Current research suggests that caring for a child with chronic health problems has a negative effect on parental work status. This article investigates whether child ill health also has an effect on job tenure and job security - for fathers as well as mothers. Data are taken from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC) for couple families with a 6-year-old child with chronic health problems.

The importance of supporting carers in their roles is now recognised in government policy at all levels and there is ample scope for improving the service system as well as the evidence base for promoting effective interventions. This paper summarises the findings of a project to review the literature on effective caring that was carried out as part of a larger body of work by one research centre working in the area of carer needs assessment.

This paper provides information about what job characteristics promote or inhibit maintaining employment while caring. Using a nationally representative longitudinal data set—the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey—the paper traces the effects of the onset of care on labour force participation.

Drawing upon data from Wave 2 of Growing Up In Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC), this article investigates the relationship between hours spent in early child care, the quality of that care, and children's social and behavioural development. International studies have reported that early and extensive use of child care can produce adverse socio-emotional effects, but they have also noted the ameliorating effects and positive benefits of high quality programs.

The impact of caring on the income and labour market participation of carers can be substantial. In this article, the authors describe the labour force status of carers who receive an Australian Government payment directed to carers, with a particular focus on the degree to which non-employed carers want to be in paid employment.

This editorial presents an overview of this Family Matters edition, which highlights the different ways in which families engage in caring for family members and the issues they face. The articles in this edition further research knowledge of the nature, extent, and impact of formal and informal caring, and investigate child care, caring for people with disabilities, caring for adults who have been sexually assaulted, and caring for children who have suffered abuse or neglect.

The Families Caring for a Person with a Disability Study is a collaborative project between the Australian Institute of Family Studies and the Australian Government Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, in which 1002 Australian carers were interviewed on the physical, emotional, social, family relationship, financial, and labour force impacts of caring. This article introduces the study, describing its aims and methodology, and presents initial findings on the social lives of carers.