Foreword
On 16 February 2009 the Hon. Jenny Macklin MP; Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA), announced the Australian Government was bringing together a range of families, parenting and children’s services under the Family Support Program to streamline administrative arrangements and provide more flexibility to better assist families improve outcomes for themselves and their children.
The Family Support Program is a key element of the Government’s investment in supporting families and children. Together with financial support provided through payments such as the Family Tax Benefit and a range of community based programs such as the Community Investment and Financial Management Programs, the Government is working to deliver, in collaboration with other levels of government and non-government organisations, better coordinated and more flexible support services for children and families.
Community & Family Partnerships currently sits within the Children and Parenting Services Program within FaHCSIA and is one of three streams under the new Family Support Program. Community and Family Partnerships is funded at almost $84million in 2009 -10 by the Australian Government through FaHCSIA1.
This new stream brings together the existing children and parenting activities of Communities for Children, Invest to Grow, Child Care Links, Indigenous Children Program, Indigenous Parenting Support Services, Playgroups and Responding Early Assisting Children 2.
This significant investment is intended to improve child development, safety and family functioning. Community and Family Partnership funding recipients deliver intensive and coordinated support targeted at significantly disadvantaged communities and families, especially vulnerable and at risk families and children.
The Family Support Program operates within the context of broader government priorities, including the:
- National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children; Australia’s children: safe and well;
- National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children;
- National Compact between the Government and the non-profit sector; and
- Social inclusion agenda.
These Guidelines are transitional while the Department consults with the sector and finalises development of the Family Support Program. Final guidelines will coincide with full implementation of the Family Support Program in July 2011. This is an exciting opportunity for the sector and the Government to work together to better support families, nurture children and build strong, resilient communities.
Nicole Pearson
Branch Manager
Family Support Program Operational
Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs
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Introduction
These Community and Family Partnerships Guidelines (Guidelines) outline the basis of the business relationship between the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA – also referred to as the Department) and the funding recipient.
These Guidelines outline:
- the purpose and principles of Community & Family Partnerships;
- the objectives and descriptions of Community and Family Partnership Activities;
- target groups;
- eligible services;
- funding arrangements;
- the Community and Family Partnership Performance Framework and the approach to risk management and evaluation
These Guidelines should be read in conjunction with the FaHCSIA Terms and Conditions Standard Funding Agreement (the Agreement) and the Community and Family Partnerships Schedule. FaHCSIA reserves the right to amend these guidelines from time to time and will provide reasonable notice of these amendments.
These Guidelines are transitional while the Department consults with the sector. Final guidelines will coincide with full implementation in July 2011.
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1. Overview
The Family Support Program provides an opportunity for Government and the community sector to change the way they work together to deliver high quality, coordinated services that better meet the needs of children and families.
The Family Support Program comprises:
- Family and Parenting Services (currently Family Relationship Services): Increasing access to and timely provision of services for families, particularly vulnerable and at-risk families, to improve family functioning;
- Community and Family Partnerships (currently Children and Parenting Services): Providing intensive and coordinated support for parents and children who are vulnerable, at risk or in disadvantaged communities, to improve child development, child safety and family functioning; and
- Family Law Services: Providing assistance to families to manage the process and impacts of separation in the best interests of children.
In addition, the Family Support Program aligns with the Department’s Community Investment and Financial Management Programs to provide a suite of services across communities. A key feature of the new Family Support Program is the emphasis on the development of local links and co-ordinated strategies with other agencies and services and local and state governments.
Community & Family Partnerships is the Commonwealth Government’s key response to provide intensive, targeted and coordinated support for parents and children who are vulnerable, at risk or in disadvantaged communities, to improve child development, child safety and family functioning.
Community and Family Partnerships provides funding to a range of services to improve child development, safety and family functioning. These services also enhance parenting skills, reduce harmful behaviours, build more connected, resilient communities, reduce locational disadvantage and increase social and economic engagement.
