AICAFMHA:
promoting mental health for young Australians
Australian Infant, Child, Adolescent and Family Mental Health Association Ltd
ABN 87 093 479 022

News in Brief - Issue #4.11 (07/07/2004)

AICAFMHA News / What's On? / Mental Health News / Resources / Back to E-News index

AICAFMHA News

Registrations are now open for the 5th AICAFMHA/14th TheMHS Conference on the Gold Coast in September this year. You can download a registration brochure from the AICAFMHA website at http://www.aicafmha.net.au/conferences/goldcoast2004/index.html or register online from http://www.themhs.org/conferences/main.htm . Earlybird registration with the AICAFMHA members discount closes Friday 16th July.

The fortnightly COPMI Project update is now online at http://www.aicafmha.net.au/copmi/project/updates/index.htm and includes information about Stage 2 of the project.

AICAFMHA membership information and application form for the 2005 financial year is available online at http://www.aicafmha.net.au/membership/index.htm .

What?s On?

The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) and the Mental Health Council of Australia (MHCA) are conducting a series of nation-wide community consultations to investigate allegations regarding the serious risks to which people with a mental illness and their families are being exposed as a result of the nationwide crisis in mental health care. The date and times for the consultations in NSW, Queensland, and South Australia are outlined below and it is anticipated consultations in Tasmania, ACT, Northern Territory and Victoria will take place during August and September 2004. Given that the consultations provide an opportunity to deliver your message directly to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commissioner, we strongly encourage you to attend the consultation in your State or Territory and participate in the discussions. We would also greatly appreciate if you are also able to forward this information on to your relevant networks.

For further information on the national mental health community consultations, please contact the Secretariat on 02 6285 3100.
Kind regards
Neil Wildman
Deputy CEO
Mental Health Council of Australia

National Parenting Conference
Adelaide Convention Centre
6-8 September 2004
EARLYBIRD registration has been extended by 2 weeks
Save $100 on full conference registration by registering before Friday 16 July
Download the registration form from the conference website www.cyh.com and post to National Parenting Conference, 295 South Terrace Adelaide SA 5000

Mental Health News

Bipolar Disorder Research Project
It is about collecting the stories of the primary school experiences of adult children of parents with Bipolar Disorder.
The main aims of the research are:
1. to give a voice to a group (children of parents with Bipolar Disorder) that have been identified in the research as largely 'invisible'
2. to understand their experiences in the schooling context
3. and to increase the mental health literacy and awareness of teachers, other school personnel who would benefit from understanding the experiences of students they may have in their classrooms or come into contact with
A flier describing the research project and an information sheet is available.
Or contact Kim Brown at k.b.brown@bigpond.com.

The July edition of the KOPING Statewide Newsletter is available.

As part of the Embrace the Future: Young Australians Mental Health and Wellbeing project we aim to map all of the mental health promotion programs throughout Australia. So we need your assistance!!
The aim of this survey is to gain an overall understanding of mental health education, wellbeing and early intervention programs that are available to young people (10 - 24 years). It is not an evaluation or review of individual programs. Why fill out this survey? Once the results have been collated this information will be available on the internet. Your organisation will have the opportunity to promote programs at no charge and use the website as a free information resource. You will also have the opportunity to see what other programs are being implemented at a local, interstate and national level.
For this initiative to be successful the Mental Health Foundation of Australian requests that you complete the online survey at www.embracethefuture.org.au. If you would like a hard copy of the survey please down load the form at www.embracethefuture.org.au/survey/Survey.pdf
If your organisation is involved with various networks or has interstate equivalents please forward this email.
If you require further information or would like a information package regarding the Embrace the Future initiative please contact the undersigned. Thank you for your cooperation.
Penny Francis
Project Officer, Embrace the Future
Young Australians' Mental Health and WellBeing
Mental Health Foundation of Australia
270 Church Street, Richmond 3121
Telephone: 03 9427 0407, Fax: 03 9427 1294

Funded by the Telstra Corporation, the Mind Over Media project consists of a series of seven free Fact Sheets, to be released quarterly, which provide parents and caregivers with information about media use and early development of very young children, that is children aged 0 - 5 years. Each Fact Sheet includes strategies for parents and caregivers. It is a national project and we are encouraging all professionals who work with very young children to join, thereby receiving the seven Fact Sheets in the series. Of course, it is highly desirable that the information is also passed on to the families with whom you come into contact.
If you would like to know more about our organisation or the Mind Over Media project, our website (www.youngmedia.org.au) is probably the best place to go in the first instance. In the meantime, please feel free to call (08 8376 2111) or email me (helpline@youngmedia.org.au) for any further information.

Resources

Children's Health, the Nation's Wealth: Assessing and Improving Child Health
US Institute of Medicine (IOM), Board on Children, Youth and Families
(BOCYF) - 2004
Available online at: http://www.nap.edu/books/0309091187/html/

Benefits and Costs of Prevention and Early Intervention Programs for Youth (#04-07-3901)
Does prevention pay? Can an ounce of prevention avoid (at least) an ounce of cure? More specifically for public policy purposes, is there credible scientific evidence that for each dollar a legislature spends on "research-based" prevention or early intervention programs for youth, more than a dollar's worth of benefits will be generated? If so, what are the policy options that offer taxpayers the best return on their dollar? These are among the ambitious questions the 2003 Washington State Legislature assigned the Washington State Institute for Public Policy. This report describes our findings and provides an overview of how we conducted the analysis. The "full report" link contains a summary of findings. The first appendix contains a full description of our results and methods, and the second appendix lists the references used in the study. [Steve Aos, Roxanne Lieb, Jim Mayfield, Marna Miller, Annie Pennucci - July 2004]
Link to full (summary) report:
http://www.wsipp.wa.gov/rptfiles/04-07-3901.pdf
Link to first appendix (methods and detailed results):
http://www.wsipp.wa.gov/rptfiles/04-07-3901a.pdf
Link to second appendix (references):
http://www.wsipp.wa.gov/rptfiles/04-07-3901b.pdf

JRF Findings published: 'Mentoring disaffected young people: an evaluation of 'Mentoring Plus'
Just published on the Joseph Rowntree Foundation website is 'Mentoring disaffected young people: an evaluation of 'Mentoring Plus'. This research evaluates the role of mentoring by looking at the experience of 10 'Mentoring Plus' programmes, combining one-to-one mentoring, education/training and social activities. Read it at:
http://www.jrf.org.uk/redirect.asp?url=findings/socialpolicy/644
You can also send us comments on this piece of work using the feedback icon on the Findings page.

From ABC Health Updates:
SAM WEINSTEIN - FAMILY NURTURING CENTRE (George Negus Tonight: 29/06/2004) Sam Weinstein is a Family Counsellor and Senior Yoga Teacher. He and his wife Sydel run the Family Nurturing Centre, a place where parents can come and share experiences and learn from each other. Through support groups, baby yoga and guidance, Sam is helping new parents form strong bonds with their babies.
http://www.abc.net.au/gnt/people/Transcripts/s1143559.htm

Web and telecounselling in Australia
Helen M Christensen, Barbara M Hocking and Dawn Smith.
Med J Aust 2004; 180 (12): 604-605.
http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/180_12_210604/chr10139_fm.html

AICAFMHA News / What's On? / Mental Health News / Resources / Back to E-News index

Last Modified: 07-07-2004 12:41:39