Brotherhood of St Laurence

March 2019

Parents' workforce participation and youth unemployment are two policy areas featured in this issue of Brotherhood Update. The challenges of embarking on micro-enterprise for older women and some capacity-building resources for community organisations are identified by two new research studies.

The Brotherhood’s lunchtime seminars return, with the first addressing affordable housing on 21 March (see What’s On below).

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	POLICY Parenting and participation


	While the federally funded ParentsNext program is supposed to support parents of young children (particularly sole mothers) to take up employment, the Brotherhood is concerned about the unhelpful impact of features such as the compliance requirements on both parents and staff, and has urged the government to reframe the program. What is needed is an enabling program that enhances the long-term economic security of families, underpinned by the critical safety net that Parenting Payment provides. Submission to the Senate Community Affairs References Committee Inquiry into ParentsNext (PDF, 552 KB) _________________________ Read more about our work on Reclaiming social security


	CAMPAIGN Youth unemployment across Australia


	Our latest data analysis updates the nation's youth unemployment ‘hotspots’, and reveals the regions where young job hunters are doing it toughest. Read the report Smashing the avocado debate: Australia's youth unemployment hotspots (PDF, 941 KB) Subscribe to our Youth Unemployment Monitor enewsletter


	RESEARCH Not simply business as usual


	Money For Jam was developed by Per Capita to encourage the economic participation of older women by fostering self-confidence and helping them to establish micro-enterprises. Brotherhood researchers were commissioned to examine the pilot and its impacts, and make suggestions for program development and advocacy. Read the report by Seuwandi Wickramasinghe and Dina Bowman, Not simply business as usual: insights from Money For Jam (PDF, 490 KB)


	RESOURCES Capacity building online


	A new online hub brings together free tools that can help community organisations build their skills in program design, planning, and monitoring and evaluation. The Capacity Building Online Hub is one outcome of a research project to support smaller community service organisations adapting to changes in the human services sector. ____________________________ Read more in:Tendering: practical insights from community organisations (PDF, 470 KB) and the report Too valuable to lose (PDF, 695 KB) about the value that smaller organisations can add to services.


	POLICY Understanding and addressing dowry abuse


	A Senate committee's recommendations to reduce the risk of dowry abuse in Australia have been welcomed by the Brotherhood of St Laurence. Read our Submission to the Inquiry into the practice of dowry and the incidence of dowry abuse in Australia (PDF, 200 KB)

Behind the research

Elena McKinlay joined the Research and Policy Centre in 2018 and worked with participants of the Brotherhood’s Youth Transitions Support Pilot on a research project using a Photovoice approach .

She is now helping to evaluate the Certificate I in Developing Independence, which aims to engage young people with experiences of child protection or youth justice orders in making plans based on their aspirations.

Elena’s research interests include image-based methodologies, youth participation and knowledge translation. After undergraduate studies in photography, she completed a Master of Applied Anthropology and Participatory Development at ANU. She has worked in education, community development and research roles in western China, Sweden and Australia.

What's on at the Brotherhood

LUNCHTIME SEMINARS resume

on Thursday 21 March 2019, 12 noon to 1 pm in Father Tucker's room at the Brotherhood's Head Office in Fitzroy.

AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN A NUTSHELL will feature:

Dr Kate Raynor (University of Melbourne Affordable Housing Initiative) and

Kate Colvin (Everybody’s Home Campaign)

For seating and catering purposes, RSVP is essential to jdouglas@bsl.org.au

To be notified about future events, also contact Jane Douglas at jdouglas@bsl.org.au or (03) 9483 1364

Brotherhood of St Laurence Research and Policy Centre
67 Brunswick Street
Fitzroy, Vic. 3065
Phone: (03) 9483 1183
Fax: (03) 9417 2691
Email: research@bsl.org.au
www.bsl.org.au/research

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