Building Supportive Infrastructure to Building Supportive Infrastructure to Support Families of Young Children Support Families of Young Children

A Community-Based ApproachA Community-Based Approach

Helen FrancisHelen FrancisFrank TesorieroFrank Tesoriero

Association of Children’s Welfare Agencies Conference 2010Building a Child Friendly Australia: Responding to Vulnerable Families

Sydney 2-4 August 2010

This paper is dedicated to the memory, and honours the work of

Phyllis Crittenden and Joylene Crouch

two of our Communities for Children team members whose significant contributions

to the program inspired so many others to aim towards transformation and a strong and supportive community for

children and families in the Murray Mallee.

Ded

icat

ion

Pap

er o

utl

ine

1. Introduction2. The Communities for Children program3. Underpinning principles/concepts

i. Capacity buildingii. Collaboration

4. Collaborative Learning strategy5. Effectiveness6. Conclusion

C4C Murray Mallee, South Australia

Callington

Intr

od

uct

ion

Aim

to increase the capacity of communities and services to support families of children 0-5 years of age

Approaches

early intervention

community capacity building

creating a sense of place and space for families

providing information accessible to families and the broader community

Intr

od

uct

ion

Collaborative Learning– a key and deliberate capacity building strategy

providing opportunities for agencies to gain new knowledge in a spirit of collaboration

The paper explores the impact of Collaborative Learning beyond the life of the project – longer term, sustained changes in the capacity of service providers, individually and collectively as a network, to support families of young children

the strategy’s underlying concepts of capacity building and collaboration

Intr

od

uct

ion

Co

mm

un

itie

s fo

r C

hild

ren

pro

gra

mCommunities for Children in the Murray

Mallee comprised the following:

Valuing Fathers;

Kindy for Kids;

Pathways for Families; and

Child Friendly Communities

Collaborative Learning

Co

mm

un

itie

s fo

r C

hild

ren

pro

gra

mAll the Program’s strategies

built on the strengths of families and developed connections between families, their children and the wider community.

Enabled families to participate in community life and ultimately to feel, and to be, valued by and connected to their community.

Crucial to achieving these community aims were the notions of partnerships and collaboration between services, businesses, government and community.

Services, businesses and government agencies must themselves have the capacity to engage in strategies which lead to community capacity outcomes, so…

The collaborative learning strategy aimed to:

build the understanding of effective ways to engage with families;

develop an understanding how to develop community capacity;

understand how to build integrated, collaborative and coordinated approaches to responding to child, family and community issues.

Un

der

pin

nin

g

pri

nci

ple

s/co

nce

pts Capacity building

Collaboration

Cap

acit

y b

uild

ing

“the ability of a collective to act in particular ways and its ability to do

things to help promote and sustain its well being and within it, the wellbeing of

its individuals, networks and organisations.”

Co

llab

ora

tio

n…an attitude, a set of values and a

way of being.

Genuine collaboration and leadership within genuine collaboration involves relationships

between equals – one where all are respected and valued and where differences are embraced

as positive resources.

Collaboration is not simply a way of problem solving. It engages the collaborators in a

dialogue which opens up possibilities, exposes questions, constructs complexities

and reflectively proceeds

Co

llab

ora

tive

Lea

rnin

g s

trat

egy

comprised a range of educational opportunities, including ‘lunchbox sessions’ and reflective practice sessionsentailed bringing a wide range of resource people to the Murraylands holding sessions at the most accessible timestopics covered were those that people had expressed a need to learn more about and so the program emerged from local needs.

Co

llab

ora

tive

Lea

rnin

g s

trat

egy

Two central aspects

Bringing resource people to the community enabled knowledge to be widely shared

Reflective practice enabled deep learning and sharing of learning

Eff

ecti

ven

ess

Increased worker confidence and increased family confidence in workers

C4C context of collaborative learning enabled mutual reinforcing of learning and core values

Locally based sessions increased access for more, enhanced shared learning and showed that workers were valued

Eff

ecti

ven

ess

Enabled shared knowledge and assumptions across diverse workers and agencies

Strengthened mutual support and forged new relationships

The many differences amongst workers were “levelled” out

Eff

ecti

ven

ess

Inclusive, building a culture of ‘community’ amongst workers

All workers were valued and affirmed

processes were important – sessions which were interactive and reflective

In a rural setting, not a luxury but a vital part of professional development

Eff

ecti

ven

ess

Sense of well being, potencyBuilding on strengthsDiverse people coming togetherDeveloping collective strategies for changeProcesses of dialogue owned by participantsReaching beyond conventional agency boundariesImpact on agency cultures

Co

ncl

usi

on

s Collaborative learning

a significant component of an overall approach to collaborative work and building community capacityReinforced, support, initiate, complement work practicesSpecially important in a rural contextLed supportively, increased strength and commitment in worker relationships

Co

ncl

usi

on

s For sustainability over time

Must be embedded in a wider context of collaborative work amongst diverse workers

The importance of collaboration (over and above coordination etc) must be understood and appreciated by agency management