The research team

The NSW Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) is funding and leading the Pathways of Care Longitudinal Study. FACS Analysis and Research has a small team of researchers and statisticians on the study:

• Merran Butler (Chief Investigator)
• Marina Paxman (Project Manager)
• Joanna Hopkins (Data Manager)
• Albert Zhou
• Dr Nafisa Asif
• Dr Proshanta Dey
• Sharon Burke
• Jennifer Lau
• Toula Kypreos.

The study working group

A team of experts are contracted to provide advice on the study design, data collection, data management and undertake longitudinal analysis:

• Professor Judy Cashmore, Law School University of Sydney
• Professor Ilan Katz, Social Policy Research Centre University of NSW
• Associate Professor Paul Gray, Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research UTS*
• Dr Fred Wulczyn, from the Chapin Hall Centre for Children at the University of Chicago
• Dr Michelle Townsend, University of Wollongong
• Dr Alan Taylor, retired from Macquarie University
• Professor Michael Tarren-Sweeney, University of Canterbury, New Zealand
• Associate Professor Melissa O’Donnell, University of South Australia
• Professor Melissa Green, UNSW
• Professor Amy Conley-Wright, Sydney University
• Associate Professor Dan McAullay, Kurongkurl Katitjin, Edith Cowan University
• Sax Institute,  provide data management services and secure storage of the POCLS data in the Secure Unified Research Environment (SURE)
• Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) provided advice on design and data management in the establishment phase
• I-view, an independent social research data collection agency conduct all the face-to-face interviews and on-line surveys
• *on leave

The advisory group

The POCLS Advisory Group include:

• NSW Department of Communities and  Justice
• NSW Ministry of Health
• NSW Department of Education
• NSW Department of Customer Service
• CREATE Foundation
• Aboriginal Child, Family and Community Care State Secretariat
• My Forever Family NSW
• Association of Children’s Welfare Agencies
• Office of the Children’s Guardian

Please see:

• Terms of Reference

The support agencies

Participants in the study also receive support from:

• CREATE Foundation
• Aboriginal State-wide Foster Carer Support Service
• My Forever Family

If you are part of this Study, please let the researchers at DCJ or I-view know if you change your address or phone number so we can keep in contact with you.