Strenthening Families
1998-1999 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Quakers Hill Family Centre, continues to provide a range of quality programmes in order to best serve the community needs and improve family functioning in Quakers Hill and surrounding suburbs from Marayong to Riverstone and Rouse Hill.
This year has been one highlighted by significant changes:
Industry procedures
Sub Industry procedures and
Centre procedures in order to conform to standards, ensure the continual improvement of the service to meet consumer needs, and gain accreditation.
1998 – 1999 has brought significant changes in the team of Quakers Hill Family Centre due to increase in funding for workers. As a result additional services provided through Quakers Hill Family Centre were:
OOSH Co-ordinator
OOSH Permanent Assistant
OOSH Casual Worker
OOSH Administrative Worker
As a result of the increase of staff it has been necessary to restructure the team into sub-teams i.e. Childcare team, Administrative team, Family Work team.
Blacktown Bunyip funding has continued to be temporarily auspiced by Quakers Hill Family Centre in 1998-1999. In June 1999 this was put out for tender and Quakers Hill Family Centre was successful in gaining the tender to provide
Family work, Groupwork and Community Development services for Meriton Mobile Park Village. This permanency in the funding arrangement enables Quakers Hill Family Centre to plan more effectively and therefore be more responsive to the community needs.
Quakers Hill Family Centre currently services Marayong, Kings Park, Kings Langley, Quakers Hill, Parklea, Glenwood, Stanhope Gardens, Schofields, Riverstone, Marsden Park and Rouse Hill.
This year has brought an increase in demand for counselling and groupwork for children of primary school ages in addition to the ongoing demands for family work service.
The referrals for family work continue to show a high level of domestic violence issues occurring both in the new estates and also in more established areas.
It has been an additional support to have the partnership of Creditline at Quakers Hill Family Centre providing financial counselling to families in the local area which enable the quality of services to be extended to other families struggling locally.
Quakers Hill Family Centre has continued to work in partnership with Burnside in meeting local needs. This year this has included the Family Counselling and Groupwork and in addition the Truancy Reduction Programme called Facing the Challenge. As a result of funding from the Casino Benefit Fund to undertake a pilot study to ascertain the effectiveness of working with adolescents who are at risk of non-completion of their school certificate due to their increasing truancy level. This has included a Quakers Hill Family Centre worker co-leading both the adolescents group sessions (including indoor rock climbing) as well as the parents support group.
Additionally Dalmar Professional Services has been working with the Steering group (Quakers Hill Family Centre Co-ordinator, Dalmar Manager, Burnside Manager and Burnside Group)
Co-ordinator and Department of Education) in the evaluation of the project.
To date it has shown to be extremely successful with returning young people back into the education system.
This year also extended the centre to facilitate Anglicare in the provision of Child Therapy for a family that was being restored from Out of Home Care. The family were therefore able to be supported in the difficult process of sorting through issues that raised difficult emotions within the children due to previous abuse and trauma they had experienced.
Another partnership that has contributed to the centre being responsive to the community needs of multicultural families has been with both Nirimba Tafe and Blacktown Community College. This has enabled the centre to run English Classes, and English Conversation Classes as well as a Catering Course for multicultural families.
This year Quakers Hill Family Centre were very appreciative of the combined businesses and schools supporting the centre and disadvantaged families through the Quakers Hill Carols and commend them for their hard work and effort in this venture.
May I also take this opportunity to thank those who have contributed to Quakers Hill Family Centre this year:
Department of Community Services – Cumberland
Prospect
Department of Community Services – Blacktown
Department of Community Services – Richmond
Department of Community Services – Parramatta
Department of Community Services – St Marys
Department of Family and Community Services
Department of Urban Affairs and Planning – Western Sydney Area Assistance Scheme
Bewsher Consulting
Creditline
Casino Benefit Trust
North Rocks Rotary
St Andrews Uniting Church Congregations
Burnside Family Work Team
Nirimba TAFE
Blacktown District Community College
Riverstone Uniting Congregation
Department of Police
Department of Education
Quakers Hill Chamber of Commerce
Local Community Services
Local Medical Practitioners
Wesley Mission, Dalmar Child and Family Care
Blacktown Council
Harvey Norman
Blacktown RSL Club
And the many families and children who have contributed to the Centre by sharing their stories, volunteering their time, promoting our Centre and allowing us the honour of journeying together as they struggle with difficulties/issues in order to build new relationships/families.
