2017 FRSA National Conference Presentations

The FRSA Conference provided a fantastic opportunity for delegates to hear from an incredible line up of international and national keynote speakers. The concurrent session program followed critical stages in the family life course that include: The first 1000 days, Key transition points into the schooling years, Partnering and cohabitation, Relationship breakdown and repartnering and Ageing. FRSA also aimed to focus on services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) and other vulnerable groups of children, families and communities within these streams.

The following speakers have given permission to share their presentations from the 2016 FRSA National Conference.

Day 1

Wednesday 22 November 2017


9:20am	Keynote Address 1 Senator Louise Pratt MP Shadow Assistant Minister for Families and Communities
9:40am	Keynote Address 2: Improving outcomes for children through an integrated social determinants of health strategy Dr Angela Donkin Deputy Director UCL Institute of Health Equity
10:20am	Keynote Address 3 Professor Kerry Arabena University of Melbourne Personalised medicine and environments – new frontiers for family and wellbeing


	CONCURRENT SESSIONS 1
	Meeting Room 103	Meeting Room 104	Meeting Room 109	Meeting Room 110	Meeting Room 108
	The first 1000 days	Key transition points in the schooling years	Partnering and cohabitation	Relationship breakdown and re-partnering	Ageing
	Concurrent Session 1A	Concurrent Session 1B	Concurrent Session 1C	Concurrent Session 1D	Concurrent Session 1E
	Chair: Paula Washington	Chair: Elly Robinson	Chair: Karen Field	Chair: Machiko Hodge	Chair: Fiona Harley
1:30pm	FamilyCare’s Day-Stay program: using the identification of vulnerabilities in families to strengthen parenting skills Rosemary Rutledge Familycare	Hope in a seemingly hopeless world Ripley Kavara Daisy Catterall Bobuq Sayed Drummond Street Services	Attrition in relationship counselling – Underlying factors Riyad Rahimullah Dr Jemima Petch Relationships Australia QLD	Building relationships across post separation: A suite of programs for parents and children experiencing conflict Robyn Parker Lisa Moloney Interrelate	Connecting the dots for grandparents caring for their grandchildren Pat Jewell Australian Childhood Foundation

	Concurrent Session 1F	Concurrent Session 1G	Concurrent Session 1H	Concurrent Session 1I	Concurrent Session 1J
	Chair: Paula Washington	Chair: Elly Robinson	Chair: Karen Field	Chair: Machiko Hodge	Chair: Fiona Harley
2.05pm	“Can you fix my kid?’ Lynne Thorpe Murray Bridge Centacare	Teens and screens: Can motivation for use inform an effective response in problematic internet use? Zoe Francis EACH	Connecting the dots: What’s good for the goose is good for the chicken Brian O’Neill Matt Gardiner The Benevolent Society	An integrated response to supporting children refusing contact within the children’s contact services, Anglicare WA Karen Barker Yuyun Tan Anglicare WA	The Stolen Generations Healing Camp: A place to care and be cared for Joanne Willmot Mergho Ray Relationships Australia South Australia

	Concurrent Session 1K	Concurrent Session 1L	Concurrent Session 1M	Concurrent Session 1N	Concurrent Session 1O
	Chair: Paula Washington	Chair: Elly Robinson	Chair: Karen Field	Chair: Machiko Hodge	Chair: Fiona Harley
2.40pm	Better beginnings: Evaluating Read to me I love it with Aboriginal families in remote communities Professor Caroline Barratt-Pugh Edith Cowan University (Not available)	Children in families experience mental health issues too! Camilla Rowland Matthew Thomas Marymead Child & Family Centre	Joining across the corridor’ – Collaboration between clinicians for improved client outcomes Jenni Dickson FMC Mediation and Counselling	Facilitating a platform for agreement in post-separation mediations Dr Curtis Samuels Centacare New England North West	Can we have a chat about Dad?’: Findings from Relationships Australia’s elder relationship service evaluation Paula Mance Relationships Australia National (Not available)

