Resi Worker Conversation

The conversation has begun,

Click here to join the Conversation.

The Residential Care Worker Online Conversation is an opportunity for all Resi workers to have a say about your training, skills and professional development needs.

Be part of the community of Residential Care Workers whose voice will be heard, influence the development of the Residential Care workforce, and promote positive outcomes for young people in residential care

Join the Online Resi Worker Conversation to discuss…

• What skills and training do you need to do your job?
• What are the gaps in training offered to you?
• Are you provided with the professional development you need?
• Are you given the skills you need to provide the quality of care for young people that you want to offer them?
• Do you know how to obtain industry based qualifications, how to train for promotion?
• Are courses and skills training good enough? relevant? accessible?

…and be in the draw to receive a ‘thank you’ Gold Class voucher for $100

To Join the Conversation…

The conversation has begun, Click here to join the Conversation.

You will be sent an individual email telling you how to log in and participate when the conversation opens.
The online conversation will be open for participation from February 9 – March 1, 2015.
Note: All email addresses will be kept strictly confidential

FAQs and Information

How does the Online ResiWorker Conversation work?

• The Online ResiWorker Conversation works like a large focus group held online in which you can log onto the website to give your opinion about the topic under discussion, tell us about your experiences and get involved in discussions with colleagues.
• Record and discuss your experiences, opinions, insights and training ideas with other Residential Care workers from other agencies and areas across Victoria
• You can take part anytime, anywhere you have access to the internet – just log in and enter into the conversation at any time that suits you.
• Topics will change every couple of days, so there will be lots of issues and opportunities to have your say.
• You can monitor and join in the conversation from your desktop, laptop, tablet or internet enabled phone.

Is the Conversation Private?

• The online discussion is private and secure. Only those who register to participate can see or take part in the discussion. The discussion will be conducted using secure, state of the art, online focus group software and is hosted on a dedicated secure server.

Who is running the conversation?

• The online workforce conversation will be moderated by the Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare Manager of Research and Social Policy. 
• The ResiWorker Conversation is part of a large project underway by the Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare and DHS in a project to support Residential Care Workers to access the training and skills development they need to do their work. The project includes a 2014-15 Workforce Census; the Voice of Young People in Residential Care and the ResiWorker Conversation.

Am I eligible to take part? Can I invite colleagues to participate?

• All Resi workers who work in Residential Care Units in Victoria are eligible to participate – including full time, part time and casual workers.
• Your individual opinions and experiences are a very very important to the information collected and the voice of Residential Care Workers and we would greatly value your participation.
• Please encourage all your colleagues to have a say in this important project. The more workers who participate, the greater the voice of workers into workforce development.
• To be eligible for the draw for prizes you must actively contribute to the conversation/topics over the three week online conversation. Topics will change every couple of days on average, so there will be lots of issues and opportunities to get involved and have a say.

What does my organisation think about this? Is participation required by my Agency?

• The Executive Team of your agency and the Program and Unit Managers of Residential Care in your agency have all been informed and are supportive of this project and your involvement in it.
• There is a Program Champion in your agency who you can contact if you wish. Please email Genevieve.LeBas@cfecfw.asn.au for the name of this person.
• Please note: Participation is entirely voluntary. You are not required to participate by your agency, by the Centre for Excellence, or by DHHS. No records of participants will be kept or disseminated to any party.

Confidentially and Anonymity

• Be totally anonymous in the conversation if you want to be – your ‘user name’ is your choice.
• You will be asked some information about yourself when you first login to participate but this is to ensure eligibility of respondents and help with data analysis. No identifying data will be seen by other participants in the conversation unless you want it that way.
• The Centre for Excellence in Child and Family adheres to all ethical and privacy requirements for data confidentiality and anonymity. Staff working on this project are registered by the Australian Psychological Society and Australian Society of Social Work and strictly abide by the professional standards for ethical data handling and respondent confidentiality.
• Your responses will be de-identified and data will remain confidential to the Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare (Research and Social Policy Unit). Only aggregate data analysis will be undertaken or reported. However, some de-identified quotes might be used to illustrate themes in aggregate responses.
• The themes and issues identified by the Resi Worker Conversation will be used in reporting and recommendations for Learning and Development at the Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare, in project reports and in recommendations to DHHS and could be used in public presentations and discussions and media releases.

Other Questions?

For all questions or queries please contact:
Genevieve Le Bas. Project Researcher. Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare. Genevieve.LeBas@cfecfw.asn.au, Ph: 9614 1577

For any complaints or for further discussion please contact:
Amanda Stevenson. Manager, Research and Social Policy. Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare. Amanda.Stevenson@cfecfw.asn.au Ph: 9614 1577.