pdf [5.3MB] - Department of Families, Housing, Community Services

y the Sydney Children’s Hospital from July 2000 to April 2002 based on information fromevaluators’ visits to sites and data collection (Australian Government Attorney General’sDepartment, 2003). The aim of the evaluation was to determine the success of the programin helping separated or divorced families in managing relationship difficulties, to ensurecompliance with contact arrangements and ensure children can maintain a healthyrelationship with the non-resident parent.It was reported that before the program, the parents involved had communication difficultieswith each other in terms of discussing their children. For example, 79% were reported toseldom/never discuss major decisions in their children’s lives with the other parent. Ofparents who had communication, 69% reported an underlying atmosphere of hostility andanger. Conversation was reported to be stressful and tense in 74% of cases. Of parentsrequired to pay child support, only 54% were paying regularly.The Program used a variety of child-focused interventions to respond effectively and flexiblyto families’ needs including: group work; education; counselling; mediation; children’s contact services; and overall case management.The evaluation had the following findingsDepartment, 2003):(Australian Government Attorney General’sOf all clients, 88% reported achieving a positive outcome from program participation,ranging from ‘some progress’ to ‘fully resolved’. The statistical sample comprisedclients of the Contact Orders program who completed surveys, with the sample sizesranging from 403 to 643.Practitioners reported an even higher rate of client benefits.The Government’s Stronger Families and Communities Strategy 2004-2009 focused on earlychildhood issues (Soriano et al, 2008) with the aims of: helping families and communities build better futures for children; building family and community capacity; supporting family relationships and communities; andClients reported benefits in terms of learning about communication techniques, learningabout how their children experience situations, improving dispute resolutions skills andfeelings of less isolation.3.3 STRONGER FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES STRATEGY2004-2009improving the ability of communities to help themselves.The Communities for Children and Invest to Grow programs are initiatives under the strategy.These will be discussed specifically below.64