FRSA response to FSP consultation 

Family Relationship Services Australia (FRSA) is the national peak body for community organisations that deliver Australian Government funded services to families, children and young people. This submission responds to the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA) Discussion Paper 'Developing a Family Support Program' (the 'Discussion Paper).

FRSA welcomes the development of the Family Support Program (FSP) and the opportunity to contribute to the development process. We recognise the value of better integrating the range of Australian Government policies and programs that provide support to families and work to improve the wellbeing of children and young people, particularly those at risk of poor outcomes.

Already the process of consultation has contributed to a growing sense of partnership between the Australian Government and the community services sector. There mutual benefits to be gained from articulating shared goals, defining a common language and developing new approaches to measuring the impact of programs on the safety and wellbeing of children and families.

While national leadership is important, it is the quality and appropriateness of local activity that will make a difference in the day-to-day lives of children and families. Tangible, measurable improvements in well-being and resilience occur at the local level through the quality of relationships between family members, neighbours, peer groups, and community, health and education services.

Communities across Australia are diverse; a one-size-fits-all approach is unlikely to be successful. Each community has a unique mix of strengths and challenges. To enhance child wellbeing and offer better protection against abuse, neglect and violence, effective local strategies will be needed. The local strategies most likely to be effective are those that reduce social isolation, wrap supports around children, parents and families and increase the capacity of services to identify children at risk and respond appropriately.

The local knowledge within community organisations is a significant asset to be recognised and valued in the new era of the FSP. These organisations have a deep commitment to the wellbeing and safety of children, they also know their communities very well – the strengths, the vulnerabilities, the challenges to be overcome. They can mobilise substantial community resources and leverage existing infrastructure to implement strategies quickly and efficiently.

In summary, the Family Support Program provides a fresh opportunity to combine the Australian Government's capacity for leadership and vision, with the capacity of the family support sector for innovation and responsiveness. Our vision is for a new service system based on sustainable, long-term partnerships that enable local initiative as diverse as the communities, families, children and young people it serves.

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1.1 Summary of Recommendations

1. Further develop and articulate key concepts in the proposed FSP Operating Framework to foster shared understanding and agreement.
2. Recognise and adopt strategies that support flexibility in service delivery as part of a long-term partnership between government and sustainable community based provider organisations.
3. Value and support the diversity of the family support sector.
4. Recognise and develop 3 tiers of advisory mechanisms to inform system design and local decision-making – national, local and expert.
5. Invest in local service coordination and build relationships between practitioners to support referral and local project collaboration.
6. Facilitate service provider input into local area planning processes and foster the development of cross sector networks to increase local links between FSP services and other service streams in related sectors such as health and education.
7. Develop a Quality Framework for the FSP building on existing service standards.
8. Facilitate service collaboration in program design through enabling mechanisms that remove barriers and provide incentives for increased sharing of resources.
9. Establish decision-making processes informed by local consultation and needs assessment.
10. Develop alternatives to competitive tender processes for allocating new funding in the FSP.
11. Develop an FSP performance framework that builds on the outcome based FRSP framework in consultation with the broader FSP providers and stakeholders.
12. Develop universal measures of child and family wellbeing and tools that can be built into common data collection systems to be applied across different settings.
13. Develop reasonable and consistent funding regulation based on agreed principles of transparency, value for money and risk management.
14. That program administrators be encouraged to work in partnerships to develop principles for program governance, aligned to the national compact.
15. Develop a Workforce Strategy for the Family Support Program, as a matter of priority.
16. Commit to a principle of fair remuneration levels in the community sector and address current inadequacies through systematic review of funding levels and performance requirements across programs.
17. Invest in collaborative projects and programs to foster positive relationships across the diversity of Family Support Program service providers.

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