of David’s and Bengianni’s thoughts and lessons… Read full article
