The program features three case studies of programs that take a preventive approach to reducing the incidence of child abuse and neglect. All of them highlight the importance of strengthening community functioning in order to better support parents and families. Each case study shows how particular factors in a family or community that put children more 'at risk' can be identified, and how services with a preventive/protective focus might be developed in response to them.
Case Study 1: Young Mothers Group, Mildura, Vic.
The program for young mothers based in Mildura, Victoria is an example of two service groups - maternal and child health nurses and youth officers - joining forces to work with a group of new young mothers. Referred from the ante-natal clinic at the local hospital, the young mothers (ranging in age from 13 to 19) are offered a year-long program, aiming to support them in the care of their children. It does this in several ways: (i) it provides information on aspects of child care and development, nutrition, health care, dental health and so forth; (ii) it links them directly with health and welfare professionals who can assist them; and (iii) it also provides a meeting-place and social network for the young women, who can otherwise lead quite isolated lives.
This case study examines one of the group meetings, at which a local dental hygienist makes a presentation on healthy oral care, both for the babies and children, and for the mothers. Several of the young women discuss their involvement in the group, including one who is a past participant, and the program co-ordinators talk about how and why they have set the program up.
This case study is an example of an early intervention program, aiming to strengthen social networks for the mothers, and to facilitate access to health care networks in a way that supports subsequent development of children; it is also an example of collaborative work between various professionals in a rural community, and illustrates the evolution of traditional professional roles that is required to support such a program.
Case Study 2: The Fathers Fishing and Parenting Workshop, Nowra NSW
This is a successful program involving fathers (usually a more difficult group to engage) in discussion of parenting issues. It is part of an overall strategy developed by the Shoalhaven Division of General Practice. The Division has initiated a program called Young Parents Early Intervention Parenting Project (YPEIPP), aimed at establishing good contacts with young parents and linking them to appropriate health care resources. The YPEIPP program has proved very successful, involving more than 300 young parents throughout the Division.
Program leaders found it more difficult to engage fathers, and the Fathers Fishing and Parenting Workshop emerged as a response to this challenge. The program runs over two weekend mornings, and involves the group fishing together with a well-known local fishing identity, Steve Starling, or 'Starlo' as he is known. This is followed by a group discussion around parenting issues, and the significant role that fathers have in building strong families. Three workshops have now been run, and each has been over-subscribed.
The case study features the first morning of a workshop, and shows the group of men picking up some fishing tips from Starlo, trying their hand, and then participating in a group discussion, led by Liz Cuninghame, the local GP who is the program co-ordinator, about child development, the importance of fathering, issues of discipline, and so forth. Individual fathers speak about their reasons for participating in the group, and a past participant gives a retrospective view of its helpfulness. Starlo discusses his involvement in the program, the difficulties for men of discussing parenting skills and emotional experience generally, and the potential of using an approach like this in other parts of Australia.
The case study highlights a program that aims at strengthening the capacity of parents in caring for their children, and is a particularly innovative example of engaging a group - fathers - who are typically harder to engage in such discussion. It also illustrates a successful GP-initiated program, with interesting implications for rural General Practice divisions generally.
Case Study 3: Community Capacity Building in Kalumburu, WA
This case study features the Indigenous community of Kalumburu, right at the top of Western Australia. Home to around 400 people, the community was devastated in late 2007 by the arrest of a number of its men and youth on charges of child sexual assault. The community sought the help of Professor Judy Atkinson (Director, Gnibi College of Indigenous Australian Peoples at Southern Cross University, Lismore NSW). After extensive consultation, Professor Atkinson agreed to deliver a two year program of community capacity-building. It is being conducted through a series of 15-day workshops over 2008-9.
The case study features material from the second of those workshops, held in May 2008. The work involves the creation of a 'circle of well-being', understood by the project directors as a process in which the community can begin to re-establish a sense of safety and mutual support. The case study shows the various ways in which the 'circle' is created, and how all groups that make up the community - the elders, the aunties, the young women, the young men, and the children - are drawn into it. We also hear from the Gnibi College team members working with the community, discussing the program and its underpinnings, and the anticipated outcome.
The program is very much in its beginning stages. Subsequent workshops will build on this foundation to develop conversation and reflection about family violence and conflict, the impact on individual members, the threatened breakdown of community, the experience of trauma and the process of recovery; they will then seek, through the participation of all groups - from the elders to the very young - to draw on traditional aboriginal knowledge, spirituality and culture to rebuild a community that fosters care and support of all its members, and especially its children. The case study shows the beginnings of this process.
The case study fits into the overall program by helping to demonstrate the significance of a strong community to the care and welfare of children. It also shows that this is a slow process of building, and often re-building, and requires the joint and mutually-supportive efforts of professionals and community members. While there are aspects of the case study that relate specifically to Indigenous communities, it also carries implications for all rural communities.