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2. Principles
The guiding principles for Community and Family Partnerships are:
- intervening early to support families improve life opportunities and reduce the barriers to effective parenting;
- place based, community development approaches: local provision, driven by local needs, with flexible and responsive services working together to provide the complete range of services needed – thereby building more connected, resilient communities;
- strengths based with a focus on building capacity and confidence;
- professional, high quality services delivered by qualified and skilled workers, including access to appropriate development and supervision as applicable;
- services that are accessible to target groups, including Indigenous families and children
- adult focused services linked to child-focused services, so that regardless of entry point, families and children are able to be assisted. Families are linked to relevant services with seamless referral pathways;
- building sustainable services including alternative funding sources, ongoing participation of clients and engagement of the community, outcomes for children and their families, community capacity and system development;
- developing the evidence base in regard to what interventions and strategies work and promote best practice; and
- outcome focused with reduced red tape – requirements of funding recipients are consistent, relevant and streamlined.
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3. Activities
Community and Family Partnerships is one of three streams of the Family Support Program, funded nationally by the Australian Government through FaHCSIA. Funding is provided to funding recipients across Australia to provide support for children and their families, currently delivered through the following Activities 3:
- Child Care Links;
- Communities for Children;
- Indigenous Children Program;
- Indigenous Parenting Support Services;
- Invest to Grow;
- Playgroups; and
- Responding Early Assisting Children.
Whilst these are the current service delivery arrangements, funding recipients are encouraged to consider strategies for how the funded activities may transition to the Family Support Program as of July 2011.
There are currently eight discrete Activities in Community and Family Partnerships (see Figure 1 below).
Figure 1: Community and Family Partnership Activities
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3.1 Communities for Children
Communities for Children aims to deliver positive and sustainable outcomes for at risk children and families in disadvantaged sites throughout Australia as follows:
Healthy Young Families and Learning and Care
- Improved ante-natal and post-natal health, child physical health and development, child cognitive development and competence, child social/ emotional development
Supporting Families and Parents
- Strong parent/child relationships
- Improved parenting competence and style
- Improved family resources and capacity including gaining employment
- increased knowledge and skills related to family functioning, family safety or child development
- maintaining improved family relationships
Child Friendly Communities and Reducing Disadvantage through Social Inclusion
- Communities inclusive of all families and cultures
- Reducing disadvantage – improved access to health, education and other services
- Increasing social, civic and economic participation through provision of skills and support leading to improved connection to community
- Improved community interest and capacity to own & respond to early childhood issues, and issues that relate to families and communities
- Community members, its facilities and institutions work together to improve early childhood and children’s health, development and well-being
Family and Children’s services Work Effectively as a System
- Improved coordination of services and institutions to support the improvement in early childhood health, development and well-being and implementation of social inclusion priorities
Communities for Children funds organisations to develop and facilitate a whole of community approach building on community strengths and the existing infrastructure of organisations, networks and resources, making use of strong evidence of what works in early intervention. It is implemented through a national framework which allows for tailored approaches at the local level and provides communities with the opportunity to develop flexible and innovative approaches that best reflect their circumstances.
Within a site, Communities for Children targets the whole community. Where a need is identified, specific strategies focus on particular target groups (for example, Indigenous Australians or people from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Backgrounds). Each Communities for Children site is required to establish and maintain a Communities for Children Committee (CCC). The CCC is a voluntary group of key stakeholders within a site who work in collaboration with the Facilitating Partner to develop, guide and implement the Activity.
Communities for Children Plus (CfC Plus) builds on the Communities for Children approach. CfC Plus sites will bring together Commonwealth, State and Local Governments and the non government sector to plan and deliver targeted services according to local needs.
There will also be a stronger focus on building links with state government child protection services - as well as services primarily targeted at adults - to tackle known parental risk factors including mental health, family violence, housing and substance abuse (for example, children will be supported as part of an integrated treatment plan for adults with mental illness or substance abuse histories).
