Mitchell, Gaye
Position: Research Fellow
Phone: +61 3 8344 9400
Email: gayelm@unimelb.edu.au
Practice Research Consultant, and Research Officer, Wesley Mission Melbourne
Qualifications
B.A./Dip Soc Studs; PhD.
Experience
More than 30 years' social work experience, mainly in child and family welfare, including research, practice research and practice development, and program development and evaluation, mostly within community service organisations.
Research interests
Child and family welfare: child abuse and neglect, vulnerable families, families with chronic and multiple problems, "excluded families", ecological, developmental, and family-centred approaches in child and family welfare, program development and evaluation in family services, data systems for family services.
Publications
Journal articles
Campbell, Lynda, and Gaye Mitchell. "Victorian Family Support Services in retrospect: Three decades of investment, challenge and achievement." Australian Social Work 60, no. 3 (2007):278-94.
Research reports
(mainly published by community service organisations in which the research was undertaken)
Chisholm, Lesley, and Gaye Mitchell. "Evaluation Report of the Pilot Phase of the Families in Crisis - Supports and Solutions (FICSS) Program." Melbourne: Canterbury Family Centre, now UnitingCare Connections, 1998.
Mitchell, Gaye. "From Exclusion to Community and Connectedness: a difficult, tenuous but possible path." St Kilda: Sacred Heart Mission, 2000.
---. "Helping Families with High Risk Infants - The detailed report." Melbourne: UnitingCare Connections, 2002.
---. "Comprehending complexity, fighting exclusion: Evaluation of South East Family Services: Executive Summary and Summary Report." Melbourne: Connections UnitingCare, 2008a.
---. "Moving forward at last: Evaluation of the Family Violence Project's New Beginnings Groups." Melbourne: Connections - An agency of UnitingCare (Connections), 2006.
---. "Working Together Practice Research Paper: Changing patterns, perceptions and beliefs about challenging behaviours in preschool children." Melbourne: Connections: An agency of UnitingCare, 2004.
Mitchell, Gaye, Sonia Russell, Fredda Greg, Patricia Mamonski, Alison Lipkevicius and Caroline Lovell. "Getting off the Roundabout: Troubled Children Moving through the Care System." Melbourne: UnitingCare Connections, 2002.
Mitchell, Gaye, Cathie Hutchinson, Jo Smart, and Julie Wassle. Comprehending complexity, fighting exclusion: Evaluation of South East Family Services: Detailed Report. Connections UnitingCare, 2008b. Available from http://www.connections.org.au Follow links to "publications" and then to "research publications".
Mitchell, Gaye Lorraine. "Child welfare families : elaborating an understanding through social work practice and research and the use of volunteers." Ph.D, University of Melbourne, 1995.
Mitchell, Gaye, and Sandra Rae. "Helping Families with High Risk Infants: lessons from a parent assessment and skill development service." Melbourne: UnitingCare Connections, 2002.
Mitchell, Gaye, and Jenny Sheehan. ""The only friend I've ever had": Building relationships with excluded families." Melbourne: MacKillop Family Services, 2003.
Mitchell, Gaye, and Sarah Witnish. "Working Together - Early Childhood Services: Evaluation Report - March 2006." Melbourne: Connections: Child Youth and Family Services, an agency of UnitingCare, 2006.
Mitchell, Gaye; Woolcock, Leigh; Reynolds, Samantha; Mc Phail, Shari; Mc Grath, Peter; Davies, Carmelita; Ogilvie, Kate. "Understanding Homeless Families with Serious and Complex Needs: The response of the SHIFT service." Melbourne: Connections: An Agency of UnitingCare, 2003.
Tierney, Leonard, et al., for the Social Welfare Commission, Australia. Evaluation of the Australian Assistance Plan (Victoria). Melbourne: University of Melbourne Dept. of Social Studies, 1975.
Recent seminar or conference papers
2008: Mitchell, Gaye. "Data needs for humane service programming and delivery: a critical analysis of one information system, the Integrated Reports and Information System (IRIS), one of two information systems used by government-funded family services in Victoria." Poster presented at ACWA08: Association of Children's Welfare Agencies Conference and the 2008 Management and Leadership Institute, Sydney, Australia 2008.
2008: Mitchell, Gaye. "Engagement and intervention when children are at risk: what works, and what else can we try for those who don't engage - lessons from practice research." Paper presented at ACWA08: Association of Children's Welfare Agencies Conference and the 2008 Management and Leadership Institute, Sydney, Australia 2008.
2008: Mitchell, Gaye. "Practice research: building better practice, deeper knowledge, more confident staff and a learning culture." Paper presented at the QEC 5th International Biennial Conference, 2008, Melbourne, Australia 2008.
2008: Mitchell, Gaye , and Jo. Smart. "Keeping mother and baby safe: in-home family services practice with families with high risk infants - achievements and challenges." Paper presented at the QEC 5th International Biennial Conference, 2008, Melbourne, Australia 2008.
2007: Mitchell, Gaye, "Possibilities and challenges of using IRIS data in practice research." Paper to Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare Inc and University of Melbourne, School of Social Work Knowledge into Action Initiative "Data systems to support Evidence-Informed Practice", April, 2007.
2006: Campbell, Lynda and Mitchell, Gaye, "Family Services in Retrospect: three decades of investment and achievement." Paper presented to the 6th Len Tierney memorial seminar and Inaugural Family Services Symposium of the North and West Welfare Alliance on May 29th, 2006.
2006: Mitchell, Gaye, Wasterval, Marieke and Witnish, Sarah "Parents' Views: What can we learn about effectiveness of our Practice and Models of Service." Paper presented to QEC 4th National Conference, Melbourne Australia, 2006.
2006: Mitchell, Gaye, and Leigh Woolcock. "Ill-health and homelessness: How they make each other worse and what we can do about it?" Paper presented at the 4th National Homelessness Conference: The Great Australian Dream? Waking up to Homelessness. Sydney, Australia, 2006.
2004: Gaye Mitchell, Marieke Wasterval and Sue Olerenshaw, "Changing Patterns, Perceptions and Beliefs about Challenging Behaviour in Preschool Children." Paper presented to QEC 2nd National Conference, Melbourne, Australia, 2004.