University centre puts families in focus

The University of Queensland Family Centre will host a one-day conference, titled Today's Families, as its official launch at the Bardon Professional Centre on Wednesday, March 19.

The conference will provide information on Centre research, activities and workshops for field professionals. The workshops will cover areas such as child protection, families and the law and hard-to-reach families.

Family Centre director Professor Pat Noller of the Psychology Department said the conference was an opportunity to showcase University family research and to provide updates for those working in the field.

She said the Centre's goals were to conduct research into family processes and issues, provide workshops for the community to improve relationships and communication, provide training for those working with families and to disseminate accurate and up-to-date information on the family.

A joint venture of the Graduate School of Education, the School of Psychology and the Social Work and Social Policy Department, the Centre has been operating since May 1996.

For more information, contact the Family Centre (telephone 3365 7293, fax 3365 4466, email family@psy.uq.edu.au).