Communities for Children Plus will also link early childhood services with other Commonwealth services such as Family Relationship Centres, Centrelink and Job Services Australia, as well as with maternal and early-childhood nurses.
Known success factors from the current CfC model will be extended and strengthened to ensure that families receive the wrap around services and support they require to ensure the safety and wellbeing of their children.
In order for CfC Plus to be effective, States and Territories must agree on potential site locations because the model relies on integration of all relevant government services for vulnerable families including pre-schools, schools, and health clinics as part of a web of support for vulnerable families and their children.
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3.2 Indigenous Children Program
The Indigenous Children Program (ICP) was established following the review of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Care Agencies and the Indigenous Parenting and Family Wellbeing Program. The intention of ICP is to prevent children from entering the child protection system by supporting the child and their family to manage and protect themselves from crisis situations within their families or circle of friends. The objectives are:
- children have improved well being and resilience;
- parents have improved confidence in their knowledge of early childhood development and parenting skills; and
- parents have increased connections and social networks.
It aims to increase access to services and assistance that help families adapt to changing economic and social circumstances, focussing on early intervention and prevention for Indigenous children, families and communities to build resilience and support networks.
The Indigenous Children Program targets those especially at risk of abuse or neglect. It seeks to support the well being of children, build culturally strong parenting skills and build stronger and more sustainable Indigenous families and communities. It promotes strong child parent relationships, improved personal capacity, self esteem and resilience and improved social connections, support and educational outcomes. Funding recipients are required to identify the needs of their target group.
The defined community varies from service to service, based on population, age group or geographic area. The Indigenous Children Program reflects a broad concept of parenting / caring that includes extended families and kinship ties.
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3.3 Indigenous Parenting Support Service
Indigenous Parenting Support Services aim to help Indigenous parents to overcome barriers to good family relationships and support through transitions to child care, pre-school and primary school. They pro-actively address social, cultural, personal, historical, and financial and health factors that can present barriers to effective parenting.
Indigenous Parenting Support Services is one of the Governments election commitments to implement new Early Learning and Development Services – Parenting Support for Indigenous Families. This was announced as a part of the New Directions – An Equal Start in Life for Indigenous Children.
Services are provided by skilled family support workers and early childhood workers. The parent-child services target families with children aged up to twelve years old with a particular focus on children under the age of two. They reflect a broad concept of parenting / caring that includes extended families and kinship ties. Where possible and practical they are located in existing Indigenous services and comprise Indigenous workers. Indigenous Parenting Support Services are integrated in to existing services with established infrastructure, systems and good working relationships with Indigenous families with young children. These include child care centres, schools, Aboriginal Health Centres and other related services to provide Indigenous families with access to enhanced parenting support.
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3.4 Invest to Grow (Including Child Care Links)
The aim of Invest to Grow is to improve outcomes for young children and build the Australian evidence base about what works in prevention and early intervention in early childhood.
Invest to Grow has funded a range of successful established projects as well as a number of developing early childhood projects. This funding has enabled these projects to be further developed and evaluated to assess their effectiveness in achieving outcomes for young children, their families and communities. The types of services funded include:
- specialist/disability specific services;
- general early intervention/parenting;
- early intervention in childcare/education; and
- other services, including child nutrition; parent and professional resource development for early childhood.
Funding also supports the development of tools and resources such as the Raising Children Network website and DVD, the Secretariat for National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care’s (SNAICC) National Indigenous Resource Service, and the Australian Childhood Foundation’s Every Child is Important campaign.
Child Care Links
Child Care Links aims to improve the health and wellbeing of young children by strengthening the resilience of their caregivers, using early childhood and other community services to foster the development of child-friendly communities. The objectives of Child Care Links are:
- child and family professionals have increased knowledge of early childhood development and collaborate in providing services to young children and their families;
- caregivers of young children are further supported to fulfil their parenting role;
- communities recognise the importance of the early years and support early childhood development; and
- to foster quality child care by promoting best practice.