This year also saw the collation of the external evaluation of Quakers Hill Family Centre where many key-stakeholders and consumers contributed to this process.
This has highlighted the valuable work that Quakers Hill Family Centre contributes to the community and the importance of strong links between other services and Government Departments. Your contribution to this ongoing process is most appreciated.
A paper was presented at the Family Support Service conference by Quakers Hill Family Centre Co-ordinator on the significant role that Family Work brings to the child protection field. This highlighted the multiple access and entry points available for families that diffuse the stigma associated with help seeking. It also was significant the way families are engaged into the service that enables a strong therapeutic relationship to be established.
The staff have been very busy in the implementation of new policies and procedures amongst the other very important and necessary things that are part of providing Family Counselling, Family Work/Groups and Children’s Services.
May I take this time to thank all the team for their hard work and dedication to the Centre and to appreciate their contribution to the families we work with as extremely valuable. May I also acknowledge those staff who have moved on to other positions and wish them well.
Without the level of professionalism in the team of Quakers Hill Family Centre these achievements would not have been able to occur.
Thank you all.
Centre Co-ordinator
CURRENT STAFF
Staff Training
This year approximately 480 hours of training was completed by 9 staff members.
This training included:
Community Development / Networks
This year our community development have included:
* Meriton providers network
* Rouse Hill Planning Team
* Blacktown Combined Interagency
* Domestic Violence – Outer West
* Domestic Violence Interagency
* Multicultural Interagency
* Family Support Regional Co-ordinators Interagency
* Child Protection Interagency
* Early Intervention Interagency
* OOSH Workers Network
and Working Parties such as:
- Child Protection Forum
- Integrated Community Services Planning Team and sub committee client outcomes
- Rouse Hill Planning Team
- Western Sydney Area Assistance – Local ranking committee
- Court Support Scheme
- North West Sector – how to respond
and Research Projects such as:
- Truancy Reduction Steering Evaluation Committe
- Domestic Violence research for kids
- Identifying the unique contribution that Family work brings to the child protection field
- Family Worker Training and Development – what are the training needs for Family Work Services
- Development of Family Centre Model of service delivery
- Meriton service requirements needs analysis
Additionally the agency has been exploring more effective ways of working with specific population groups such as Riverstone.
From preliminary discussions with key stakeholders, a public forum was established to hear feedback for the Interagency model of schools as community care centres. The meeting was extremely positive in this. Wesley Dalmar are committed to providing family work service in Riverstone and is currently exploring funding options.
Family Counselling
This year the centre has had an increase in families requesting counselling, 67 families and 108 children, particularly for children coming to terms with previous abuse or trauma.
Domestic Violence has been a strong issue amongst the referrals both for adult survivors and children. Additionally the centre has had an increasing demand for counselling where there is Post Natal depression.
Counselling have been:
84% Domestic Violence
96% CAR
30% Post Natal Depression
42% Disability
87% Child management
9% Intensive plans
Of these 27% NESB
3% Aboriginal / Torres Strait
70% WAS
Family Work
Many of the families who have had numerous losses / difficulties or abuse experiences require an integrated service of counselling / advocacy / parenting skills and at times court support. This more flexible service delivery is often needed for consumers to develop coping skills that enables them to move into services such as "counselling" or "groupwork".
Although many of these consumers would describe their experience of life as isolated alone, hopeless or disconnected from supports; it is also very obvious that they have a tenacity to hang in there that is often overlooked. This commitment stickability / courage enables the family to take their difficult situation and turn this into a strength that continues to build connection with their world / community in order to maximise their potential and also that of their children.
