Issue 26 - June 2009

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Welcome Message

Welcome to the 26th edition of the Family Relationship Services Program (FRSP) Sector e-News.

Some of the interesting topics included in this month’s edition include:

For new subscribers, FRS Sector e-News is an ideal opportunity for you to reach approximately 600 subscribers, consisting of FRS service providers, industry stakeholders and individuals, to share service delivery news or to raise any issues you think the sector should be aware of.

To keep the FRS e-News focussed on issues of interest to the sector, details about training opportunities can be emailed to Family Relationship Services Australia (FRSA) for consideration. Information about training and events held nationally can be found on the FRSA website.

FRS e-News seeks contributions from the sector on practice updates and policy issues relevant to the FRS Sector. Should you have a topic of interest you feel the sector or industry stakeholders would be interested in please send it to the FRS mailbox for consideration. Articles should be less than 300 words and in paragraph format.

To contribute to the next edition or to provide feedback about articles in this edition, please email FRSe-news@fahcsia.gov.au.

Regards

Fran Barry

A/g Branch Manager
Family Relationship Services Branch

Disclaimer:

The opinions, comments and/or analysis expressed in this document are those of the author’s and do not necessarily represent the views of the Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs.

Hot News

Family Support Program Consultation Process

On 16 February 2009, the Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, the Hon Jenny Macklin MP, announced the formation of the Family Support Program (FSP).

The FSP is a national program that aims to improve child development, safety and family functioning through the provision of support services to help build stronger, more resilient families and communities. The FSP brings together a suite of children, parenting and families services funded through FaHCSIA, with the post separation and Family Relationship Centres funded by the Attorney–General’s Department.

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In announcing the FSP, Minister Macklin committed to consult with the sector around how the program will operate. All interested stakeholders are invited to participate in the consultation process to inform the development of the program. The consultation process offers people two options to provide input to the Department:

  1. Attend a face to face forum being held in the states and territories
  2. Provide written feedback via the FSP website

The consultation process provides an important opportunity for service providers and other stakeholders to express their views and put forward ideas that could make a difference to improving the services offered to support Australian families and children.

It would be appreciated if you could actively promote this opportunity to contribute to the development of the FSP across your organisations.

Forums are being held throughout Australia during June and views may also be provided in writing via the Department’s website from 25 May until 30 June 2009. Forums will generally be held in the mornings and run for approximately 4 hours. Everyone is welcome to provide input at either a forum and/or in writing if that is their preference. All feedback is valued whether through attending a session or by putting it in writing.

In consultation with key FSP stakeholders, the Department has drafted a Discussion Paper to inform the consultation process. The paper is available by accessing the Department’s website at www.fahcsia.gov.au. The paper provides program information and details the operating environment. The paper also poses several questions to stimulate thinking on key program areas and everyone is encouraged to read it as it is central to the consultation process.

Forums will be conducted across Australia on the following dates:

To register your interest to attend a forum in Send an email to Dates
ACT Canberra FSPACT@fahcsia.gov.au 9 June
NSW Sydney CBD
Sydney West
Regional - Coffs Harbour		 FSPNSW@fahcsia.gov.au 15 June
16 June
26 June
VIC  Melbourne CBD
Melbourne Sth East 		FSPVIC@fahcsia.gov.au 10 June
11 June

QLD

 Brisbane
Townsville		 FSPQLD@fahcsia.gov.au 17 June
18 June
TAS Hobart FSPTAS@fahcsia.gov.au 24 June
SA Adelaide FSPSA@fahcsia.gov.au 12 June
NT Alice Springs
Darwin		 FSPNT@fahcsia.gov.au 18 June
19 June
WA Perth FSPWA@fahcsia.gov.au 16 June

If you are interested in attending a forum, please RSVP by registering your interest through the Departmental mailbox identified for your state/territory by no later than 3 June for the ACT, VIC and SA forums and by 9 June for the NSW, QLD, TAS, NT and WA forums.

When registering, please provide your name, the organisation you are representing (if relevant) and your email address. Any special requirements you may have should also be included. Please note: For venue arrangements we require one email registration per person. Numbers of attendees are not restricted.

The time and venue of the forum you wish to attend will be emailed to you as part of the registration process.

If you would like more information about the Family Support Program or how to access the discussion paper please visit the FSP homepage.

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Sector News

Communiqué of Family Relationship Services Senior Executive Forum
New Strategies for the Future
30 April 2009 – Melbourne Airport Holiday Inn

More than 100 sector and government delegates attended the fourth Senior Executives Forum in Melbourne on 30 April 2009.

The theme for the Forum was “New Strategies for the Future” where new priorities and changes were considered and the impact these are likely to have on the provision of family relationship services in the future.

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Both the Attorney General, the Hon Robert McClelland MP and the Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs the Hon Jenny Macklin MP sent messages endorsing the Forum as an ideal opportunity to explore future directions and to consider new priorities for family relationship services in a time of significant change in our community.  The Attorney encouraged services to continue to work towards an integrated family law system and to develop stronger relationships between the courts, the legal profession and family relationship services.  This can be achieved through the building of bridges across the family law system for the benefit of families, and especially their children, and for family relationship services to work with the more difficult, entrenched cases to see whether more can be done outside the courts.  Minister Macklin also acknowledged the importance of the services’ work with families especially in the current economic climate and the need for services to be more flexible and responsive and to support the building of resilience in families.

The Forum heard reports about:

  • the outcomes of the recent Inaugural Family Law System Conference and the relevance to service delivery
  • the recent announcement of the Family Support Program integrating existing child and family support programs, and
  • recent research undertaken by FRSA on the global financial crisis and its impact on families.

The Forum also provided the opportunity to discuss progress and outcomes from the three working groups, Quality and Performance, Service Agreements and Funding and Workforce Issues.

Senior Executives endorsed the new Performance Framework for all FRS funded services, noting the new format and the application of primary and secondary measures.  The evolutionary nature of the framework and that there are further improvements proposed were noted, as was the inclusion of the framework under the new funding agreements.  The framework includes a range of measures including both quantitative and qualitative measures.

Work undertaken to streamline future funding agreements to incorporate common service reporting, funding acquittal and payment schedules was also acknowledged by the Senior Executives.  The capacity for services to be more flexible with their funding allocations, provided applicable targets and conditions had been achieved, was welcomed by organisations.

A Workforce Development Plan was circulated for comment by Senior Executives.  The Plan sets out the key principles and aims for the professional development of the sector as well as identifying priority areas for action.  These areas include collection of accurate data, workforce structure, recruitment and retention, training for existing workers, the additional needs of special groups in the workforce and undergraduate/VET qualifications.  The Senior Executives noted the numerous surveys and data collection exercises currently underway across the sector including the Workforce Mapping Project commissioned by FaHCSIA and undertaken by Colmar Brunton involving surveys at the organisational and individual staff levels.

Senior Executives identified areas for future consideration:

  • Wage parity and remuneration
  • Staff recruitment and retention
  • Infrastructure capital to establish and maintain service premises
  • Training and professional qualifications of practitioners across the sector
  • Length of term for funding agreements
  • Funding and costing models for service delivery
  • Links with other major policy areas such as family violence and child protection
  • Fees policy and clients capacity to pay, and
  • Joint planning with state and local government authorities.

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Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner standards – training providers as at the end of April 2009

To be accredited under the final Accreditation Standards set out in the Family Law (Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner) Regulations 2008 a person must: