Good Practice Element: Effective Coordination and inter-sectoral collaboration
- Coffs Harbour Aboriginal Community Care - Parents as Partners
- Devonport Ulverstone Anglicare Good Beginnings Program
Coffs Harbour Aboriginal Community Care - Parents as Partners
This project on the North coast of NSW involves a collaborative partnership between an Aboriginal organisation (Coffs Harbour Aboriginal Community Care) and a mainstream agency (Uniting Care Burnside). Although the project has a particular focus on tackling the complex issues impacting on Aboriginal families, it is also working with the broader community. The project was developed in response to concerns regarding the large number of Indigenous children in care, deteriorating parenting skills levels, the young age of pregnant women and grandparents having to take on the care of babies. For Uniting Care Burnside the project has provided an opportunity to develop more deliberate strategies to address the needs of Aboriginal families through a consultative, partnership approach. The case study also highlights the benefits of effective inter-sectoral collaboration in developing educational and employment pathways for families.
Intervention approaches
The partnership is formalised through a Memorandum of Understanding, which outlines the commitment of both agencies to a collaborative effort in developing an early intervention program for families, which addresses the complexity and diversity of client needs. A project management committee with representatives from both agencies meets six weekly or more often as needed to oversee the planning, implementation and evaluation of the project.
The project is staffed by one full time position which is currently job shared by two workers, both of whom have qualifications and extensive experience in adult education and community development. While neither is Indigenous, both have experience working with the Indigenous community, and have been able to effectively engage the community because they work in a culturally respectful way (it is intended to replace the current Coordinators with an Indigenous worker early next year). It has been critical that the workers have been based in the Aboriginal Community Care Centre, in receiving guidance in working with the Aboriginal community and establishing trust.
The project has three main components:
- Development and evaluation of a partnership model between an Aboriginal and mainstream agency
- Development of flexible and culturally appropriate Mentor Training Programs.
- Development and implementation of best practice standards for intake and referral across child and family services in the district, in order to improve the support system for vulnerable families with complex needs.
The Mentor Training Program has been developed in partnership with TAFE Outreach who have provided an accredited training package, funding assistance and teachers. Indeed the flexible approach adopted by TAFE Outreach, as well as the partner agencies, has been critical to the ultimate success of the project. The training encompasses three core units covering the role of a mentor, child protection and safety, communication and interpersonal skills, values and ethics, cultural issues in working with families, and knowledge of local services, as well as electives chosen by the group such as first aid and child development.
The training program has been trialed with three groups:
- Aboriginal Community Mentors
- Playgroup mentors.
- ‘Dads as Mentors’
In each case the way in which the training program has been delivered has been modified to meet the needs of the participants. An Aboriginal educator was selected to conduct the Aboriginal Community Mentors and Playgroup training programs, whilst the Dads as Mentors program was delivered by a male TAFE teacher with experience in other men’s projects. Strategies to enhance accessibility also included provision of child care and transport where needed, use of culturally appropriate and convenient locations, and offering fathers a combination of weekend workshops and ‘self-directed learning’ tasks.
The development of the Aboriginal Mentors Program has involved extensive consultation with the local Aboriginal community and working closely with agencies such as the Aboriginal Medical Service and Aboriginal preschool. While this was a time consuming process, it was critical in gaining credibility and understanding of what the project is trying to achieve. A small group of male and female Aboriginal mentors have recently completed their training and have become an informal advisory committee in implementing the program for the local Aboriginal community. The Aboriginal mentors have also worked with the TAFE trainer to adapt the original training materials into a manual more appropriate to the Indigenous community. This includes, for example, a greater focus on working with the extended family, and discussion of how to convey the concept of ‘mentoring’ to the Aboriginal community.
The Aboriginal mentors interviewed for this Review spoke about the difficulties that Aboriginal people have in using non-Indigenous services. Agencies and government departments are impersonal and Aboriginal people often feel confronted and intimidated. An important part of the mentors’ role will be to help young parents in accessing services and coping with bureaucracies:
" A lot of young people don’t know about their entitlements and are too shy too ask. For example, a lot don’t know that they can get financial support to use child care. So just having someone go with them to Centrelink to support them through the process."
