Co-location of service provider multidisciplinary staffing in hubs that offer a 'no wrong door' approach and are perceived as family friendly is a highly effective model of service delivery consistent with FSP principles. Implementing this model does have significant challenges in terms of managing collaborations with multiple agencies and institutions and developing multi disciplinary teamwork, however it delivers very significant outcomes for families if sufficiently resourced to address these challenges.
The development of a parent and child centre strategy of service delivery has the capacity to implement the guiding principles of the Communities for Children component of the Family Support Program. An early childhood co-located and integrated service delivery model provides parents with the kind of positive partnerships and empowering support they need to function well in the critical early years of their children's lives.
In 1994 Katherine Hooper-Briar and Hal A. Lawson made the following observation in relation to the impact of a failure in professional collaboration and service integration:
"Whether in our everyday observations or in research, we see that outcomes such as teen pregnancy, school drop-outs, mental health problems and poverty are related not separate. Yet our categorical approaches have assumed that they are separate. And because this assumption and others like it have been accepted, many of our systems have been flawed, despite the good intentions of the people working in them". (Hooper-Briar & Lawson,1994, p.8)
In the past decade there has been significant movement toward the provision of integrated early childhood services. Integrated practice models contribute to breaking down the inability of professionals to communicate across their respective systems, unintentionally undermining each other's roles and better serves children and families. In 2004 the UK Prime Minister, Tony Blair, described Children/Parent Centres as the new frontier for the welfare state and education system (Blair, 2004). By 2005 the UK Sure Start Local Programs were generally functioning as Children's Centres reflecting the recommendations of the 2002 Interdepartmental Childcare Review. This Review had promoted the concept of Children's Centres providing integrated care and education, family support health services and childcare/crèche support. Programs offered at Sure Start Children's Centres vary depending on the strengths/needs of local communities. Local authorities have been given the responsibility for the delivery of children's centres, including planning the location and development of centres to meet the needs of local communities, in consultation with parents, the private, voluntary and independent sector (see the Sure Start website).
In March 2008 the National Evaluation of Sure Start Research Team released the findings of its study of over 9,000 three year olds and their families in Sure Start Local Program (SSLP) areas who were initially studied when the children were 9 months of age (NESS, 2008). These were compared to similarly disadvantaged areas not having a SSLP. The findings indicated that 3-year old children in SSLP areas had better social development with higher levels of positive social behavior and independence/self-regulation than children in similar areas not having a SSLP (NESS, 2008). Further, the report stated that parents "…showed less negative parenting while providing their children with a better home learning environment. The beneficial parenting effects appeared responsible for the higher level of social behavior in children in SSLP area. Families living in SSLP areas used more child & family related services than did families not in SSLP areas" (NESS, 2008, p. v)
Co-location of services and the development of multi-agency teams have both been key strategies in promoting integration as part of the Sure Start initiative. "At the practice level integration was achieved by co-location of services, (all Sure Start Local Programs were given resources to build a local centre) multi agency teams and shared systems." (Valentine et al, 2007, p.8)
Similarly the joint local, state and privately funded early childhood initiative, Toronto First Duty, has looked at co-location as a central service intervention platform. The Toronto First Duty initiative has located early childhood and family support services in 5 elementary schools since its inception in 1999. The 2006 Phase 1 Summary Report concluded that "integrated professional supports improve the quality of early childhood programs and reduce risks for parents and children. By engaging parents in the school and their children's early learning, children's social, emotional, and academic readiness for school is enhanced. Integrated program delivery is also cost-effective, serving more families, more flexibly, for the same costs." (Toronto First Duty, 2006, p 8)
The program logic developed for the Communities for Children initiative identified short term, medium term and long term outcomes. It states that more targeted 'hard to reach' families become more engaged in the longer term as trust develops.
LONG TERM (3-5 years +): Community outcomes start to emerge
Expectations are that child and family outcomes will start improving within the whole community (eg. a more trusting and safer community willing to participate in community activities), and that service delivery changes will be mainstreamed. Those people hardest to reach will be more engaged. (SFCS Program Logic)
FamilyZone Ingle Farm Hub have found this logic to be a key in providing effective universal & targeted services. Targeted vulnerable families are more readily engaged in a setting that is non stigmatized and has developed a 'word of mouth' reputation for being 'helpful' and family friendly particularly if the setting is linked with home visiting initiatives. (See Promising Practice Profile)
Locating Parent and Child Centres in Primary Schools has the added advantage of implementing a 'no wrong door' policy with the 6-12 age group as well as the 0-5, as this age group can be most readily engaged through primary schools.
Parent & Child Centres have the capacity to create a support and learning environment for both parents and children that includes input from a mix of professionals, para-professionals, trained volunteers and peers. This mix can be highly effective and efficient in engaging, supporting and facilitating better outcomes for large numbers of vulnerable families when it is well balanced and resourced.
We believe that this direction in program design offers a significant way forward to more effectively supporting Australian families in the critical early years. It will take many years for the vision of parent and child centres to be sustainably present in every community but the FSP has significant potential to advance this agenda through building on what is being done in existing CfC centres and working towards the development of additional centres in partnership with other service providers.
An inherent difficulty in implementing a 'no wrong door' approach, linking with other services and attracting and retaining excellent staff, has been the short term nature of current programs. Quality service delivery in these arenas requires longer term commitment to building relationships & trust. If we are to effectively implement quality service standards we must also offer staffing stability. Perhaps we need to look at some core areas that require longer term staff who need to be embedded into communities and separate these from staff positions that can be more fluid.
Sharing offices, administrative processes, workers and products is an excellent way to build multi & trans disciplinary interventions and teamwork. It does however require staff who have a commitment to working in this kind of environment and who are prepared to take part in interdisciplinary training and develop reflective practice.
Of great significance in providing quality service is the skills, experience, qualifications and vocational disposition of practitioners. Assessment, training and development of staff who have the capacity to work in multidisciplinary teams in multi-agency settings and have a good understanding of relevant aspects of early childhood development, adult education and social work principles is vital. Significant investment in this area particularly where training is linked with good practice, will have long term dividends in the provision of quality FSP services as well as ensure better linking with other community services such as child protection & mental health.