	CONCURRENT SESSIONS 2
	Meeting Room 103	Meeting Room 104	Meeting Room 109	Meeting Room 110	Meeting Room 108
	The first 1000 days	Key transition points in the schooling years	Relationship breakdown and re-partnering	Relationship breakdown and re-partnering	Ageing
	Concurrent Session 2A	Concurrent Session 2B	Concurrent Session 2C	Concurrent Session 2D	Concurrent Session 2E
	Chair: Fiona Harley	Chair: Deb Hartman	Chair: Mishelle Zara	Chair: Karen Field	Chair: Marie Morrison
3:45pm	Linking up: Safety and wellbeing among women with problematic substance use and their infants Anne Tidyman Violeta Solarte Odyssey House	Building a bridge to high school project Kylie Mackie Woodville Alliance	Working with Brisbane’s Murri Court: Relationships Australia QLD’s experience supporting First National people through the court system Bevan Doyle Relationships Australia QLD	Evidencing the effectiveness of professional development partnering and strength based assessment for collective impact in FDR Norma Williams UnitingCare	Respecting elders – A preventative and treatment program for elder abuse Jenni Dickson FMC Mediation and Counselling

	Concurrent Session 2F	Concurrent Session 2G	Concurrent Session 2H	Concurrent Session 2I	Concurrent Session 2J
	Chair: Fiona Harley	Chair: Deb Hartman	Chair: Mishelle Zara	Chair: Karen Field	Chair: Marie Morrison
4:20pm	Hullaballoo in the high rise! Helen Rimington Amanda Testro Drummond Street Services	Transitioning a child to school readiness in a family preservation framework – a collaborative approach Natalie Patmore Annette Brown Centacare Adelaide (Not available)	Universal screening: The reasons why… Dr Michael Kelly Amanda French Relationships Australia Tasmania Dr Jamie Lee Relationships Australia South Australia	Family dispute resolution: Who uses it, and timing and outcomes Dr Lixia Qu Australian Institute of Family Studies	Grandparents access to children following family breakdown: Cultural barriers to service access and relationship building Adonis Antonios Maglis PRONIA

	Concurrent Session 2K	Concurrent Session 2L	Concurrent Session 2M	Concurrent Session 2N	Concurrent Session 2O
	Chair: Fiona Harley	Chair: Deb Hartman	Chair: Mishelle Zara	Chair: Karen Field	Chair: Marie Morrison
4:55pm	Introduction to the newly established Inter Country Adoption and Family Services Program Gianna Mazzone Lifeworks	Strengthening the educational outcomes of financially disadvantaged students through respectful family-school-community partnerships Catherine O’Byrne The Smith Family	Outcome measurement in Family Dispute Resolution: Preliminary findings from Victorian measurement trial around client outcomes, services and systems Elizabeth Clancy Reima Pryor Centre for Family Research and Evaluation (CFRE, a collaboration between drummond street services and Deakin University)	Learning to bloom Jacinta Cook Geraldine White Kim O’Neil Centacare Ballarat (No presentation slides used)	Working therapeutically with couples moving towards retirement Prashant Munro Relationships Australia Canberra and Region

Day 2

Thursday 23 November 2017


8:40am	Keynote Address 4 Senator the Hon. George Brandis QC Attorney-General for Australia
9:00am	Keynote Address 5 The Hon. Diana Bryant AO Former Chief Justice of the Family Court of Australia
9:30am	Keynote Address 6 Professor Helen Rhoades Commissioner, Australian Law Reform Commission