A number of local Aboriginal people have shown interest in the mentor training since the first group finished their course. The group is now planning to work with Aboriginal Family Community Care in establishing a mentor service (available to other local services supporting families.
The Playgroup mentors are acting as mentors in a different way – the mentors were nominated by the members of existing supported playgroups (five playgroups run by Uniting Care Burnside, with two of the groups designated for young parents) to undertake the training. They are now putting their training into practice by taking on a leadership and peer support role within their playgroups (alongside the paid workers). This includes for example, encouraging interaction and group decision making skills, for example in choosing activities or raising issues of concern; modelling and encouraging positive interaction between parents and children; and promoting discussion on the role and skills required for parenting and other related life issues. They are also providing more one-to- one support for those parents who need it, and this is starting to extend beyond the playgroup setting, The mentors interviewed spoke very enthusiastically about the benefits they have already seen start to occur in their playgroups:
"We’ve now really bonded as a group much more than before"
The five fathers who completed the Dads as Mentors training program selected a project to establish a Dad’s playgroup, and this group is now running weekly independently of Uniting Care Burnside. Other ideas may also be pursued in advocating and promoting the role of Dads.
Individual outcomes
For many of the mentors involvement in the Mentoring Program has provided a major boost to their self confidence and self esteem, and has had a very positive impact on their relationships with family and friends:
One of the Aboriginal mentors commented: "My family has a lot of issues at the moment, and they’re relying on me to pull things together. My younger brother’s leaving school – from the training I’m more aware of how to help him."
And a young mother said:
"I’m a more understanding mum, I look at what I say from the kids’ point of view, and I’m better at listening to my friends."
The training program for playgroup mentors also provided an opportunity for positive interaction between mentors of varied ages:
"The big lesson for me was having contact with young people and understanding where they’re at."
The purpose of providing TAFE accredited training was to offer mentors a further incentive and encourage further educational and employment opportunities. This strategy has proved highly successful with many of the participants (who have not previously accessed education) going on to further study or employment. The mentors also confirmed the importance of having their skills recognised through accredited training.
Community outcomes
Ongoing support and supervision of mentors will be provided Uniting Care Burnside staff and the Family Support Worker based in the Aboriginal Community Care Centre (funded under Families First). This position is seen as a critical for identifying the needs of families and acting as a link to the support that both agencies can provide.
The partnership model has started to have positive impacts in increasing accessibility and cultural responsiveness within Uniting Care Burnside for Indigenous families. The Men and Families project has started to particularly target Aboriginal fathers with strategies including creation of an Aboriginal Dad poster (featuring a local Aboriginal football player with his daughter) as a first step; liaison with key players in health services; and commitment of a salary component for the employment of an Aboriginal father. The service has also received an increasing number of requests to run parenting courses for Aboriginal agencies. Ultimately they would like to involve the Aboriginal mentors in helping to review and adapt the parenting courses.
Devonport Ulverstone Anglicare Good Beginnings Program
This project from northern Tasmania illustrates the value of working together with other agencies to provide families with access to a wider range of support. It shows that this approach often has flow-on effects beyond those initially anticipated. The project, which is auspiced by Anglicare in partnership with National Good Beginnings, has a strong commitment to fostering improved coordination and collaboration across government and non-government agencies. The role played by Good Beginnings is often that of a catalyst and facilitator, linking service providers and obtaining the necessary resources. The project is using innovative community development strategies to link families with each other and a range of support services, and to develop educational pathways.
Intervention approaches
The community consultation process (described in the case study on page 2) identified education as a key issue. Many young mothers had left school early but were keen to return to study and to learn about life skills. The Coordinator commented:
"Then I had to find a way of making that all work. There was no way these women were going to come across the river (to Devonport proper)…These were people that were really isolated, had lots of stuff in their background that would impact on them being in a group of middle-class women. Eventually I put it together with help." (extract from Evaluation of the Devonport Ulverstone Anglicare Good Beginnings Program, 2002)
A partnership has been developed with TAFE, which has enabled young women to return to study in a supportive environment. The young women help to shape the content of the bridging courses, for example in remedial literacy/maths and life skills. Child care is provided and the participants are asked only for a gold coin donation for refreshments. Good Beginnings negotiated with a church group to enable the courses to be run in a local convenient venue. After completing the bridging course quite a few of the young women have then had the confidence to go on to further study (such as completing year twelve).
