Services and activities  ACCSR researchers  Projects and publications  Management structure  Contact us

The Australian Centre for Community Services Research The Australian Centre for Community Services Research (ACCSR) is a research centre in the School of Social Work, Faculty of Social Sciences at Flinders University Adelaide, South Australia. It brings together the skills and knowledge of researchers and field workers in a broad range of disciplines to run research programs, and provide consultancy and advisory services tailored to specific needs. ACCSR applies social science research methods to the design and evaluation of community service programs, adopting a predominantly evidence-based approach. It aims to work with social service providers to identify effective program design methods, and innovative and proven program implementation strategies. It also aims to provide up-to-date information in diverse areas of service delivery. In particular, ACCSR works with agencies in the community services sector that face stubborn service delivery issues while under pressure from funding bodies and other external groups to justify their work and quantify their results. *Note: ACCSR was previously a joint venture between Flinders University and Anglicare. It is now run solely by Flinders University* Services and activities The Australian Centre for Community Services Research currently: undertakes research projects funded through research grants and competitive tenders provides consultancy services to the community services sector in Australia contributes articles to professional research publications produces monographs tailored to the needs of community service providers. Back to the top of this page ACCSR researchers ACCSR has a flexible, broad, multi-disciplinary base with a pool of high profile researchers from areas including social work, disability studies, sociology, psychology, economics, politics, management, education, health, law and criminology. It has established well respected contacts in the national and international research communities, and the community services sector. Back to the top of this page Projects and publications Projects Alternative Care Project: Children and young people with high support needs in alternative care: new approaches to the prevention of placement breakdown Development of a model of therapeutic foster care for children with a high risk of placement breakdown Integrated management and service delivery: a case study Evaluation of a program for separating parents Evaluation of a program providing early intervention to families with a newborn infant in rural and remote regions Evaluation of a program undertaking capacity building with health and welfare services, and providing group work intervention to survivors of childhood sexual abuse Methods for delivering essential services to Aboriginal communities A tracking study of children in alternative care and the implications for practice Methods for social workers to deal with loss and grief The treatment and prevention of smoking among the mentally ill Fostering the participation of older people in modern technology Counselling methods for male survivors of childhood sexual abuse Rural on-line social services project Sustainable tenancy for Indigenous families: what services and supports are needed? ***List of projects in process - more to be added*** All publications listed below are available from ACCSR at a cost of $25 Australian (includes postage, handling and GST). Please email all enquiries or requests to purchase publications to accsr@flinders.edu.au. Publications ACCSR monographs Barber, J. and Gilbertson, R. (2001). Foster Care: The State of the Art. Reviews the 'state of the art' in foster care, examining the empirical literature and practice policy from around the world to identify what constitutes best practice in foster care. Cooper, L. and Anglem, J. (2003). Clinical Supervision in Mental Health. Maps models of professional supervision in mental health; investigates how clinical supervision meshes with clinical governance; examines efectiveness, values and conundrums of supervision; reports on the extent to which cultural supervision is practised in both the government and non-government esctors providing services for Maori; and identifies police and practice issues through case studies in two non-government organisations. Slatter, M. and Beer, A. (2003). Housing Evictions in South Australia: A Study of Bailiff-assisted Evictions. Joint research between Flinders University and the South Australian Housing Trust. Describes the current private rental sector and looks at the way in which South Australian law regulates eviction in the residential rental market. Delfabbro, P. and Day, A. (2004). Programs and Interventions Aimed at Addressing Problems of Anti-social Minority Youth in Australia and New Zealand: A Review. Reviews the historical and structural problems of anti-social behaviour among minority (Indigenous) youth and identifies programs, interventions and services applied to this population, the most effective features of these programs, and any evidence of this effectiveness in terms of identifiable outcomes measures. Irizarry, C. and Kleanthi, E (Eds) (2004). Five Stories: Remembering Childhood Removal from Homeland by Former British Child Migrants. Five women tell their stories of being sent to Australia from Britain as 'war orphans', their experiences of abuse and ill-treatment, and their mid-life journey to discover the truth about themselves and their families. Gilbertson, R. (2007). Child Protection: A Research Synthesis for Social Workers. Comprehensive research synthesis of international literature and evidence on child protection. Exploration of core issues confronting Australia's child and family welfare system, including permanency planning, adoption and out-of-home care placement alternatives. Recommended as a valuable resource for all practitioners and those involved in designing child protection programs and systems. Further publications by Gilbertson The following two publications are available from ACCSR at a cost of $20 Australian (includes postage, handling and GST). Please email all enquiries or requests to purchase publications to accsr@flinders.edu.au. Verity, F., Johnston, F. and Jones, M. (2007). The Doors are Open! Grenville Seniors Community Connections Hub. Values based practice integrated into one local council's (Playford Council, northern suburbs of Adelaide, South Australia) approach to their community. Describes how institutional policies and an informal culture have fostered community participation, relationship building, respect for dfifference, encouragement of independence, volunteering and ownership of the program for older people in the council area. Photographs illustrate some of the people and activities, and highlight the benefits of the program. Recommended for all local government associations, human service providers and practitioners. Verity, F., Johnston, F. and Marlowe, J. (2007). Kilburn Blair Athol Community Capacity Building Project 2001-2005. Describes a community capacity building project aimed at improving the health and wellbeing of a local community (Kilburn Blair Athol, an Adelaide, South Australia suburb ) to reduce poverty and disadvantage. The major community event to evolve from this is the annual Chicago Fair, which has become well established in the local community and attracts people from all over Adelaide. This monograph provides a useful resource for all human service providers and practitioners.       Back to the top of this page Management structure ACCSR's operations are governed by Flinders University and a Reference Group consisting of members from the community services sector, with Associate Professor Carol Irizarry as the Centre's Research Director.   Back to the top of this page Contact us The main contact for ACCSR is Administration Officer, Margaret Bowden, School of Social Work at Flinders University. Tel: (61 8) 8201 5288 Fax: (61 8) 8201 3760 Email: accsr@flinders.edu.au Back to the top of this page