Category: News

Barnardos Australia has announced today the release of its national research survey into the effects of domestic and family violence during childhood.

Australians aged 18 years and over are invited to take part in a survey to explore their experience of being exposed to domestic and family violence as children and young people and the impact this has had on their day-to-day life. Participation is voluntary, responses are anonymous, and the survey takes only 8-10 minutes to complete.

The research project will contribute to an understanding of how children and young people can be best supported having been exposed to domestic and family violence and guide the development of effective engagement practices. Participants’ insights will be invaluable in helping us to improve the way we respond to children’s needs with programs and policy reform to assist in the protection and care of children.

Approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee of the University of Sydney, the research is being headed by Barnardos Australia’s Head of Knowledge, Outcomes and Research, Dr Robert Urquhart.

Dr Urquhart stresses broad participation in the survey is essential and that Barnardos is actively encouraging the sharing of the survey through their networks and those of sector partners. This unique research will support the work of Barnardos in developing a strong evidence-base for the experience of children and young people in Australia” Dr Urquhart said.

This quantitative survey will be complemented by a qualitative research project incorporating interviews with children and families in Barnardos programs who have experienced domestic and family violence. The results of both research projects will be complied and released by Barnardos in 2022.

Find out more about this important and unique research here.

Improve outcomes for children and young people impacted by domestic violence by taking the survey here.

Barnardos Australia’s vision is to empower every child in Australia to have the opportunity to reach their full potential. We support vulnerable children to recover and thrive and together, we ensure they reach their brightest future.

In the work we do every day to improve the lives of vulnerable children, young people and their families, we are committed to the following values:

• We never give up
• We speak up
• We aim higher
• We stand with you
• We do what’s right

Barnardos has given great consideration to its roadmap out of lockdown, implemented in a COVID Safe manner, as Governments announce the easing of public health restrictions. Barnardos is currently undertaking a formal consultation process in relation to the development of a COVID-19 Vaccination Policy for its employees, and this will also guide how we work with children and their families, and authorised and prospective carers (foster and kinship) to ensure mutual health and safety. This consultation process will allow Barnardos to ensure the best outcome for the organisation, employees, clients, carers and all other stakeholders by giving the opportunity for them to have a voice and share their views and discuss their concerns in a safe way.

In keeping with our values, a clear set of Guiding Principles have been developed to help us deliver a vaccination policy:

• Safety and wellbeing is our primary focus
• Government directives, mandates and health orders observed
• A culture of care will prevail through the conscious application of our five values
• Engage in open dialogue and genuine consultation with all key stakeholders
• Empower employees with communication and education
• Decisions founded on due diligence, evidence and hearing the voices of our people
• Lead with people and policy in harmony
• Take into consideration the children, families and communities we work with

Barnardos has been considering information, advice, legislation, directives, and guidelines from a wide range of relevant sources, advisors, and stakeholders. During the consultation period, Barnardos will be undertaking a comprehensive risk assessment of Barnardos service delivery environments and consideration of the vaccination requirement as a reasonable necessity alongside existing protective strategies. Our robust, multi-modal consultation process involves not only our employees, but the children, young people and families of origin in our programs as well as our authorised foster and kinship carers (both current and prospective) and their household members.

An anonymous and confidential survey about Barnardos/ACT Together adoption of a Vaccination Policy is running until November 22 and if you are a Barnardos client or carer, we encourage you to contact your caseworker to gain access to the survey. We hope you will share your general thoughts, comments and concerns on this topic.

In this video, our Sydney Youth Services team deliver a powerful message about the impact COVID-19 lockdown is having on young people.

Thank you to (in order of appearance) Stella Healy, Taylor Gleeson, Chantelle Fletcher, John Conwell and Katia Foy for all your hard work in advocating for young people in our community.