Good Beginnings has also worked with the local secondary college to address the educational needs of young mothers. The college had obtained funding to develop some alternative education, so Good Beginnings and the Council Youth Development Officer encouraged them to develop flexible pathways to support young mothers to finish year twelve. This meant that the college and Department of Education have had to grapple with the issue of child care. The college has made temporary arrangements to provide child care for the first year and is seeking funding for ongoing provision of care.
These initiatives addressing educational pathways have informed other projects and formed a strong relationship between Good Beginnings/Anglicare, Council and other local services. Good Beginnings found that some of the young women who were going to TAFE, couldn’t participate in playgroups because there was no bus that could accommodate prams. So they facilitated the establishment of a supported playgroup in East Devonport run by the Playgroup Association, and lobbied the recreation centre to make their facility available at low cost.
The "Girls in Space" project is another collaborative initiative which is focusing on building peer support and community involvement among young women, Based in the local youth centre, it offers a ‘space’ where young women can get together on a weekly basis, choose their activities and discuss issues that are important to them. The participants range in age from late teens to late 20s (and includes both parents and young women who don’t have children). The type of activities chosen by the young women have often centred around creative arts and craft including, for example, painting the walls of the girls space, jewellery making and silk painting. Issues discussed include, for example, body image, self esteem and relationships. The group is co-facilitated through a roster of staff across Anglicare’s programs. Guests from various services are often invited to share their knowledge and have increasingly become involved in helping to run the program.
Yvonne, Council’s Youth Development Officer reflected on how the project came about:
"We were aware that there was a lack of services that address the needs of young women. In the youth centre, there was often a male stomping ground around the pool table - young women would access the facility but not really be involved. So we set up a room as a girls’ space. We managed to get $2000 from the state government in partnership with the community house. Young parents wanted time out from being a parent, and the community house provided free child care …the group has flourished, and now we’ve identified the need for a similar program for younger girls.
And Gayle, the team leader of Family Support with Anglicare commented:
"It’s normalised that we’re all women they’re together at different stages of our lives and helped to break down assumptions we might have of each other."
Individual outcomes
Many of the young women were socially isolated and bored before becoming involved with ‘Girls in Space’ and the TAFE courses. They particularly value the peer support and friendships formed though participating in these activities. This support, together with the sense of accomplishment of completing study, has provided a major boost in self-confidence. It is notable that many of the young women have been encouraged to come along to "Girls in Space" or the TAFE courses by other participants.
"I was pregnant and very bored; another girl in the group suggested I come to Girls in Space."
" It’s horrible being closed in all the time. They provide child care – I wouldn’t be able to come if they didn’t have free child care."
" I’ve made friends through the group, and we go out (outside of the group) because we’ve become really good friends."
"It helped me to learn to cope (as a parent) I have confidence to go back to school, and go on to get work that I want."
The feedback from participants also highlights the importance of providing support in a holistic way, which recognises the range of factors which impact on families. There are strong links across the services provided by Anglicare and many of the young women have been linked into individual support from various programs (and vice versa).
"I was new to Tasmania and didn’t know anyone. Anglicare helped me to settle in, helping with accommodation and support to get back on track, with weekly home visits. They linked me into Good Beginnings because I wanted more support … I wanted opportunities to meet people, to do something ... I’m doing the TAFE living skills program to help get back to school."
"Having a community parent helped, knowing you can talk to someone, and coming to your house. I was pregnant at that time and quite isolated. She encouraged me to go back to study and think about what steps to take for the future. The course was a stepping stone; I hadn’t been in study for years. Because they’re more flexible, it builds a lot of confidence. After I finished that course I started a computer course at TAFE. It helped to know someone there."