This paper elaborates how home care workers develop skills in their workplaces after only brief classroom manual handling training and suggests how this development may be supported in situations of relative social isolation. A qualitative approach was adopted for this inquiry, in which new home care workers were directly observed and interviewed…

Adolescents in the care of the state have complex developmental needs that include low academic attainment. The aim of this study was to describe the language and literacy profiles of adolescents (aged 13-19) in out-of-home care ('looked after children'). Mental health status, biopsychosocial history, and education and employment histories were…

The aim of this research project was to examine how wraparound supports are represented in the Australian national and NSW state policies and schools and to identify best practices and models of wraparound support. The grey literature from seven sectors, i.e., youth justice, out of home care, disability, mental health, drug and alcohol,…

People from out-of-home care backgrounds are largely absent from Australian higher education equity policy. Compared with the UK, Australia has moved slowly to consider legislative and programme incentives for young people who leave state, foster or kinship care and who wish to access higher education. One major reason for the relative inaction of…

A high prevalence of maltreatment, abuse, neglect and the onset of subsequent trauma has been well-documented among both young people with disability and young people residing in foster and kinship care. However, no uniform policies or guidelines currently exist for the delivery of trauma-informed models of care to build the capacity of foster and…

Introduction: Families have a significant role in the lives of people with intellectual disabilities and challenging behaviors. However, it is not clear how actively families are involved when people with intellectual disabilities and challenging behaviors are living in out-of-home care. This scoping review explored the frequency and type of…

Despite the clear benefits of engaging in regular physical activity (PA), research suggests that young people in Out-of-Home Care (OoHC) are less likely to achieve the recommended levels of PA than their same-aged counterparts in the general community. To date, there has been limited examination of the barriers to PA engagement specific to young…

Australian and international research documents the limited access of young people transitioning from out-of-home care (OOHC) to further and higher education. This paper examines the processes, outcomes, and key findings of the Raising Expectations project, a collaborative university and industry approach to promote higher education among care…

This article reports on an exploratory study about maintaining and supporting the cultural identity of children from culturally and linguistically diverse family backgrounds in foster care placements. In this study, we spoke with foster carers and caseworkers who respectively live and work with children from culturally and linguistically diverse…

Although leaving statutory out-of-home care can be a challenging time for many young people, it is recognised that young people who have multiple or complex needs find this transition particularly difficult. This study aims to gain a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by care leavers who have complex needs, as well as to identify some of…

Classroom training sessions for new home care workers (HCWs) are often brief and ad hoc, varying in format and content. Yet the application of this training may be central to worker and client safety. A qualitative approach was adopted for this inquiry, comprising two separate but related practical studies. In the first, exploratory study,…

Children's early years are critical for development and many children access out-of-home care during this time. Services offering high-quality childcare afford an opportunity to impact positively on children's development, including acquisition of communication skills. A strong, responsive relationship between child and carer is important in…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to co-design a falls prevention education programme with aged care home residents and staff and evaluate its feasibility. The intention of providing the education programme was to assist residents to stay safe and mobile whilst reducing their risk of falling. Design/methodology/approach: A two-phase mixed…

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit Australia in 2020, lockdown restrictions meant that the lives of tertiary students and mothers underwent substantial adjustment. Universities quickly adapted to full online learning with implications for accessibility and efficacy of online technologies, and home environments suitable for learning. Mothers who were…

The implementation of action learning workshops in three nursing homes in rural Victoria, Australia has been critical in the re-visioning of how care can be enhanced for residents. The workshops were designed with the intent of improving quality of care for residents by providing health care staff with opportunities to learn together and effect…