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3.5 Playgroups
Playgroups provide opportunities for children from birth to five years of age to learn through play and develop their social, emotional and physical skills while parents and caregivers develop social and support networks. They provide prevention and early intervention where children are at risk. Playgroups provide an opportunity for parents and caregivers to interact with other adults and play with their children. Activities are free or low cost and may include music and singing, imaginative outdoor play and free play, art and craft, outings and cultural activities.
There are a variety of playgroup types reflecting different client needs, including Community, Supported, Locational and Intensive Supported Playgroups.
Community Playgroups
Community Playgroups provide broad universal support services that are self managed (primarily by volunteers). They are regular, informal gatherings of parents and caregivers of children under school age facilitated by volunteer parent / caregiver co-ordinators. Playgroups generally meet once a week for two hours and can be held anywhere that is safe for children and where groups can meet. This could be community and neighbourhood centres, health clinics, women’s centres, pre-schools and kindergartens, church halls or in a community park.
Supported Playgroups
Supported Playgroups are transitional playgroups initiated and facilitated by paid co-ordinators for up to twelve months, whist being assisted to transition to a Community Playgroup or other form of community participation. They assist those parents who experience barriers to accessing Community Playgroups. Funding recipients are expected to build collaborative relationships with local community organisations to ensure integrated support is available for families and to assist with the longer term transition to a Community Playgroup.
Locational Supported Playgroups
Locational Supported Playgroups are initiated and facilitated by paid co-ordinators and located in places which encourage integration with other community services such as child care, pre-schools and community health centres. They recognise the need to provide vulnerable families, particularly Indigenous families living in remote areas, with additional assistance and support from skilled early childhood workers. They recognise that significant time can be required to build capacity in disadvantaged communities before families can move to a Community Playgroup.
The Locational Supported Playgroups allocated under Expansion of Playgroups for Indigenous Families, target Indigenous families living in regional and remote areas.
Intensive Support Playgroups
Intensive Support Playgroups are initiated and facilitated by skilled family support and early childhood workers delivering mobile playgroup services across a number of sites in locations where the living arrangements of families or other circumstances, are impacting adversely on the capacity of parents and caregivers to parent effectively.
Intensive Support Playgroups contribute to increased child safety and wellbeing for particularly disadvantaged families to stabilise their circumstances by building linkages to a wide range of community services. ISP workers provide referrals for parents and caregivers, and if required, support them in their dealings with services such as Centrelink, Legal Aid and Housing and with issues such as family violence, health, finances and substance abuse.
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3.6 Responding Early Assisting Children
Responding Early Assisting Children (REACh) aims to improve access to support services and encourage at risk and vulnerable families to engage with their community through collaborative approaches. The objectives of REACh are:
- children have improved well being and resilience;
- parents have improved confidence in their knowledge of early childhood development and parenting skills;
- parents have increased connections and social networks; and
- services work in collaboration with other services, and the wider community.
REACh provides child-centred, family focused and community connected responses to raising children. The primary target group is families experiencing disadvantage in their children’s early years and / or at key transition phases in their children’s lives. This includes families in rural and remote areas, Indigenous families and families from CALD backgrounds. REACh has a secondary focus on caregivers who can benefit from assistance to reduce personal and social barriers and improve their parenting capacity.
Key transition phases can include pregnancy, birth and infancy, family, health, education, housing and legal transitions. The defined community varies from service to service, based on population, age group or geographic area.
