Joel Stafford
Data Analyst
BA(Hons) MA PhD
joel.stafford@telethonkids.org.au
Research expertise areas:
Human services policy, data linkage, analysis of linked data, early childhood services.
Joel joined the The Kids Human Capability Group in 2016 to work on the Tassie Kids project as a data analyst in partnership with Tasmanian state government agencies.
Prior to joining The Kids Joel worked as a survey coordinator with the Australian Bureau of Statistics, participated in program evaluations of homeless services operated by the NGO sector in Tasmania, and was the Public Officer on the board of his local Community House. He also gained extensive experience in the design and interrogation of service oriented database management systems in various roles in state government.
Joel’s postgraduate research in the Philosophy of Science has focussed on evaluating the role measurement theories and mathematical models play in the social sciences and their application to policy development in the social, health and education services sectors.
Projects
Data for policy
August 2020
Published research
Use of administrative record linkage to examine patterns of universal early childhood health and education service use from birth to Kindergarten (age 4 years) and developmental vulnerability in the Preparatory Year (age 5 years) in Tasmania, Australia
In Australia, the health and education sectors provide universal early childhood services for the same population of children. Therefore, there is a strong imperative to view service use and outcomes through a cross-sectoral lens to better understand and address the service needs of young children and their families.
Parental Perspectives on Children’s School Readiness: An Ethnographic Study
School readiness is a construct used by educators and policy makers to describe a range of abilities that are beneficial for children transitioning to school. The association of socioeconomic disadvantage with developmental vulnerability when children start school is well established. Parents play a crucial role in supporting children’s transition to school and are acknowledged as their child’s first and foremost teacher.
The impact on service collaboration of co-location of early childhood services in tasmanian child and family centres: An ethnographic study
There is a global trend towards place-based initiatives (PBIs) to break the cycle of disadvantage and promote positive child development. Co-location is a common element of these initiatives and is intended to deliver more coordinated services for families of young children. This paper examines how co-locating early childhood services (ECS) from health and education in Child and Family Centres (CFCs) has impacted collaboration between services.
Associations between clusters of early life risk factors and developmental vulnerability at age 5
This study investigated the associations between clusters of early life risk factors and developmental vulnerability in children's first year of full-time school at age 5