Of the families that were requesting family work this year ie. 147 families and 367 children:
75% Domestic Violence
78% CAR
65% Single Parents
75% DSS recipients
40% Disability
22% Solely Child management
45% Post Natal Depression
5% Intensive Service Plan
35% NESB
5% ATSIC / Torres Strait
60% WAS
82% Previous child of origin abuse
78% Separated / Divorce
25% Children in care or returning from care
Within these families at time of referral:
85% had no other connection
80% were isolated from extended families,neighbours, friends and other groups
30% of these worked with were at the point of suicide due to inability in connecting with their community / gaining support / worth
Through the provision of integrated service combining community activities, groups, counselling, advocacy information and a model that maximises strengths developed and solutions finding approach has resulted in:
After 6 months
80% had developed new connections
95% had developed their community involvement with 55% having tripled their involvement
100% had established significant links with family and friends
50% had become proactive in their community
These changes has been conveyed through consumers calling in later to share the good news of gaining a ‘credit’ in TAFE or making new connections in their community, or taking up new responsibilities in the school or gaining employment.
Additionally the many stories of families starting to enjoy their time together or planning fun activities or the young mum who never thought she would be able to enjoy being a mum saying this is the best thing she’s ever done!
Multicultural Programme
This targeted multicultural casework and groupwork position has enabled a range of services to be available for multicultural families.
This year the centre has provided:
Overall in the programme there has been a consistent representation of multicultural families.
Intensive Family Work
In this year Quakers Hill Family Centre has provided intensive family work programmes to 7 families and 18 children. These contracts varied from 6 hours per week to 30 hours per week.
Many of these families were at imminent risk of having their children either removed and placed in care or placed in permanency placements.
Of these families:
For these families 2,365 hours of service were provided.
Outside School Hours Care Programme
In January 1998, Quakers Hill Family Centre was successful in tendering for an outside school hours care programme – extending the Vacation Care to Before and After Care.
The programme is based in Quakers Hill Public School for Before and After Care whilst Vacation Care is maintained at Quakers Hill Family Centre.
This year in our Vacation Care the centre provided care for 84 children and 55 families.
In the Before and After Care the centre provided care for 40 children and 33 families.
Of these:
The programme includes a range of activities including pottery, paper-toll, painting, indoor games, outdoor games, drama and cooking.
The excursions included:
Groupwork
This year there have been an increase in groups offered at Quakers Hill Family Centre which has worked with 284 families and 482 children. These overall was 72 groups and included 397 group sessions.
Volunteers
Volunteer hours has enabled some of the services offered to be extended ie. Breakfast Club and the centre has had 23 volunteers providing 584 volunteer hours.
Volunteers have also been used to assist families with removalist needs and also management responsibilities.
Some of the volunteer hours have occurred as a result of consumers involvement in the programme.
Burnside
The partnership between Burnside and Quakers Hill Family Centre continues to be strengthened each year, with counselling and groupwork being the core areas of work. We continue to enjoy this joint work in an effort to provide quality service to families.
Counselling:
Over the past year, we have received 12 new referrals. The current caseload at Quakers Hill is 16.
These families are seen one afternoon a week (Thursdays). Families request counselling for the following range of difficulties:
Examples of counselling interventions are:
Other interventions include:
Term Meeting:
Burnside and Quakers Hill Family Centre continue to meet once a term to review Burnside’s service to QHFC, discuss any changes and how best to continue the partnership. A positive outcome this year has been the Burnside counsellor’s attendance at the QHFC Team Meeting. It has been helpful meeting the rest of the team and discussing possible referrals for counselling.
Groupwork:
Working in close partnership and co-leading groups with the Family Worker from Quakers Hill Family Centre, has been a helpful process for clients as well as the Burnside Worker. The QHFC Family Worker is able to quickly support and follow-up when group members at times have difficult in coming to the group. It has also been helpful, in that the Family Worker, when working individually with the client is able to reinforce the ideas already discussed in the group. Groups held over the past year were:
Throughout 1998 and 1999, 40 students have completed the Truancy Reduction Program. The program has been special as it is a partnership between the Department of Education, Wesley Dalmar and Burnside. At present, the program is moving into the last formal group being facilitated and an end of year camp is due to happen in December.
Some of the challenges faced this year included:
The Parent Support Group has been continuing on a monthly basis with about 4-6 parents (with difficult teenagers) attending. However, the parents who have students in the TRP program do not respond to frequent advertising of the program. However, the Parent Support Group has had a regular attendance of 5-6 parents who have a wide range of problems with their ers. The group has developed a very supportive cohesive atmosphere.
Psychologist and Groupwork Co-ordinator, Burnside
AGM Report November 1999
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