	CONCURRENT SESSION 3 (SYMPOSIUMS)
	Meeting Room 103	Meeting Room 104	Meeting Room 109	Meeting Room 110	Meeting Room 108
	The first 1000 days	Partnering and cohabitation	Family violence	Relationship breakdown and re-partnering	Ageing
	Concurrent Session 3A	Concurrent Session 3B	Concurrent Session 3C	Concurrent Session 3D	Concurrent Session 3E
	Chair: Michael Austin	Chair: Elly Robinson	Chair: Fiona Harley	Chair: Deb Hartman	Chair: Paula Washington
11:30am	SYMPOSIUM Creating frameworks for practice Dr Jennifer Cartmel Associate Professor Kym Macfarlane Griffith University Johana Susanto Garima Misra The Salvation Army Eastern Territory Sydney Elise Parker Holly Rynsent Communities for Children, Logan (Not Available)	SYMPOSIUM The low down on safe relationships for single mums: Drummond Street Services HOPE program Helen Rimington Kate Galea Drummond Street Services	SYMPOSIUM CAFS Family Services and Family Violence Program Initiatives Thomas Campbell Fraser Mackay Toni Gillet Stacey Lubeek Tania Vincent-Wade Child & Family Services Ballarat	SYMPOSIUM Certifying Mediation: Reporting and discussing the findings of a study of section 60I certificates Robyn Parker Ross Butler Matt Stubbs Interrelate Paul Lewis (Discussant) Sexton Family Lawyers Interrelate Sexton Family Law Helen Bryson (Discussant) Victoria Legal Aid	SYMPOSIUM Improving outcomes for grandparents raising their grandchildren through cross-institutional research: impact, policy, collaboration and practice Dr Katrina Stratton Wanslea Family Services Dr David Coall Professor Ruth Marquis Edith Cowan University Jess Gilbert Dr Christina Fernandes Curtin University


1:45pm	Keynote Address 7 Senator the Hon. Zed Seselja Assistant Minister for Social Services and Multicultural Affairs
2:05pm	Keynote Address 8: Unleashing the power of prevention in the family and relationship services sector Dr Brian Bumbarger Adjunct Research Fellow, Griffith University and Institute of Criminology
2:45pm	Keynote Address 9: Collective impact – are we ready for it? Kerry Graham Founder and Director, Collaboration for Impact

	CONCURRENT SESSION 4
	Meeting Room 103	Meeting Room 104	Meeting Room 109	Meeting Room 110	Meeting Room 108
	The first 1000 days	Key transition points in the schooling years	Partnering and cohabitation	Relationship breakdown and re-partnering	Ageing
	Concurrent Session 4A	Concurrent Session 4B	Concurrent Session 4C	Concurrent Session 4D	Concurrent Session 4E
	Chair: Marie Morrison	Chair: Deb Hartman	Chair: Paula Washington	Chair: Mishelle Zara	Chair: Elly Robinson
3:55pm	HEARTS (Humanitarian Entrant and Refugee Transition Support), supporting family well-being in a new cultural landscape Helen Rimington Chantelle Higgs Drummond Street Services	School, Student & Family Program, CatholicCare Wollongong: Transition to high school program Cassandra Power Sara Oldfield CatholicCare Wollongong	Data Exchange partnership approach reports Melanie Taylor Department of Social Services	Systemic thinking to increase the wellbeing of children Pauline Sinn EACH	Better second time around? How consumers’ voices restore trust in institutions as Forgotten Australians age Mergho Ray Kevin O’Neill Relationships Australia South Australia

	Concurrent Session 4F	Concurrent Session 4G	Concurrent Session 4H	Concurrent Session 4I	Concurrent Session 4J
	Chair: Marie Morrison	Chair: Deb Hartman	Chair: Paula Washington	Chair: Mishelle Zara	Chair:
4:30pm	Improving responses for children and families in the First 1000 Days Kathryn Mandla Department of Social Services	Reaching out to the clients and their community Tom Lothian FMC Mediation and Counselling	The Rainbow Program – Partnering with people of diverse bodies, genders and sexualities in Queensland Chris Pye Dallas Pitt Relationships Australia QLD	Relationship reparation in reunification work: Care team approaches to family preservation beyond foster care Anne Bartholomaeus Judith Dingwall Centacare Catholic Family Services	Elder abuse: Developing a national definition Dr Lixia Qu David O’Keeffe Australian Institute of Family Studies