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4. Target Groups
Key target groups for Community and Family Partnerships include significantly disadvantaged communities and families, especially vulnerable and at risk families and children. Specific target groups include:
- Indigenous families, including kinship carers
- families from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
- families experiencing locational disadvantage in rural and remote areas
- socially isolated families
- families in transition, including pregnancy, birth and infancy, family, health, education, housing and legal transitions
- homeless families or families in temporary accommodation
- fathers
- grandparent carers
- ‘at risk’ children and families, including children at risk of abuse or neglect; families at risk of domestic violence, drug and alcohol abuse, mental health issues and disadvantage
- young mothers and fathers
- families and children with a disability and / or developmental delay
- families experiencing social and economic barriers to participation
- children from birth to twelve years with a focus on key age ranges of birth to two years, two to five years, five to eight years and eight to twelve years as applicable
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5. Eligible Services
Community and Family Partnerships funding recipients will be asked to provide services from the following suite, as negotiated in their Agreement. Development and delivery of services should be based on the particular target group / area needs.
- information and resource development for clients and stakeholders
- referral
- intake and assessment
- education and skills training
- counselling
- dispute resolution
- community development
- place based activities to support the needs of vulnerable families
- community based early intervention activities
- home visits
- case Management
- practice and network development among local agencies
- play-based activities
- building the evidence base
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6. Funding
Total funding available under the Community and Family Partnerships stream of the Family Support Program, including children and parenting support, Northern Territory Emergency Response Early Childhood measures and Communities for Children Plus is as follows:
| 2009-10 |
2010-11 |
2011-12 |
2012-2013 |
| $81.8 |
$87.1 |
$88.9 |
$89.3 |
Funding has been offered to existing funding recipients from 2009-10 up to 2011-12, with the funding period negotiated with individual funding recipients. Indexation will be advised on an annual basis. Funding is provided to recipients inclusive of GST.
Funding may be used for the following providing they are in direct relation to the implementation and / or management of the project:
- staff salaries and on-costs
- staff training
- venue hire
- materials and equipment
- operating expenses such as office materials, utilities, insurance, telephones, travel, book keeping and auditing etc
- travel within Australia
- evaluation
- service delivery
- purchase/lease of an appropriate vehicle / trailer as approved by the Department
- appropriate vehicle and/or trailer modifications
Providers wishing to undertake activities outside of this list should contact FaHCSIA for advice.
The proportion of funding for administrative purpose will be specified in the Funding Agreement.
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7. Performance Management and Evaluation
Performance Framework
The Performance Framework for Community and Family Partnerships comprises objectives for the Family Support Program, Community and Family Partnership Performance Indicators at the program level and Performance Indicators at Activity level, as follows.
Family Support Program Objective
To increase access to and timely provision of integrated services for families in a community context, particularly vulnerable and at-risk families, to improve child development, safety and family functioning.
Children and Parenting Services Objective
To provide intensive, targeted and co-ordinated support for parents and children who are vulnerable, at risk or in disadvantaged communities, to improve child development, child safety and family functioning.
Performance Indicators
FaHCSIA’s Performance Indicators (PI’s) focus on ‘did it make a difference?’, ‘how well did we do it?’ and ‘how much did we do?’ The PI’s for Community and Family Partnerships are:
- percentage and number of clients with increased knowledge and skills related to family functioning, parenting, family safety or child development
- percentage and number of clients satisfied that the support service they received was relevant to their circumstances and needs
- percentage and number of clients assisted from target groups
- percentage and number of service sites or outlets in disadvantaged or targeted communities 4
- percentage and number of clients assisted to participate in an age-appropriate children's activities
These PI’s are for reporting at the Community and Family Partnership Program level only and will draw on a range of information sources, which may include data provided by funding recipients as negotiated in Agreements.
Separate Activity Level Performance Indicators, including targets will be negotiated with each funding recipient, based on the three elements of impact, quality and quantity.
Service providers are required to provide reports in accordance with their funding agreements, using the reporting templates that are provided by FaHCSIA.
Risk Management
As part of FaHCSIA’s new common business model, funding Agreements are managed according to a risk management approach. Where a funding recipient's risk profile changes, variation to funding agreement schedules may be undertaken to adjust the reporting requirements. Funding recipients are assessed to identify low, moderate, high and extreme risks with appropriate treatments identified. Risks are assessed in regard to governance, financial management, viability, performance management and issues management.
