The government has for some time been shifting the problem of children-at-risk to the not-for-profit sector without further funding for those agencies including NSW Family Services Inc. Those agencies were already at breaking point themselves after having received insufficient funding for over 12 years. Their lack of resources was requiring them to turn away children in need as there were already waiting lists of 6 months for the services they offered. They have been lobbying the government tirelessly for increased support, and DoCS supported the recommendations to Treasury for such an increase.
This pressure has finally paid off because it has recently been announced that the NSW State Government is going to invest $36 million in early intervention and prevention programs, and conduct up to 750 home visits by child experts – as part of its Keep Them Safe program. This is excellent news and could not have come at a more crucial time. The funding also includes $10 million to run early intervention programs with specialist psychologists and mental health experts for children from Kindergarten age to Year 2 students showing disruptive behaviours.
Premier Kristina Keneally and Minister for Community Services, Linda Burney, announced on 29 March 2010 $9 million each year for four years from the NSW Government’s Keep Them Safe program which will go to better support families through prevention and early intervention – improving the lives of babies and young children at risk.
As part of the $36 million plan, the NSW Government is planning to provide:
· $18 million for parenting skills, general advice and support programs. This will allow non-Government organisations to help parents to develop the skills to respond to children who are showing signs of difficult behaviours. It will focus on new parents with babies and toddlers, and parents of adolescents.
· $10 million to run a new early intervention program for children from Kindergarten to Year 2 who have disruptive behaviours – Getting on Track in Time or ‘GOT It!’ Children and their parents participate in weekly group sessions with psychologists, mental health experts, and school staff for the duration of a school term.
· $8 million to extend the Sustained Health Home Visiting program, increasing the number of families assisted by the program from 450 to 750. This program will give more parents with children from newborns to 2-year-olds access to home visits by specialist child and family nurses who can identify problems early, and assist in getting the services they need from the start of a child’s life.
Since its introduction in March last year the Keep Them Safe program has produced:
· An online set of ‘Mandatory Reporter’ Guidelines to help people decide when to report suspected cases of abuse and neglect to the Child Protection Helpline;
· Information sessions for 23,000 mandatory reporters on the new system, plus introduction of training package to 200,000 other workers;
· New laws allowing more information sharing between agencies in cases when it will help ensure children’s safety and well being;
· WellNet – a computer system that helps agencies share information about children where there are safety, welfare or well-being issues;
· Four Child Well-being Units established in January 2010 in the departments of Health, Education and Training, Human Services and the Police; and
· An Aboriginal Impact Statement to assess the effects of the reforms on Aboriginal children, young people, families and communities.
For more information visit NSW Family Services at http://www.nswfamilyservices.asn.au/