| AIFS | |
 | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1980 |
| Employees | 82 [1] |
| Parent agency | Department of Social Services |
| Website | www |
The Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) is an Australian Government statutory agency in the Department of Social Services. It is located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its role is to conduct research and communicate findings that affect family wellbeing to policy makers, service providers and the broader community.
The Australian Institute of Family Studies was established in February 1980. Born largely out of concerns about the possible effects of no-fault divorce, the inclusion of an Institute of Family Studies (as it was then known) had been an eleventh hour amendment to the Bill which helped to get the Family Law Act 1975 over the final hurdle of a Parliamentary debate which had lasted more than 18 months. [2]
The foundation Director of AIFS was Don Edgar. Other former Directors include Harry McGurk, David Stanton and Alan Hayes.
AIFS’ first major study was the Australian Family Formation Project, which commenced in 1981. Other key studies in the early years included the Children in Families Study, the Cost of Children Study and the Economic Consequences of Marital Breakdown Study. This study was influential in demonstrating the need for an Australian child support scheme, which was subsequently introduced in 1988. [3] Further research conducted by AIFS was instrumental in providing the evidence base for the major changes to the scheme that were made in 2006. [4]
Emerging issues in the late '80s and early '90s that AIFS focused on included work and family, early childhood, and family law. Broader concerns regarding economic and social wellbeing led to the creation of the Australian Living Standards Study.
In 2000, AIFS became the host of the Australian Temperament Project, a large longitudinal study of children’s development that began in 1983. The study investigates pathways to psychosocial adjustment across childhood and adolescence, and results from the study have been published extensively in scientific journals. [5] [6] The Growing Up in Australia: Longitudinal Study of Australian Children commenced in 2004, a major study following the development of 10,000 children and families from all parts of Australia. The study is investigating the contribution of children’s social, economic and cultural environments to their adjustment and wellbeing. [7] [8]
The National Child Protection Clearinghouse was transferred to AIFS from the Australian Institute of Criminology in 1995. [9] Research on child protection issues has been used in reviews of Australian Child Protection systems, such as the Special Commission of Inquiry into Child Protection Services in New South Wales, Australia. [10]
AIFS has also undertaken an extensive evaluation of the 2006 family law reforms. [11]
AIFS reviews its research directions every three years. The current research directions (2012-2015) focus on the following themes:
AIFS communicates the findings of its research and analysis via:
Other publications, including but not limited to: [15]
As of 1 July 2013, the AIFS Advisory Council is composed of: [16]
Family law is an area of the law that deals with family matters and domestic relations.
A longitudinal study is a research design that involves repeated observations of the same variables over long periods of time. It is often a type of observational study, although it can also be structured as longitudinal randomized experiment.
Dr. Donald E. Edgar is the Foundation Director of the Australian Institute of Family Studies. Under his leadership the Institute had a profound influence on the Government of Australia regarding family policy, family and work, welfare policy and family law. He continues to contribute to Australian thinking in these areas through his own consulting practise and as an occasional columnist and commentator in the Australian media, particularly The Age and The Australian.
The psychosocial approach looks at individuals in the context of the combined influence that psychological factors and the surrounding social environment have on their physical and mental wellness and their ability to function. This approach is used in a broad range of helping professions in health and social care settings as well as by medical and social science researchers.
The Academy of Social Sciences is a representative body for social sciences in the United Kingdom. The academy promotes social science through its sponsorship of the Campaign for Social Science, its links with Government on a variety of matters, and its own policy work in issuing public comment, responding to official consultations, and organising meetings and events about social science. It confers the title of Fellow upon nominated social scientists following a process of peer review. The academy comprises over 1000 fellows and 41 learned societies based in the UK and Europe.
In the United States, a mandated reporter is a person who is legally required to report child abuse and neglect to Child Protective Services upon reasonable suspicion. Mandatory reporting laws generally apply to professionals who interact regularly with children while in some states, all adults are mandated to report regardless of employment. If a mandated reporter fails to report, they can be subject to civil penalty, criminal prosecution, or both.
Same-sex parenting is the parenting of children by same-sex couples generally consisting of gays or lesbians who are often in civil partnerships, domestic partnerships, civil unions, or same-sex marriages.
Understanding Society, the UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS), is one of the largest panel survey in the world, supporting social and economic research. Its sample size is 40,000 households from the United Kingdom or approximately 100,000 individuals.
