The research team (consisting of Melinda Goodyear, Rose Cuff, Darryl Maybery, Andrea Reupert, and Amaryll Perlesz) have over a decade of research experience investigating the needs of FaPMI and COPMI (Children Of Parents with a Mental Illness). Members of the team have more recently been involved in several research projects establishing best practice models of care for FaPMI, including the ‘Evaluation of a model of best practice for families who have a parent with a mental illness’ (Maybery et al. 2006) as part of the evaluation of the VicChamps project.
Currently members of the team are working on the evaluation of the FaPMI Service Development Strategy. The evaluation component of the strategy is a joint initiative between The Bouverie Centre, La Trobe University (Rose Cuff, Amaryll Perlesz, Melinda Goodyear) and the Department of Rural and Indigenous Health, Monash University (Darryl Maybery, Andrea Reupert, Melinda Goodyear). In 2007, the Workforce Development Questionnaire was launched as part of the evaluation of workforce change underpinning one of the objectives of the FaPMI strategy. We are presently collecting information from FaPMI peer support program facilitators with the aim of disseminating information about an overview of all programs currently being offered across the state (check program section of the website). In addition, semi-structured interviews will soon be conducted with all FaPMI co-ordinators and area mental health service managers to determine contextual issues in processes utilised for implementation of the FaPMI strategy and organisational policy change and workforce development in general. Funding support for other components of the evaluation strategy is currently being sought.
