Page 1958 - Week 07 - Thursday, 23 August 2007
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ourselves in our target. It shows that the community of Tuggeranong has embraced the services being offered through that centre.
The services offered in both centres have included 163 parenting sessions and 93 community development and education programs. We are putting together a range of different services which are now available at both centres. We have got the maternal child health services, of course. We have got allied health services. Therapy ACT has speech and physiotherapy drop-in services on a monthly basis. Relationships Australia offer counselling to families. The Smith Family learning for life program is under development and child and adolescent services provides outreach from the centres, where required.
Parents as teachers also provide individual home visiting and group programs for families. A transition plan is being developed for the integration of the schools as communities program into the child and family centres. The centres offer individual case management and counselling, clinical and therapeutic services to children and their families and there are group programs such as the triple P; best foot forward; learn, giggle and grow; paint and play; poppy playgroup; new parents playgroup; young parents group and topical talks for terrific parents—which are all popular with families.
In terms of community development, which is another part of the programs offered at the child and family centres, we have the very successful over the trolley program. We also run information around child protection week and children’s week functions and a program to welcome new families to Gungahlin and Tuggeranong. We are also leading a program in Gungahlin which we look forward to extending to Tuggeranong in 2008. It concerns the engagement of families attending the Koori preschools in Ngunnawal and Holt. We are hopeful that we can extend that program to Tuggeranong.
We have a range of activities coming up for children’s week with Dr Joe Tucci speaking; parents are often very keen on attending those. But these activities are not just for your average family that is struggling in a few parenting issues, wanting information or being new to the territory. We are also keen to make sure that they are taking on those families in need who often come in and have contact with the government, whether it be through statutory care or the health system. We have a program for young parents who may have been in our child protection system, looking after them and looking after initiatives through the birth to two years project. We have had a child protection worker based at each centre to offer support through the centre. It is about dealing with a whole range of different families with different needs.
These centres are here for the long term. They have proven their success. They are a model that I think has been looked at across the country. They have become part of our community fabric and they are a real success from the government’s social plan and commitment to supporting families in the ACT.
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