Aboriginal child protection describes services designed specifically for protection of the children of "aboriginal" or indigenous peoples, particularly where they are a minority within a country. This may differ at international, national, legal, cultural, social, professional and program levels from general or mainstream child protection services. Fundamental human rights are a source of many of the differences. Aboriginal child protection may be an integral or a distinct aspect of mainstream services or it may be exercised formally or informally by an aboriginal people itself. There has been controversy about systemic genocide in child protection systems enforced with aboriginal children in post-colonial societies.
Dr. Neil Boothby is a psychologist and former US Government special advisor and senior coordinator to the USAID administrator on Children in Adversity, and former director of the Program on Forced Migration and Health at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. Currently, he is the founding Director of the Global Center for the Development of the Whole Child at the University of Notre Dame. His research focuses on the psychosocial consequences of organized violence on children. As a senior representative of UNICEF, UNHCR, and Save the Children, he has worked for more than 25 years with children in crises in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe and is an internationally recognized expert and advocate for children affected by war and displacement. He has received numerous awards for his work on behalf of war-affected children, including the Red Cross International Humanitarian of the Year Award, the Mickey Leland Award, the United Nation's Golden Achievement Award for Social Services, and Duke University's Humanitarian Service Award.
Physical or corporal punishment by a parent or other legal guardian is any act causing deliberate physical pain or discomfort to a minor child in response to some undesired behavior. It typically takes the form of spanking or slapping the child with an open hand or striking with an implement such as a belt, slipper, cane, hairbrush, paddle, whip, or hanger. On a looser definition, it can also include shaking, pinching, forced ingestion of substances, or forcing children to stay in uncomfortable positions.
The National Child Development Study (NCDS) is a continuing, multi-disciplinary longitudinal study which follows the lives of 17,415 people born in England, Scotland and Wales from 17,205 women during the week of 3–9 March 1958. The results from this study helped reduce infant mortality and were instrumental in improving maternity services in the UK.
Professor Wei-Jun Jean Yeung is a Taiwanese sociologist and demographer, now is the professor of Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore. She chairs the Family, Children, and Youth Research Cluster in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences in NUS.
The Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS) is a longitudinal birth cohort study of American families. Formerly known as the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, the study’s name was changed in January 2023.
Fly-in fly-out (FIFO) work practices in Australia occur amongst various professions primarily associated within the resources industry as well as medical and related health services. Following the recession of the 1980s, Australia has experienced a resources boom that has seen thousands of families impacted by FIFO work. The FIFO lifestyle often sees workers on a scheduled roster flying to remote locations. Workers live in serviced accommodation, working long days.
The President's Foundation for the Wellbeing of Society was a non-governmental organisation located in Malta, focusing on social research, community consultation, and project work. The Foundation was established on 25 June 2014 by Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, during her term as the 9th President of Malta and terminated with the end of her tenure in 2019. A new organisation, the 'Malta Foundation for the Wellbeing of Society' now exists, unaffiliated with the President of Malta.
Domestic violence in New Zealand, often called family violence or family harm is defined under New Zealand law as not only intimate partner violence but also violence against other family members, including children and extended family or whānau, as well as people living together in the same household, such as flatmates. It is estimated that one third of people in New Zealand have experienced intimate partner violence (IPV) within their lifetime, making New Zealand have the highest rate of domestic violence in 14 OECD countries. In 2020, New Zealand police responded to a domestic violence call every 4 minutes.
Kathleen Rose Funder was an Australian social scientist, who is recognised for her significant contribution to the Australian Institute of Family Studies as a Principal Research Fellow.
Xin Meng is a Chinese economist and professor at the Research School of Economics, College of Business and Economics (CBE), Australian National University (ANU). She is also a member of the Association for Comparative Economic Studies, the American Economic Association, the Society of Labor Economics and Royal Economic Society. Her main research interests include Labour Economics, Development Economics, Applied Microeconomics and Economics of Education. She focuses on researching issues about the Chinese labour market during transition, the influence of corporations and gender discrimination, the economic assimilation of immigrants and the economic implications of major catastrophes. Meng was elected a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia in 2008.
The Growing Up in New Zealand longitudinal study (GUiNZ) is New Zealand's largest ongoing cohort study. It recruited and follows 6,846 New Zealand children born between 2009 and 2010—approximately 11 per cent of all children born in the country in that period. The project aims to create an in-depth summary of what life is like for children in New Zealand, and what factors affect their happiness, health, and development. The study also seeks to represent the diversity of modern-day New Zealand families, filling in current knowledge gaps on the health and wellbeing of Māori, Pasifika, and other communities. The study is run from the University of Auckland and is funded primarily by the New Zealand Government.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
