What's new
June 2008 - The Evaluators' National Newsletter June edition is now available. This newsletter provides a summary of the main activities undertaken by the SFCS National Evaluators over the past six months.
March 2008 - The first of the Stronger Families and Communities Strategy (SFCS) Promising Practice Profiles (PPP) are now available.
March 2008 - The Stronger Families in Australia participants website has been updated. The site includes information on what happened in the first two rounds of interviews (waves 1 and 2) of the study and also includes some interesting findings on the families involved and their communities. The Stronger Families in Australia study forms part of the National Evaluation of the Stronger Families and Communities Strategy.
February 2008 - Presentations from the Communities for Children Forum - November, 2007 are now available from the SFCS Network Resources page.
January 2008 - Proposals for the third submission round of the Stronger Families and Communities Strategy (SFCS) Promising Practice Profiles (PPP) commence on Monday 4 February.
January 2008 - The Evaluators' National Newsletter December edition is now available. This newsletter provides a summary of the main activities undertaken by the SFCS National Evaluators over the past six months.
December 2007 - A new contribution to the SFCS Local Evaluators Extranet has been made by generous local evaluator Sallie Newell, at Lismore and Murwillumbah Communities fror Children.
November 2007 - A new contribution to the SFCS Local Evaluators Extranet has been made by another generous local evaluator, Colleen Turner at Broadmeadows CfC.
September 2007 - A new contribution to the SFCS Local Evaluators Extranet has been made by another generous local evaluator, Sarah Bar-Zeev at Charles Darwin University, NT.
July 2007 - A Disability resources section has been added to the site and can be accessed from the Resources page.
July 2007 - The Evaluators' National Newsletter June edition is now available. This newsletter provides a summary of the main activities undertaken by the SFCS National Evaluators over the past six months.
June 2007 - Proposals are currently being sought for the second submission round of the Stronger Families and Communities Strategy (SFCS) Promising Practice Profiles (PPP).
May 2007- A Site Map has been added to the CAFCA website to assist with site navigation. The link can be found next to the Search button.
March 2007 - The Stronger Families in Australia participants website has been updated. The site includes information on what happened in the first round of interviews (wave 1) of the study and also includes some interesting findings on the families involved and their communities. The Stronger Families in Australia study forms part of the National Evaluation of the Stronger Families and Communities Strategy.
March 2007 - A new CAFCA brochure can be accessed from Publications.
February 2007 - A reminder to visit the CAFCA conference page which is updated regularly with information about national and international conferences focussing on early childhood and community development.
January 2007 - A new
contribution to the SFCS Local
Evaluators Extranet has been made by another generous
local evaluator, Jenny Slack-Smith at Dubbo, Narromine
and Wellington CfC sites.
To access the extranet local evaluators must first
register. You will then be provided with a username
and password to access the site.
December 2006 - Presentations from the Communities for Children NGO Forum - September, 2006 are now available from the SFCS Network Resources page.
December 2006 - The Evaluators' National Newsletter December edition is now available. This newsletter provides a summary of the main activities undertaken by the SFCS National Evaluators over the past six months.
December 2006 - An Indigenous resources section has been added to the site and can be accessed from the Resources page.
October 2006 - Workshops are being held for SFCS Facilitating Partners, Project Holders and Local Evaluators. CAFCA research staff will explain the PPP submission requirements and show you where to find information on the CAFCA website to help you put your submission together.
October 2006 - An Early Childhood resources section has been added to the Promising Practice Profiles Resources page.
September 2006 - An extranet has been created for local evaluators. To access the extranet local evaluators must first register. You will then be provided with a username and password to access the site.
August 2006 - CAFCA invites SFCS project staff and local evaluators to submit their early childhood intervention practices for consideration for the SFCS Promising Practice Profiles (PPP) database. Once established, the PPP database will be an excellent resource for those working in the area of early childhood intervention to promote their projects and to share information with others about 'what works'.