Treatments vary depending on the nature of the risk and include options relating to payments, acquittals and performance monitoring. Where a funding recipient's risk profile changes, variation to funding agreement schedules may be undertaken to adjust the reporting requirements. For funding recipients that deliver multiple activities, e.g. REACh and Communities for Children, treatment options may be applicable to the one Activity or to all Activities depending on the nature of the risk.
For example, a risk associated with the implementation of a new Activity by a high performing funding recipient may have increased reporting requirements for that new Activity only. Other risks, such as financial viability, are likely to require the application of treatments across all activities delivered by the funding recipient.
Monitoring
Contact including meetings, teleconferences and site visits will occur as per the Agreement Schedule or as required. Funding recipients and FaHCSIA staff may wish to negotiate additional contact opportunities.
Evaluation
Funding recipients are encouraged to undertake internal evaluations of their own accord in order to promote quality service delivery. FaHCSIA periodically undertakes evaluations and reviews to ensure services are high quality, effective, efficient and appropriately targeted to the needs of children and their families. FaHCSIA will notify funding recipients of:
- the intention to conduct an evaluation
- the purpose of the evaluation
- who is conducting the evaluation
- the time frame in which it is to be conducted
- any involvement sought from the funding recipient
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8. Complaints
Funding Recipient
Funding recipients can contact the FaHCSIA complaints service with complaints about FaHCSIA’s service(s) or the service of another FaHCSIA funding recipient.
Details of what constitutes an eligible complaint is available on the Complaints Management System page of the FaHCSIA website. The funding recipient can lodge a complaint through the following channels:
Telephone: 1800 634 035
Fax: (02) 6204 4587
Email: complaints@fahcsia
Mail: FaHCSIA Complaints, PO Box 7576. Canberra Business Centre, 2610
If a funding recipient is at any time dissatisfied with the Department’s handling of a complaint, they can contact the Commonwealth Ombudsman at www.ombudsman.gov.au or 1300 362 072.
Client / Customer
Funding recipients should have procedures in place for the management of complaints in a positive, timely and fair way. This means that initially, clients should be encouraged to raise their complaints directly with the funding recipient. if the matter is not resolved through internal complaints processes, or the client does not wish to use the process, the complaint should be directed to the FaHCSIA complaints service, as detailed above.
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9. Contact Details
New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory
Level 9, 280 Elizabeth Street, Sydney
GPO Box 9820, Sydney NSW 2001
Phone: 1300 653 227 (local call cost only)
Fax: 02 8255 7778
Queensland
100 Creek Street, Brisbane
GPO Box 9820, Brisbane QLD 4001
Phone: 1300 653 227 (local call cost only)
Fax: 07 3004 4745
Western Australia
Floor 12, 152-158 Georges Terrace, Perth
GPO Box 9820, Perth WA 6848
Phone: 1300 653 227 (local call cost only)
Fax: 08 9229 1598
Tasmania
Floor 3, 21 Kirksway Place, Battery Point
GPO Box 9820, Hobart TAS 7001
Phone: 1300 653 227 (local call cost only)
Fax: 03 6211 9399
Victoria
Level 3, Casselden Place,
2 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne
GPO Box 9820, Melbourne, VIC 3001
Phone: 1300 653 227 (local call cost only)
Fax: 03 8626 1217
South Australia
Level 18, 11 Waymouth Street, Adelaide
GPO Box 9820, Adelaide SA 5001
Phone: 1300 653 227 (local call cost only)
Fax: 08 8400 2199
Northern Territory
Floor 2, 13 Scaturchio Street, Casuarina
GPO Box 9820, Darwin NT 0801
Phone: 1300 653 227 (local call cost only)
Fax: 08 8936 6331
Local contact details for service providers are listed in funding agreements.