Moving to the Fringe:

1
Moving to the Fringe

• Vulnerability of Young Families Who Relocate to
  Non-Metropolitan Areas
• Wendy Hillman, Karen Healy and Anne Hampshire

2
Background

• 3 year ARC funded project
• Industry Partners
• The University of Queensland
• Office of Economic and Statistical Research
  (Queensland Treasury)
• The Benevolent Society
• Mission Australia

3
Background

• Four research sites
• Southern inland Queensland
• Southern/Central coastal Queensland
• Central coast New South Wales
• Outer south western Sydney

4
(No Transcript)
5
Choice of Research Sites

• Consulted with Geographers/Demographers
• Australian Bureau of Statistics census data
  (2001)
• Queensland Centre for Population Research (QCPR)
• Looked at areas of interest to project
• SLA (Local Statistical Area) formed part of a
  redefined/newly formed SD (Statistical Division)
• Rated each SLA

6
Choice of Research Sites

• Planning, Information and Forecasting Unit (PIFU)
  data
• OESR data

7
Creation of Profile of Each Research Site

• Socioeconomic indexes for areas (SEIFA)
• Index of Advantage/Disadvantage
• Index of Disadvantage
• Index of Economic Resources
• Index of Education and Occupation (ABS 2001).

8
Creation of Profile of Each Research Site

• Map other indicators onto SEIFA data
• The objective of the profile is to identify areas
  of relative risk for social exclusion of young
  families in SLAs across Qld as indicated by
• Index of disadvantage measures specifically low
  income, low educational achievement, and high
  levels of unemployment (possibly also households
  without motor vehicles) we intend to use the
  ABS index of disadvantage.
• Family characteristics of disadvantage
  specifically the proportion of single parent
  families
• Educational participation specifically
  pre-school attendance
• Health Low birth weight, teenage pregnancy (or,
  specifically, birth rates amongst teenagers),
  psychiatric hospital admissions.

9
Participants

• Local service providers
• Council development/economic officers
• Welfare workers
• Childcare workers
• Teachers
• Healthcare workers
• Young families with children aged 0-8 years

10
Definitions

• Young Families
• We define young families as one or more primary
  carer(s) with responsibility(ies) for child(ren)
  aged 0-8 years of age.

11
Definitions

• Non-Metropolitan
• The term non-metropolitan is used to refer to
  all parts of the country outside of centres with
  more than 100,000 inhabitants (Hugo, G. 2002
  1).

12
Definitions

• Social Exclusion
• The term social exclusion encompasses not only
  low material means but the inability to
  participate effectively in economic, social,
  political and cultural life (Green cited in
  Baum, Stimson, OConnor, Mullins and Davis
  19994).

13
Definitions

• Vulnerability
• Vulnerability has two sides an external side
  of risk, shocks and stress to which an individual
  or household is subject and an internal side
  which is defenceless, meaning a lack of means to
  cope without damaging loss (Chambers 1989 1).

14
Definitions

• Risk
• Researchers such as Bowes and Hayes (1999) and
  Werner and Smith (1992) refer to risk as the
  extent to which people are vulnerable to negative
  consequences (Farrell 2004 236).

15
Methodology

• Construction of profile for research site
  communities
• Scoping of research sites
• Conduct stakeholder interviews
• Conduct in-depth interviews with approx 40 young
  families across four study sites
• Action Research Work with stakeholders to
  identify, implement and evaluate practical policy
  responses for promotion of the social inclusion
  of young families in non-metropolitan areas

16
Why Young Families Relocate

• Perceived better lifestyle
• Rural, non-metropolitan living
• Enticements/Perceived enhanced opportunities
• work, leisure, cheaper land/houses
• Perceived cheaper living conditions
• - Rent/mortgage, food
• Perceived anonymity
• Less surveillance Centrelink, Police, Child
  Support Agency, ex-partner(s)/spouse(s)

17
Australian Policy Context

• Federal government
• Stronger Families and Communities Strategy
• National Agenda for Early Childhood
• New South Wales Government
• Families First
• Queensland Government
• Putting Families First
• Queensland Families Future Directions

18
Factors That Contribute to Vulnerability of
Families After Relocation

• Lack of Services
• Child Welfare
• Education
• Family support
• Health
• Lack of Initial Response to Families Moving to
  non-Metropolitan Areas resulting in social
  exclusion
• Cost of Housing
• Commuting cost of petrol, transport, car lack
  of local/regional transport

19
Conclusion

• Many families are relocating to non-metropolitan
  areas due to push and pull factors of
  economic, social and political origin.
• Poverty, social exclusion and isolation form part
  of the daily existence for many of these young
  families.
• The lack of response from government and welfare
  agencies contributes to the vulnerability and
  cohesion of these young families, which in turn,
  puts them at risk socially, emotionally,
  economically and physically.