Who is funding the research?

Support for the NSW-CDS is provided from multiple sources, each contributing to different parts of the study. This longitudinal study (including Record Linkage Waves 1 and 2, and the Middle Childhood Survey) was established with Commonwealth Government funding  provided by an Australian Research Council Linkage Project Grant, and a National Health and Medical Research Council Project Grant, with additional funding from an Australian Rotary Health Research Grant, an Australian Institute of Criminology Research Grant, and financial and/or in-kind support from the NSW Department of Education, Ministry of Health, and Department of Family and Community Services.

Current Commonwealth government funding is provided by an Australian Research Council Discovery Project Grant,  National Health and Medical Research Council Project Grant and National Health and Medical Research Council Partnership Grant with the NSW Department of Family and Community Services as an industry partner providing financial and in-kind support, and additional funding from an Australian Rotary Health Research Grant and an Lowitja Institute Grant.

Current NSW-CDS Funding

Developmental schizotypy in the general population: Early risk factors and predictive utility

NHMRC Project Grant (Lead, Associate Professor Melissa Green)

In this project we are determining the utility of schizotypal risk profiles in middle childhood (age 11 years), expressed in perceptual, cognitive, personality, and behavioural functioning, in 22,120 children from the NSW-CDS, and examine their potential role as mediators of the pathway from age-5 developmental vulnerability to schizophrenia spectrum or other mental disorders emerging in early adolescence (age 12-15 years). Using data from Waves 2 and 3 of the NSW-CDS Record Linkages, successful completion of the project will have major clinical significance by informing the detection of risk and potential delivery of preventative interventions for severe mental illness.

Achieving better mental health for maltreated children: translating population data into policy.

NHMRC Partnership Grant, with the NSW Department of Family and Community Services (Lead, Associate Professor Melissa Green).

In partnership with the NSW Department of Family and Community Services (FACS), this project is  delineating risk indicators of critical importance for the determination of risk of harm among children reported to FACS before the age of 11 years, using multi-agency, linked population-based data that is otherwise not readily available to FACS (i.e., NSW-CDS Record Linkage Wave 2). These results will directly assist the reform of child protection service referrals to ensure the best possible outcomes for children at risk of harm; we aim to optimize inter-agency reporting processes across Health, Police, and Education Departments, for which operating procedures require data-driven solutions.

 Ngadhuri-nya (To care for): Intergenerational and educational influences on social, mental and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people

Lowitja Institute  (Lead, Dr Stacy Tzoumakis)

In this mixed-methods project we bring together experienced Aboriginal health researchers with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community members and NSW Child Development Study researchers, to answer questions about parental health and criminal justice impacts on the wellbeing of NSW Indigenous children and young people in the NSW-CDS Record Linkage Wave 2. As well as  presenting population-level evidence on intergenerational impacts of health and criminal justice involvement on children, this project will provide a model for engagement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in data linkage and knowledge exchange, and strengthen research networks and capacity among the project collaborators.

Targeting early contact with the criminal justice system in young people

ARC Discovery Project (Lead, Associate Professor Kimberlie Dean)

This project aims to identify early life risk factors, developmental mediators and outcomes associated with criminal justice system contact for young people using NSW-CDS Record Linkage Waves 1 and 2 data. This knowledge will inform new policies, service developments and interventions intended both to prevent young people coming in contact with the criminal justice system as well as identifying those at-risk of poor outcomes who might benefit from specific intervention.

Determinants of risk and resilience in maltreated children using multi-agency administrative records: A population record-linkage study

Australian Rotary Health Research Project Grant (Lead, Associate Professor Melissa Green)

In this project we are determining key risk indicators of child maltreatment using data from the NSW-CDS Record Linkage Waves 1 and 2. Results will be translated into policy recommendations for refinement of the decision-making systems used by these government services, to ensure the earliest allocation of child protection resources to those most in need.

 NSW-CDS Funding