Suchergebnisse

Abstract
Repeat removals, where parents lose successive infants and children to out-of-home care, is a systems problem requiring a systems approach to broaden our thinking and expand our choices for action. A transdisciplinary group of key stakeholders in Australia jointly constructed a causal loop diagram to bring forth the systemic structure underlying the issue and identify system conditions that need to be altered. Analysis of the causal loop diagram surfaced eight dynamic positive feedback loops which result in a self-reinforcing system. While the model reflects the understanding of a relatively small group and requires further testing, it adds to current conceptualisations of repeat removal by hypothesising systemic causes and offers new directions for prevention. Stakeholders homed in on stigmatised stereotypes of recurrent birth mothers and the child protection culture, practitioner decision-making, parent–practitioner interactions and parental participation in child protection case planning as ways of correcting against vicious feedback loops. A systems approach contributed useful insights into the problem of repeat removals and could productively be used in respect of a range of other complex child protection challenges.

The purpose of this paper is to familiarise readers with a new social innovations programme at the University of Melbourne. MABL is an abbreviation for Mobilising change Alliance for Better Lives. The paper outlines the rationale for establishing MABL and describes the processes and principles it uses to generate, design, test and scale novel solutions to improve the safety and wellbeing of vulnerable children and adolescents. Information on how to join the change Alliance and/or invest in solving a better lives challenge is provided.

PurposeTo explore whether ward management is an aspiration for junior nurses and midwives in the National Health Service in Scotland (NHSS) in the context of service redesign that is expanding career options in clinical practice.Design/methodology/approachThe findings are drawn from research conducted in a large acute NHSS Trust. The fieldwork involved face‐to‐face interviews with 64 nurses and midwives and 1,084 survey returns (29 per cent response rate). Logistic regression was used to predict the characteristics of those who wanted to move into their line manager's role.FindingsMoving into their line manager's job was a career aspiration for only 10 per cent of nurses and midwives and current managers reported there were already difficulties recruiting to senior posts. Those who wanted vertical progression preferred the clinical specialist/advanced practitioner route. By comparison, the ward manager (charge nurse) role was perceived to be very unattractive because of: too little patient contact; the stress involved in meeting the workload demands of multiple roles; and poor pay and rewards.Research limitations/implicationsThe research and policy review covers the devolved NHSS though similar trends have been noted elsewhere in the UK and internationally. The paper is of broader interest to those interested in the impact of managerial responsibility on healthcare professionals.Practical implicationsThe paper highlights the need for reform in the ward leadership role since it is pivotal in the operation of hospital services.Originality/valuePrevious research has examined the role of nurses in managing healthcare services. The paper extends this retrospective work by exploring the perceptions and career intentions of the nurses and midwives serving under the current generation of nurse managers.

PurposeTo examine the factors which influence the implementation of employees' right to time off for dependants protected by the Employment Relations Act 1999.Design/methodology/approachThe responses of two organisations in the same corporate group with identical policy provision are examined. Formal provision in the two companies was broadly similar providing an opportunity to examine how centrally developed, statutory‐based policy operates in different organisational contexts. Using qualitative reports from line managers and human resource managers the interaction and tensions between formal policy and informal, discretionary practice are examined.FindingsLine manager attitudes to discretionary decision making and other company policies, especially flexitime, produced very different outcomes for employees highlighting a continuing challenge for governments and organisations: Is it more important to be consistent in implementation or responsive to individual circumstances?Research limitations/implicationsThe paper uses data from only two organisations, although it complements national research on the usage rates of parents' statutory rights to leave.Practical implicationsFactors which can influence and detract from the effective implementation of statutory‐based employment rights are highlighted.Originality/valueIn focusing on parent's right to time off for dependant emergency an important element of the work‐life balance field is examined.

There is a paucity of publicly available information on Australian children in out-of-home care. Data on the characteristics of children in care, their experiences during placement, and the services provided for them are badly needed to monitor service effectiveness, to identify where service improvements can be made and to ascertain how to improve the allocation of resources. This paper provides a rationale for using information collected on the 'Looking After Children' (LAC) schedules to generate an Australia-wide database on children in out-of-home care, as well as identifying some of the problems to be overcome if the LAC schedules are to be used to collect aggregate data.

The paper details the experience of implementing Looking After Children (LAC) in the out of home care system in the state of Victoria, Australia. Findings from an evaluation of the pilot project are also reported. These include observed changes in child outcomes and improvements in collaboration between different sectors of the child and family support system after implementation of LAC, as well as carer and child perceptions of the Assessment and Action Records. Findings suggest an improvement in the monitoring of children's developmental progress and developmental gains for some children after implementation. Perceptions of the Records were also generally positive. However, very few people in children's personal networks, including members of a child's family of origin took part in the assessment process. Carer reports also suggested difficulty in intersectoral working.

A review of the scope and characteristics of the problems facing Australian children and adolescents. Such issues as poor mental health, substance use and abuse, delinquency, violence, school drop‐out rates, youth unemployment and suicide are explained in terms of shortfalls in community endeavour to protect families from risk factors associated with structural and social change. A strategy to reduce vulnerability is proposed, which would involve mobilising government, independent and informal local community sectors to support parents and encourage healthy, pro‐social development. Sustaining the quality of social environments close to children and families requires a process of community capacity‐building, including a renewed emphasis on participation and democracy and better coordination between local service agencies.