Hello, I’m Kingsley Edwards, Bequests Manager at Barnardos Australia. For over 20 years I happily worked as an insurance broker, but as time went by, I began to feel more and more like something was missing. I thought to myself, “what if I could use the skills I’ve developed in a more meaningful way?” So I moved to the charity sector and it was only natural that as a parent I would be drawn to an organisation like Barnardos Australia, whose focus is to support children to reach their brightest future.

I have been very fortunate to raise my two teenage boys in a safe and loving home where they can develop into young adults who have every chance to fulfil their potential. Sadly, there are many abused and neglected children in Australia who are denied these same rights. That is why I work at Barnardos. I passionately believe that every child needs a champion – someone who can make a difference to their life.

In my role as Bequests Manager, I feel privileged to talk to people every day who are more than a champion for vulnerable and disadvantaged children. I consider each and every one to be a legend because they have included Barnardos in their Will. This one legendary act leads to a legacy of hope and a lasting impact on children who have had a tough start to life.

When we think of Australian legends, we think of people like Sir Donald Bradman and Dame Joan Sutherland, Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith and Nancy Bird Walton, Bennelong and Barangaroo. But there are plenty of ordinary Australians who are also legends – kind, caring and compassionate men and women, who make a difference by leaving a charitable gift in their Will.

This week is Include A Charity Week, an initiative to raise awareness among Australians about leaving a charitable gift in their Will. I invite you to take up the challenge of becoming a legend by considering to leave a gift in your Will to Barnardos Australia.

Why not request some information on gifts in wills by contacting us here or complete a short quiz here that will help you discover what kind of legend you are?

Together we can make a lasting difference to the lives of vulnerable children.

LINKER is a domestic violence service in Central Western NSW that is changing the lives of women and children.

The rate of domestic violence in Far West and Orana is more than five* times higher than the overall rate for NSW. In regional, rural and remote communities, domestic and family violence is one of the leading causes for women and children becoming homeless and seeking emergency accommodation.

Barnardos recognise that there is a high need for support, yet unlike urban areas, only a small number of providers operate in often isolated locations and most services are only able to provide active support during business hours.

LINKER is a unique and innovative service which addresses the after-hours support gap in Western NSW. It proactively offers telephone and text message support to women who have accessed emergency short-term accommodation as the result of leaving domestic violence.

LINKER offers flexible out of hours phone contact (5pm-9am every day of the week) from a specialist domestic violence worker to clients referred by emergency accommodation providers. The LINKER worker proactively contacts the client by phone and offer personalised and consistent support as required during their time of crisis and transition through homelessness to post-crisis stability, at times of the day and week when there are few if any other forms of support available.

Clients and SHS providers particularly value the LINKER Service capacity for phone-based support from another town, allowing for a more anonymous relationship, thus respecting confidentiality concerns, which can be challenging in small communities.

On Monday 9th September the Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health will release their findings on how LINKER supports victims, provides insight into the successes of LINKER and how we can improve this program to assist more women and children in crisis. A documentary has also been created by Barnardos featuring LINKER support workers and the remarkable women they have helped to rebuild their lives.

According to the study:

• 90% of clients strongly agreed that the LINKER Service reduced their anxiety and increased their feelings of support.
• 80% of clients felt less isolated
• 97% agreed that LINKER assisted with respect to immediate outcomes.

*According to the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, the rate of domestic violence incidents eliciting critical bodily harm, at a rate of 139.6 per 100,000, is highest in the Far West and Orana region of NSW. This is more than five times higher than the overall rate for NSW at 25.6 per 100,000 (Freeman, 2018).

Barnardos Australia was recently invited to comment on issues raised at the Special Commission of Inquiry into the Drug ‘Ice’.

The Commission was established to investigate the nature, prevalence and impact of the drug in NSW. The Commission will deliver its final report to the NSW Government in October 2019.