July 2006 - Demographic profiles are now available from the SFCS Network Resources page. The profile provides demographic information about children, families and the general population in Australia, which will be used as a national baseline comparison to help identify changing demographic trends in Communities for Children sites.
June 2006 - Second edition of the Evaluators' National Newsletter. This issue provides an update on National Evaluators activities in the Stronger Families and Communities Strategy National Evaluation. Features include information on upcoming events, such as the Communities for Children Non Government Organisation Conference in September 2006, workshops and links to useful publications and resources.
May 2006 - Stronger Families in Australia is an exciting new national study of Australian families and their communities. Conducted over three years and involving more than 2000 families, the study will provide an overall picture of how families and their children are doing in Australia today. It will also provide an insight into how Australian families and the communities that they live in are working together to provide a better future for children. See the SFIA participant's website for more information on the study. The Stronger Families in Australia study forms part of the National Evaluation of the Stronger Families and Communities Strategy.
April 2006 - As part of the Stronger Families and Communities Strategy National Evaluation service users and agencies are invited to complete surveys to assess how children and families are being helped in their communities. See the Questionnaires 2006 page for details.
January 2006 - A web page has been developed for local evaluators to provide answers and more information about frequently asked questions.
December 2005 - First issue of the Evaluators' Newsletter. This issue provides background to the Stronger Families and Communities Strategy National Evaluation, progress to date and links to some publications.
December 2005 - Introducing the new team!
Helen Cheney and Sana Wassouf are the new team working at AIFS to support projects funded under the Stronger Families and Communities Strategy.
Helen Cheney was born and raised in Melbourne. She has lived and worked in Queensland, Western Australia, Northern Territory and New South Wales. Helen has worked as a manager, researcher, educator and consultant throughout Australia with a range of community, government and industry groups. Her work has focused on community development, public policy, social change and sustainability. She has particular experience working with people who are disadvantaged, including Indigenous, low-income, youth, migrant and women's groups. Helen is keen that the Institute continues the good work of SFLEX, to ensure that the learning and evaluation from projects can be shared with the broader community. Also, she would like to create effective communication processes that enable good practice in the field which will inform public policy and program development.
Sana Wassouf has been at the Australian Institute of Family Studies for over 8 years. During this time she has worked as a librarian providing in house and external services and most recently she has worked in the area of Communications and Strategy. Her qualifications include a Bachelor of Business (Information Management) and she is working towards a Diploma in Translating and Interpreting (Arabic). She is currently the Communication and Networks Development Officer for the Communities and Families Clearinghouse Australia (CAFCA). Sana has particular experience in the community sector, running playgroups for children and working and teaching English to refugees. Her professional library skills and previous work with projects funded under the Stronger Families and Communities Strategy enable her to make a valuable contribution to her role with CAFCA.
December 2005 - Clearinghouse workshop
In July, a workshop at the Australian Institute of Family Studies brought together past members of the Stronger Families Learning Exchange Training and Support Team to meet with present workers from CAFCA. It was very rewarding to have members of the Stronger Families Learning Exchange team, who supported
projects under the first phase of the Strategy 2000-2004, attend and contribute. The workshop was facilitated by Helen Cheney and Jane Mallick who were recently
employed by the Institute to support the implementation of the second phase of the strategy. The day was very productive and included a transfer of knowledge
and history as well as an evaluation of the past three years. Independent evaluators of the Strategy from RMIT also attended sessions of the workshop.
The nature of the Clearinghouse in the second phase of the strategy is evolving. A new role and identity is expected to be confirmed in upcoming weeks. The Clearinghouse is expected to continue a valuable library, research and support role to projects across Australia. The Institute will also be assisting the Social Policy Research Centre (UNSW) with the national evaluation of the 2004-2009 phase of the Strategy. Key roles for the Institute will be to co-ordinate the selection and promotion of promising practice, from projects and organisations funded as part of the Strategy, and to provide support to local evaluators.
