Our Team
The
Australian Centre for Child Protection has a committed and highly
esteemed team of staff and PhD students, encompassing a wide range
of professional backgrounds including social work, psychology,
education, Indigenous studies and communications. Our diverse
disciplinary backgrounds and extensive collective experience in
research, policy development and direct service delivery provide the
breadth and depth required to fulfil our mission and achieve our
goals.
Our staff members are actively engaged with peak bodies of
non-government agencies and with State and Commonwealth advisory
bodies, and we are regularly invited to participate in major
inquiries and reviews of child protection policy and practice across
Australia. This provides the opportunity to help close the gap
between research and action.
Team members include
Emeritus
Professor Dorothy Scott, Acting Director
Director of the Australian Centre for Child Protection from
2005-2010, Emeritus Professor Scott OAM has stepped back into her role as
Acting
Director for the Centre following the departure of Professor
Marianne Berry and her return to the United States for family
reasons. Professor Scott was the Foundation Chair
in Child Protection and is a well-known Australian authority in
child welfare and protection. She has conducted numerous
reviews and inquiries in Australia in the field of child protection
and has served on Ministerial advisory bodies in several States and
Territories. Professor Scott is completing her work on the Victorian
Vulnerable Children Inquiry as well as continuing her research
interests in child protection and related areas.
Associate Professor Leah Bromfield, Deputy Director
One of Australia's foremost child protection researchers, Dr Leah
Bromfield joined the Centre in 2010 after six years as a senior
research fellow at the Australian Institute of Family Studies' Child
Protection Clearinghouse. She is a well regarded research expert in
issues affecting child protection systems, chronic maltreatment and
cumulative harm, and has worked closely with government on
establishing and implementing child welfare reforms, including the
National Framework for Protecting Australia's Children.
Kate Greenfield,
Executive Officer
As Executive Officer and Centre Coordinator, Kate Greenfield
provides high level assistance to Centre staff and coordinates the
Centre's research and academic activities. In 2010 she was part of a
team awarded the Vice Chancellor's Award for Professional Staff
Excellence: Research and Innovation Services Capacity Section for
"Providing Quality Service".
Kerry Lewig,
Research Project Manager
Kerry Lewig has a background in organisational psychology which is
put to good use in her work overseeing and contributing to the
Centre's research projects and activities. One of her key research
interests includes examining how child protection research is
actually used by practitioners and policymakers to optimise its
efficacy. She is now working part-time having recently undertaken
her PhD.
Dr Sara McLean,
Research
Project Manager
A registered clinical psychologist, Sara McLean has been working in
child and adolescent mental health since 1997. With particular
research expertise in psychological issues associated with children
living in out-of-home care and interagency collaboration, she is
also the SA President of the Australian College for Child and Family
Protection Practitioners.
Christine Gibson,
Community Research Liaison
Christine Gibson has extensive experience as a social worker, social
work researcher and socio-legal educator, including many years
managing research and quality assurance for UnitingCare Burnside in
NSW. Since joining the Centre in 2007, she has contributed to a wide
range of activities including a series of projects aimed at helping
to improve services for homeless children and families.
Marie
Iannos, Research Assistant.
Marie is a registered psychologist with extensive clinical
experience in the field of child and adolescent mental health. Marie
provides research support across the many ongoing projects in the
Centre. She is currently working on a project to develop a practice
framework for home-based intensive family support programs at the
Benevolent Society.
Lisa DeGregorio, Research Assistant.
Lisa joined the Centre in 2011after completing her Masters in
Psychological Research Methods at the University of Exeter (UK). She
has a strong interest in neuropsychology and combining this
knowledge across the child protection field. Lisa currently provides
research support for the Evaluation Framework of Berry Street,
Victoria, helping them to develop a strategy to evaluate how they
contribute to their vision of a 'good childhood'. She is currently
also commencing a systematic review on neuropsychological profiles
on children in care.
Samantha Parkinson, Research
Assistant
First joining the Centre as a psychology Honours student in 2011,
Samantha is now a research assistant and helps other team members on
various projects.
Helen
Francis, Project Manager Building Capacity Building Bridges
Helen has been seconded to undertake the project
management of the Building Capacity Building Bridges
project. She brings her extensive experience from working in the
non-government sector, significant project and contract management
knowledge as well as her grounded and practical involvement in
Community Development and Community Capacity Building initiatives.
Pauleen
Fennell, Learning and Development Coordinator
Pauleen is involved in the Building Capacity Building
Bridges project developing and delivering Child and Family
Inclusive Practice Training and supporting the implementation of
practice.
Dr Amanda Shea-Hart, Learning and Development Coordinator
Amanda is involved in the Building Capacity Building
Bridges project developing and delivering Child and
Family Inclusive Practice Training and supporting the implementation
of practice.
Trudy Muggridge, Administrative Officer
Trudy is an experienced administrator with many years experience
gained working in the University and local government sectors.
She provides administrative support to the Building Capacity,
Building Bridges initiative.
Rachael Grauwelman-Smith, Administrative Support
Rachael Grauwelman-Smith provides a variety of support services from
reporting and database compilation and maintenance to website design
and authoring and grant
proposals.
Stewart McDougall, Student
Stewart is a third year undergraduate psychology student at UniSA. He
received a Summer Scholarship to work at the Australian Centre for
Child Protection and is undertaking a systematic literature review
on anxiety and social phobia in children who are in out-of-home
care.
Olivia Octoman, Student
A third year undergraduate psychology student at UniSA, Olivia
received a Summer Scholarship to work at the Centre and is undertaking a systematic literature review
on evidence-based interventions for sexually problematic behaviour.
Esther Fidock, Student
A second year undergraduate student at UniSA, Esther received a
scholarship to work at the Australian Centre for Child Protection
and is in the process of completing a systematic literature review
on strategies currently being implemented in the recruitment and
retention of child protection workers.
Adjunct members include:
Associate
Professor
Fiona Arney
Our former deputy director, Associate Professor Fiona Arney
continues to collaborate with the Centre in her current role leading
child protection research at the Menzies School of Health Research
in the Northern Territory.
Dr Tamara Blakemore
A senior research analyst with the Department of Families, Housing,
Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, Dr Tamara Blakemore
completed a PhD in the area of child sexual abuse and is an expert
on the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children dataset.
Our National Advisory Council
The Australian Centre for Child Protection is honoured to have a National Advisory Council of eminent Australians representing a range of disciplines and bringing a wealth of experience.
Chaired by the Honourable Justice Robyn Layton, members of the Advisory Council include:
- Professor Pal Ahluwalia (Pro Vice Chancellor, Division of Education, Arts and Social Sciences, University of South Australia),
- Ms Gillian Calvert (Former NSW Commission for Children and Young People),
- Professor Mick Dodson AM (Director of the Institute for Indigenous Australia, Australian National University),
- Professor Sue Richardson (Director of the National Institute of Labour Studies, Flinders University),
- Ms Muriel Bamblett, (Chief Executive Officer, Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency Co-op Ltd) and
- Professor Graham Vimpani, AM (Clinical Chair, Kaleidoscope in Greater Newcastle, Hunter Children's Health Network, Head of Paediatrics and Child Health, University of Newcastle).