Day 3

Friday 24 November 2017


8:40am	Keynote Address 10 The Hon. Marcia Neave AO Former chair of the Royal Commission into Family Violence and the Former Judge of the Court Appeal, Supreme Court of Victoria
	CONCURRENT SESSION 5 AND SYMPOSIUM
	Meeting Room 103	Meeting Room 104	Meeting Room 109	Meeting Room 110	Meeting Room 108	Meeting Room 111/112
	The first 1000 days	Technology	Family Violence	Relationship breakdown and re-partnering	Aspects of wellbeing	Evidence based practice
	Concurrent Session 5A	Concurrent Session 5B	Concurrent Session 5C	Concurrent Session 5D	Concurrent Session 5E	Concurrent Session 5F
	Chair: Michael Austin	Chair: Karen Field	Chair: Mischelle Zara	Chair: Machiko Hodge	Chair: Fiona Harley	Chair: Marie Morrison
9:20am	Hello Baby: connecting the dots before birth Pat Jewell Australia Childhood Foundation	e-screening as a tool for connecting the dots to learn about risks to family wellbeing Julian Flint Dr Jamie Lee Relationships Australia South Australia	Partner contact: Some learnings as service providers and practitioners within a Specialised Family Violence Service Christopher Dolman Dr Aerinn Morgan Uniting Communities	Working with high-conflict post-divorce shared-time families: Practitioners’ views, experiences and strategies Associate Professor Bruce Smyth Australian National University	The cost of experiencing vicarious trauma: Enhancing the wellbeing of family and relationship service providers Tania Murdock Dispute Management Australia	SYMPOSIUM Evidence based practice: benefits and challenges of research and practice collaborations Kathryn Goldsworthy Australian Institute of Family Studies Dr Laura Hayes Zvezdana Petrovic Parenting Research Centre Therese Mulcahy Windermere Bask Cassar Uniting Connections

	Concurrent Session 5G	Concurrent Session 5H	Concurrent Session 5I	Concurrent Session 5J	Concurrent Session 5K
	Chair: Michael Austin	Chair: Karen Field	Chair: Mischelle Zara	Chair: Machiko Hodge	Chair: Fiona Harley
9:55am	Imagining the Experience of an infant and meeting their needs after parental separation Kim Billington FMC Mediation and Counselling	Screen time blues Helen Rimington Drummond Street Services	Out on a limb – The brave new world of cross-sectoral approach to service provision Tibor Mokany BaptistCare	Achieving outcomes for clients of a family support service in South-west Sydney – Research evidence Dr John Bellamy Michael Mitwollen Anglicare Sydney	Keeping it on the circle: the key to healthy teams Angharad Candlin CatholicCare Sydney

	Concurrent Session 5L	Concurrent Session 5M	Concurrent Session 5N	Concurrent Session 5O	Concurrent Session 5P
	Chair: Michael Austin	Chair: Karen Field	Chair: Mischelle Zara	Chair: Machiko Hodge	Chair: Fiona Harley
10:30am	Optimal intervention period for teen mothers and their children Anne Webster Zoe Support Australia	Using digital technology in child, youth and family sectors Jessica Smart Australian Institute of Family Studies	Addressing family violence in the Family Law System: Learnings from the Family Advocacy and Support Services (FASS) program Gayathri Paramasivam Victoria Legal AidDenise Aloon No to Violence Incorporating the Men’s Referral Service	“When dots are holes” Research insights into why Victorians do not use family relationship services Graeme Westaway FMC Mediation and Counselling	Adoption of a trans-disciplinary panel in an NGO providing multiple services Leanne Kelly Windermere Child & Family Services

11:30am	Keynote Address 11: How technology will shape the future of service delivery? Ryan Jones Managing Director, Refuel Creative

1:10pm	Conference close