Volunteer Family Connect Program of Research
Volunteer Family Connect Program of Research
Volunteer Family Connect (VFC) is a structured social relationship program. It matches families of young children who are reporting feeling isolated or lacking in parenting confidence, with volunteers within their own community who have experience working with children and who have been trained to support families who are vulnerable. The volunteers visit the family on a weekly basis for up to one year. The role of the volunteer is to work with the family to identify activities and people they would like to have in their lives, and to support them in connecting with the community resources that are available to them to meet their goals.
Prior to the commencement of TeEACH, researchers (Grace, Baird & Kemp) conducted a multi-state randomised-controlled trial to examine the effectiveness of this program and demonstrated significant positive outcomes both for the families and for the volunteers.
This work has continued to grow with the research team now looking at VFC’s effectiveness in Aboriginal communities and for people with disabilities. We are also examining its effectiveness in an online format. In addition, TeEACH has developed a comprehensive online training program available to all community volunteers called ‘Foundations for Connection’, that is designed to build capacity in the volunteer sector in the application of a strengths-based approach in their interactions with vulnerable community members.
If you are interested in this program please take time to look at our VFC resources & training and contact us for more information.
| Research Project | CI | Funding Type | FoR Codes | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VFC for the Benevolent Society | Dr Kelly Baird, A/Prof Rebekah Grace | Commissioned | 2021 | |
| Volunteer Family Connect for families of children with disabilities | Dr Kelly Baird, A/Prof Rebekah Grace | Commissioned | 111707, 170113 | 2020 |
| Trial of an online training program for volunteers | Dr Kelly Baird, A/Prof Rebekah Grace | Commissioned | 160702, 440903 | 2020 |
| Trial of Volunteer Family Connect in an Aboriginal community | A/Prof Rebekah Grace, Dr Kelly Baird | Commissioned | 160702, 440903 | 2020 |
Research
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- Connectedness & Belonging
- Volunteer Family Connect Program of Research
- Futuro Infantil Hoy
- The Children as Health Ambassadors study
- Greenscapes: How does your garden grow?
- Transforming silos to linked up services
- Upholding Cultural Connection for Children in Out-of-Home Care
- The ReSPECT Project: Reconceptualising services from the perspectives of experienced children and teens
- Improving children’s early school outcomes, health and wellbeing using a child participatory methodology
- The Acknowledgement Project: Embedding Indigenous knowledges in early childhood education and care
- Subjective wellbeing in the early childhood years
- Listening carefully: Engaging families in early childhood education in the context of disadvantage
- “And it's Not History. It's Now”: Embedding a Trauma Framework into the Practice of Welfare Practitioners who Work with Aboriginal Families in the NSW Child Protection Sector
- Sharing parenting stories and love
- Teaching About the Stolen Generations in NSW Schools: A Comparative Study of the Role and Impacts of In-person Storytelling on Members of the Stolen Generations, Students and Teachers
- THRIVE: Finishing School Well