About the project
This research project aims to address the significant need for employment support among young people in or exiting out-of-home care (OoHC) in Australia, with a particular focus on young women who face distinct challenges in this regard. The project involves the development, pilot, and evaluation of a mentoring program designed to provide essential support to these young women. The project is supported by a non-profit foundation and funded by The Jack Brockhoff Foundation’s Children and Youth Grant. The framework for this mentoring program is informed by a rapid review of the literature on mentoring programs for vulnerable populations, as well as qualitative data obtained through focus groups with practitioners. The framework is designed to serve as a starting point for practitioners considering implementing mentoring programs for care-experienced young people. It includes pillars focusing on mentor-mentee relationships, principles for program design, and considerations of enablers and barriers.The ultimate goal of the research project is to provide a valuable resource for practitioners to design, implement, and evaluate mentoring programs for young people in care, particularly focusing on the needs of young women exiting out-of-home care.
About the researchers
Dr Joel McGregor is a researcher at Swinburne University of Technology. He is interested in the systems and services that support individuals after involvement with the justice system, with a specific interest in young people and their workers.
Joel completed his PhD in 2019 which examined how case management and diversionary programs—such as rehabilitation interventions—come together as a practice to help young people following involvement with juvenile justice. This work highlighted how case managers are often required to draw on their own experiences, and an understanding of self, while serving their clients. This has important implications for the desistance pathways of young people. Joel is working with several teams on funded projects that seek to evidence and evaluate new and existing intervention programs for vulnerable populations.
Dr Ben Lohmeyer is a Youth Sociologist and Youth Worker. He is a Lecturer in Social Work in the College of Education, Psychology and Social Work at Flinders University. His research and teaching are in the field of youth sociology and the sociology of violence, with intersections into youth policy and youth work practice. He has published in international journals including Qualitative Research, Current Sociology, Journal of Youth Studies, and has recently published a book on “Youth and Violent Performativities” (2020). Before beginning his academic career, Ben worked across a range of youth work settings including alternative education, alternative accommodation and peacebuilding. He has experience in grant writing, program and policy design and implementation.
Dr Catherine Hartung is a senior lecturer in the Department of Education at Swinburne University of Technology. Her teaching and research focuses on children and young people’s citizenship, rights, wellbeing, and diversity. Her research is interdisciplinary – a mix of sociology, education, political science, cultural studies, community development, and geography – but at its core is a concern with how various educational, cultural, and political institutions reproduce and/or challenge inequalities, as well as the ways that children and young people negotiate and resist institutional governance. Catherine is the author of several books including Conditional Citizens: Rethinking Children and Young People’s Participation (Springer). She has been an active researcher on a number of major national grants totalling more than $840,000 and involving hundreds of children, families, and educators.
Mentor Research 