Berry Street Web Docs Annual Report 2012 | Page 10

11

Knowledge

Berry Street generates, shares and uses knowledge,
evidence and innovation to enhance policy and
service responses.
Achieving our ‘Knowledge’ goal means that we need to:
»» B
 e better at understanding, demonstrating and
measuring the outcomes of our many programs
»» Understand what best practice looks like here and
overseas
»» Secure the resources and space to try new things and
pilot new services
»» Share our learning with our colleagues, government
and the broader community

Although this will continue to be the core of our work, we
want to do more – to build and share knowledge, to reshape
our sector and assist in reducing the underlying conditions
that contribute to child neglect, abuse and violence.

It is just not acceptable that many of the 450
young people who leave care each year end up in
homelessness services, without access to education
or employment and connection to an adult who cares
about them. As well as advocating with the Victorian and
Commonwealth Governments for a guarantee of support,
we developed a pilot program based on the UK Personal
Advisory Model. This was made possible through the
very generous donation of a nine bedroom house by the
Peter and Lyndy White Foundation and support from the
Ian Potter Foundation and Lord Mayor’s Charitable Fund.
Other initiatives include: funding in the Hume region
to deliver a leaving care education and employment
support program; funding to develop a training framework
for Indigenous young people leaving care; supporting
research by Monash University; and participating in a
reference group for care leavers in the new Youth Foyers.

This aspiration was captured in our Strategic Directions
2027 and its four main planks:

2. New professional model of foster care

Our Strategic Directions 2027
Since 1877, Berry Street has focused on the hard day to day
work of protecting children and strengthening families.

1. Service innovation, development and evaluation.
2. Stronger public policy and advocacy.
3. Building and sharing knowledge through an ‘institute’.
4. Increasing our independent income, which will
enable us to do the many things not supported by
government.
We have adopted a multi-layered approach to the pursuit
of our Strategic Directions, including: development of new
service models and approaches, pilots to trial innovative
responses, service improvement, research, advocacy,
public engagement, strategic alliances, speaking tours
and internal and external professional development.
We made good progress in all of our five key areas
identified for service innovation.

10

1. Integrated support for young people leaving care

B E R R Y S T R E E T A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 2 / / Knowledge

 ith support from the Jack Brockhoff and Grosvenor
W
Foundations, we have developed a new professional
model of foster care. Rather than one (inadequate)
payment, we are proposing a standard allowance for the
child’s needs and a graded allowance for the carer. Unless
there is a radical rethinking of foster care, it will cease to
exist within the next five or so years. Exploration of a new
model is part of the second action plan of the National
Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children and we are
developing a communication and advocacy strategy.

3. Helping boys break the cycle of family violence
 e know that boys exposed to family violence are more
W
likely to be violent with their mothers, siblings, partners and
children. We engaged international expert, Clark Baim, to
undertake a comprehensive review of what the international