Relative Care: A politicized experience

Lena LockettSOC470 Honours presentation

Background

What is OOHC?Placement optionsScale and budget

TrendsReplication globally

Process Map

PolicyPolicy

Assessment&

Placement

Assessment&

Placement

Case WorkerCase Worker

Relative CareRelative Care

Foster FamilyFoster Family

Birth ParentsBirth Parents

Assessment

Placement

Legislation

Kinship Care

Residential Care

Prior Australian Research

Discussion PapersAustralian Research

• Grandparents raising grandchildren because of parental use of alcohol and other drugs (Baldock & Petit 2006)• Grandparents raising grandchildren (Council on the Ageing National Seniors 2003)• Recruitment, Assessment, training and support of Indigenous carers (Higgins, Broomfield & Richardson 2005)• Kinship care in New South Wales (Mason, Falloon, Gibbons, Spense, & Scott 2002)

In what way can relative care be distinguished

from other carer types?

•Discursively in policy•Experiencing the bureaucratic

machine.

Research Question

Discourse in Action

PolicyPolicy

Assessment&

Placement

Assessment&

Placement

Case WorkerCase Worker

Relative FamilyRelative Family

Foster FamilyFoster Family

Birth ParentsBirth Parents

Assessment

Placement

•Fairclough•Jamrozik

•Lipsky•Goffman

Legislation

Kinship Care

Residential care

MethodologySecondary Research

• Critical Discourse Analysis of NSW legislation/Policy and Carer models.

Primary Research• Interview 3 Foster carers• Interview 3 Relative carers• Interview 6 caseworkers• Interview 2 Industry specialists

To date

•policy analysis•HREC

BibliographyAllen, K (2011) The Social Lens, An invitation to Social and Sociological Theory. Sage Publications. London.

Australian Institute of family services (2012) out of home care, fact sheet. http://www.aifs.gov.au/cfca/pubs/factsheets/a142092/index.html#a7

Boston Consulting Group (2012) BRC Report.http://www.community.nsw.gov.au/docswr/_assets/main/documents/bcg_report.pdf.

Bromfeild, L., Osborne, A (2007) Getting the big picture: A critique of Australian Out of home care. AIFS. file:///Users/lenalockett/Desktop/bromfeild%20latest%20issues26.html.

Fairclough, N (2006) Language and Globalization. Routledge, London.

Qld has 'more kids in care than prisoners'By Miranda Forster, AAP Updated July 17, 2012, 3:57 pm http://au.news.yahoo.com/queensland/a/-/latest/14253151/qld-has-more-kids-in-care-than-prisoners/

Lipsky, M (1980) Street level Bureaucracy. Russell Sage Foundation. New York.

Mason, J., Falloon, J., Gibbons, L., Spence, N., Scott, E (2002) Understanding Kinship Care. NSW Association of Children’s Welfare Agencies Inc. & University of Western Sydney.