Forced adoption support services scoping study Daryl Higgins, Pauline Kenny, Reem Sweid and Lucy Ockenden Report for the Department of Social Services by the Australian Institute of Family Studies February 2014

109.1Knowledge translation and exchange (KTE)

In a number of areas of welfare/human service delivery, governments have funded “clearinghouses” or what are now termed “knowledge translation and exchange” services as a means of supporting service sector development, increasing the accessibility to evidence-based resources and enhancing the knowledge base and skill set of practitioners, managers, and policy-makers. In Australia, this strategy has been used in areas such as:

overcoming Indigenous disadvantage ;

Indigenous health ;

enhancing family relationships, protecting children, and strengthening families and communities ;

reducing sexual violence ;

addressing family violence ;

trauma ; and

evidence compass for working with military and veteran communities .

The main goal of a Knowledge Translation and Exchange (KTE) service is to be a primary source of quality, evidence-based information, resources and interactive support for professionals. Key functions include:

providing a central collection point for research, information and resources;

facilitating access to the evidence-base to support organisations, agencies and others using research and evidence in shaping policy, practice and research directions;

engaging with stakeholders to better meet their needs;

allowing people with common interests and purposes to share information, knowledge and experience from different states, territories, regions and sectors;

the collection, synthesis and summarising of developments in the field;

making research and other information available in a form that has immediate, practical utility for practitioners and policy-makers;

enabling managers and policy-makers to make decisions based on the best available evidence; and

information-sharing among practitioners, policy-makers and others.

Increasingly, access to research evidence, and “translation” of information for busy practitioners is seen as an important added value to service-system improvements.

110Definition

Knowledge translation and exchange (KTE) can be defined as “people sharing evidence and perspectives on issues of common concern. It is a two-way interaction between researchers and those who can use research to improve the quality of life.”¹⁵

111Research use in policy and practice

Some of the factors that influence the use of research in policy and practice include:

users are almost universally time poor;

plain English publications and resources are most useful;

research uptake is more likely to occur if two-way communication exists between the user and the researcher; and

multiple dissemination types are required to meet the needs of different users.¹⁶

112How KTE activities help

Provides quality, evidence-based, plain language resources and key messages for time-poor professionals, where key messages are highlighted.

Engages both parties in conversations about how research can inform practice/policy, and how practice/policy experiences can inform research questions.

Provides a trusted source of quality information in a range of different formats.

Works alongside implementation¹⁷ to promote evidence-based policy and practice.

113Primary KTE activities

Methods: As well as using “traditional” methods, such as publishing literature reviews and newsletters, innovative methods of research dissemination are adopted, for example:

webinars (web-based seminars);

“scaffolding” information (key messages highlighted, followed by easily accessible in-depth information); and

“infographics” to visually present high-level data in an easy-to-understand format.

Stakeholders: Knowledge translation and exchange is reliant on active networking with stakeholders to facilitate their contributions to the two-way exchange, and increase the reach of dissemination activities.

Collaboration: To increase the impact and enhance the sustainability of its KTE activities, AIFS has also entered into funding agreements with some NGOs where research staff from the knowledge translation and exchange teams work collaboratively to support agencies with evaluating their services, and embedding a “research-aware” culture within their agencies to highlight evidence-informed, reflective practices.

114Service model options for improving supports for people affected by forced adoptions

In this section, we outline the service model options for enhancing and complementing existing service systems in order to improve supports for people affected by forced adoptions (see Table 17 and Figure 1 for summary). These options are based on:

findings from a review of the published literature;

an environmental scan of service systems and conceptual models for service improvements in related areas (e.g., family law; veterans; humanitarian migrants who have suffered torture/trauma; and persons separated from family for reasons other than adoption, such as Forgotten Australians, Former Child Migrants, and Stolen Generations); and

findings from the stakeholder workshops and individual consultations.

114.12012 AIFS study findings regarding service options

In the AIFS study, Past Adoption Experiences: National Research Study on the Service Response to Past Adoption Practices (Kenny et al., 2012), participants identified the following issues relating to the quality of service delivery:

Good information services (including identifying information and access to personal records):

are delivered by trained staff;

are provided through websites, moderated interactive sites (“chat rooms”) and/or 24-hour phone lines;

are provided with sensitivity to the needs of those seeking them (confidentiality, discretion, language used, etc.);

are relevant to the “stage of the journey” of individuals; and

have a range of support levels (e.g., access to support person onsite and in follow-up).

Good search and contact services:

enable access to counselling and ongoing support during the search and contact journey;

use an independent mediator to facilitate searching for and exchanging information; and

address expectations before contact is made and provide ongoing support afterwards.

Good professional and informal supports:

incorporate adoption-related supports into existing services (such as services funded by the Australian Government’s Family Support Program, Medicare-funded psychological services or other state/territory funded programs);

provide options for both professional and peer supports; and

address trauma, loss, grief, abandonment and identity issues.

Appendix A: Table 17: Summary of key options

Strategy	Similar area of service delivery	Domain of influence
1. Local post-adoption networks	Family Law Pathways Network	Enhance quality, coordination, flexibility and diversity of post-adoption support services
2. Grants to expand existing services focused on outreach; training; and increasing capacity to meet demand	Funding for Family Law Pathways Network to provide training, networking events	Enhance existing services Expand services
3. National web portal	For individuals: Forgotten Australians, Stolen Generations For professionals: Family law, child protection, sexual assault, family violence, family relationships, ACPMH, etc.	Accessibility and coordination Training Resources
4. Knowledge translation and exchange	Many areas of child/family welfare work rely on the work of KTE agencies to improve access to research and resources in order to facilitate evidence-informed quality service delivery	Information sharing; resources; coordination for adoption-specific services Access and quality of mainstream services
5. New national services such as: contact database DNA testing & matching brokerage international searching	Find & Connect Link Up	Expand services
6. Expand membership, and formalise role of National Committee of Post-Adoption Service Providers	Most service delivery areas have a strong, national body or committee that provide a coordinated voice and liaison point, set standards, etc.—e.g., NASASV, WESNET	Training, standards, coordination

Figure 1: Inter-relationships between proposed options.