Fams has partnered with Southern Cross University to launch a study which addresses the role of telepractice in family work.
Like so many, NSW family workers had to transition from their traditional face-to-face model to a telepractice model as COVID-19 broke out in early 2020.
Following a series of Zoom-based focus group sessions with the NSW family work sector called ‘In conversation with’, Fams has begun to collate their findings.
While necessary to protect the health of Australians, the social distancing policy has substantially changed the way family workers have engaged with clients.
Workers were required to conduct the bulk of service delivery online and over the telephone. While this has created new opportunities for service delivery, much remains unknown regarding delivering family work using online technology.
There are concerns about privacy, safety, and the efficacy of providing interventions to vulnerable people in this way.
Fams’ newly launched Telepractice in family work study explores how the early intervention and prevention sector can develop some of the changes to service delivery necessitated by COVID-19 into an evidence-informed, sustainable, and secure model of family work that will result in improved outcomes for families, children and young people.
