Family Inclusion Roundtable
A Family Inclusion Roundtable was held on the 24 April 2024 at Nuspace, hosted by the Centre for Law and Social Justice, University of Newcastle.
The goal of the roundtable was to translate recent research findings about family inclusion into policy and practice throughout New South Wales. The Roundtable highlighted the work and leadership of organisations that have had a long-term commitment to promoting family inclusion, in particular, Family Inclusion Strategies in the Hunter Inc. (FISH) and Grandmothers Against Removal NSW (GMARNSW).
The Roundtable was participatory and action oriented, organised by a team of parents and family with lived experiences, stakeholders from relevant organisations and University of Newcastle researchers. The goals were to develop:
- Greater understanding and a shared definition of family inclusion.
- Commitments to agreed principles and strategies to underpin the development of family inclusive policy and practice in New South Wales.
The Roundtable brought together over 70 people, including researchers who have published on family inclusion with parent- and family-led organisations, Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCOs), leaders who wish to promote family inclusion, peak organisations (i.e., Absec, ACWA, FAMS, ALS), carers and practitioners who work in the child protection and out-of-home care (OOHC) sectors.
The Roundtable was initiated following the report: ‘Just Work as a Team’: Reconstructing family inclusion from parent, carer and practitioner perspectives.1 The report details findings from focus groups and semi structured interviews with parents, DCJ and other child protection and OOHC practitioners, lawyers, support service practitioners, foster carers, kinship carers, and adoptive parents.
The roundtable was reported on ABC radio and in the Newcastle Herald.
Following the roundtable, the organising group met with Minister for Communities and Justice, the Hon. Kate Washington and with members of her reform team.
1 Ross, N., Cocks, J., Foote, W., & Davies, K. (2023). http://dx.doi.org/10.25817/sk7h-sy84 Study conducted by the University of Newcastle – Newcastle School of Law and Justice, Social Work, and Social Sciences – with support for researcher involvement from Life Without Barriers (LWB) and funding contributions from the University of Newcastle and NSW Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ).
The report from the roundtable can be found here.
Additional news on the roundtable can be found here.
Contact
- Nicola Ross
- Email: nicola.ross@newcastle.edu.au
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