The focus of Barnardos’ submission reflected the agency’s depth of knowledge of working with special population groups who have experienced greater harms from amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) use when compared to users in the community more generally. The submission highlighted:

• Clients with drug usage often report trauma being a catalyst for their drug usage.
• Rural locations do not have the same access and availability as metropolitan centres to drug rehabilitation or detoxification units. For example, specialised services for families impacted by ATS use are extremely scarce or non-existent in Central Western NSW
• ATS use within vulnerable populations impacted by small town gossiping, lack of anonymity within those small towns as well as a stigma and shame that is different to cannabis use.
• There are limited services offered specifically to young people around drug addiction and specifically ATS use.
• It is our strong view that current services and programs are inadequate for the needs of Indigenous families affected by ATS.
• Improvement may come if program design centres around supports or services that are ‘wrap around,’ in one place.

You can read Barnardos Australia’s submission here.

Other public submissions can be accessed here.

Barnardos Australia and Barnardos UK would like to advise that we are in the final stages of joining the Redress Scheme.

We are working with the National Redress Scheme to finalise our application and are currently responding to feedback received from the Redress Scheme, which requires amendments to our application.  These are being considered and progressed as a high priority.

If you would like to speak with us directly about our application please contact:

Barnardos Australia AfterCare on (02) 9218 2300 or via email to aftercare@barnardos.org.au.

The Australian Government Redress Scheme can be contacted directly via their website nationalredress.gov.au
Redress Support Services are available to help people understand the Scheme, provide emotional support and guide people through the application process.

We are pleased to publicly announce that the Barnardos Australia and Barnardo’s UK group application to join the National Redress Scheme has been lodged. The process of negotiation to reach this point has been ongoing since June last year when it was first discussed by Directors, followed by discussions with Barnardos’s UK. Barnardos Australia will act as agent for Barnardo’s UK in all administrative arrangements for those accessing the Redress Scheme.

If you would like to speak with us directly about our application please contact
Barnardos Australia AfterCare on (02) 9218 2300 or via email to aftercare@barnardos.org.au.

The Australian Government Redress Scheme can be contacted directly via their website nationalredress.gov.au
Redress Support Services are available to help people understand the Scheme, provide emotional support and guide people through the application process.

Following ongoing discussions between Barnardos Australia and Barnardo’s UK we are pleased to now publicly announce that we will be jointly applying to the Australian Government Redress Scheme. This agreement with Barnardo’s UK ensures that anyone who has ever been in care with us in Australia will have access to the Scheme.

Barnardos Australia will act as agent for Barnardo’s UK in all administrative arrangements for those accessing the Redress Scheme. The processing of our joint organisational application, once lodged with the Scheme, will be subject to the Scheme’s assessment of Application time frames.

If you would like to speak with us directly about our application please contact Barnardos Australia AfterCare on (02) 9218 2300 or via email to aftercare@barnardos.org.au. The Australian Government Redress Scheme can be contacted directly via their website https://www.nationalredress.gov.au/

Redress Support Services are available to help people understand the Scheme, provide emotional support and guide people through the application process.

Barnardos Australia has welcomed the announcement of the UK government that it will establish an ex-gratia payment scheme for former British child migrants. The scheme will be payable to all former British child migrants, regardless of whether they suffered abuse, in recognition of what was found to be the “fundamentally flawed” nature of historic child migration programs and is in line with the recommendation of the UK’s Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.

Who is eligible?

UK Government has agreed to pay ALL former Child Migrants £20,000 (approximately $36,000).

The Scheme is open to former child migrants who were alive on 1 March 2018 or to beneficiaries of former child migrants who have died since 1 March 2018 (this will be paid through the Executor of the Estate).

Applications?

All Australian applications will be co-ordinated by the Child Migrants Trust.

Applications can be accepted from 1 March 2019 and the scheme will remain open for 2 years.

The Child Migrants Trust will put the application form and the process on their website (www.childmigrantstrust.com).

Contact details for Child Migrants Trust Inc

Ph: (03) 9815 2022
Free Phone: 1800 04 05 09
Email: enquiries@childmigrantstrust.com

Barnardos Australia is in the process of reaching out to former British child migrants who may be eligible for the scheme which will be managed by the UK’s Child Migrants Trust. For further inquiries please contact aftercare@barnardos.org.au.