Where Families Connect and Thrive: A Virtual Visit to the Swan Child and Parent Centre

Time: London: 9:00-10:30am/Nairobi: 11:00am-12:30pm/Dubai: 12:00-1:30pm/New Delhi: 2:00-3:30pm/Tokyo: 5:30-7:00pm/Sydney: 6:30-8:00pm - To determine the event time in your location, please click here for time zone conversion.

Co-presented by:

Description:

Interested to learn about Family Resource Centers and how they have they proven to be an effective strategy for strengthening families, improving educational outcomes, and preventing child abuse and neglect?

As a special pre-conference event for the August 24-27 ISPCAN Congress and Policy Forum in Melbourne, this session will provide a unique virtual site visit to one of the 22 Child and Parent Centres across Western Australia. Designed for parents with children 0-8 years old, these centers are conveniently located at or near primary schools. The Swan Child and Parent Centre has a particular focus on working with the Aboriginal community and addressing systemic inequities. These centers provide an excellent example of an adaptable, replicable, low-cost strategy for providing caregiver support.

Context:

Family Resource Centers (FRCs) are welcoming hubs of support for families, developed in partnership with the community, and typically run by non-governmental organizations or schools, that provide parenting support, access to resources, and build families' social connections with each other.

FRCs co-locate multiple services and supports in one convenient setting, are designed as places that all families can feel comfortable to access without stigma or judgement, and provide services at no or low cost for participants.  There more than 15,000 FRCs on 5 continents in countries as diverse as Canada, Estonia, Ireland, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Sweden, and the United Arab Emirates. 

FRCs have proven to be an effective strategy for supporting children and families to thrive and protecting children, yielding a $4.93 social return on investment for every U.S. dollar invested, and a 63% reduction in child maltreatment cases. Thousands of FRCs have been developed by various countries and non-governmental organizations on 5 continents.  As FRCs are low-cost programs that can be readily replicated, they can be an effective strategy for countries at various stages of development.

Introduction:

• Kelly Royds, Executive Director, Knowledge Mobilization & Practice, Australian Childhood Foundation

Presenters:

• Nicole Lambert, Deputy Director General, Department of Education, Western Australia

• Aunty Di Ryder, OAM, Local Elder

• Raeleen McAllister, Hub Coordinator Community Programs, Shire of Mundaring

• Tonia Leonard, Coordinator, Swan Child and Parent Centre

• Parent Participant - TBD

Moderator:

• Andrew Russo, Co-Founder, International Association of Family Support Networks

Recommended Participants: National, state/provincial, and local policymakers, public departments, private funders, representatives of the early care and education, child protection, and community development fields.

Objectives:

• Participants will understand what Family Resource Centers (FRCs) are and their key roles in ensuring that families are safe, strong, and thriving.
• Participants will understand how FRCs effectively partner with and support Aboriginal families.
• Participants will understand how they can explore the potential development of FRCs in their areas.