CHILDREN AND FAMILIES
Supporting parent bonding and the health and wellbeing of children from early childhood to schooling .
Strengthening parenting teams
Research shows that babies do better when parents co-operate and manage their stress .
Family Foundations is an evidencebased 10-week program that supports families expecting or caring for a baby aged up to 12 months . Social work or counselling professionals use discussion-based activities , modelling , and skills practice to strengthen the parenting team .
Specific skills include : emotional regulation , stress management , conflict resolution , attachment , healthy communication , co-parenting , and problem solving .
This year we were able to return to face-to-face delivery . We introduced group programs for the first time , and a short-term counselling service for couples requiring additional support . We also continued to work with our evaluation partner Murdoch Children ’ s Research Institute ( MCRI ) to assess outcomes .
What did we achieve ? 200 + families took part , 25 % increase on the year prior
78 % completed all 10 sessions
4-5 new intakes per week ( average ) launched weekend group sessions to make the program more accessible for working families
completed phase II evaluation report with MCRI ; participants reported :
– statistically significant and meaningful changes in co-parenting relationships , mental health , and parenting
– decrease in depressive , anxiety and stress symptoms , parental conflict , harsh parenting behaviour , infant sleep and crying problems for mothers
– increase in co-parenting behaviour , parenting confidence , and warm parenting behaviour for mothers
– decrease in parental conflict , harsh parenting behaviour , and infant crying problems for fathers
– increase in parenting confidence for fathers
commenced phase III evaluation of Family Foundations
began consultation with First Nations organisations to determine if the program is culturally appropriate and safe for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
Where can we improve ?
increasing capacity will help to meet the program ’ s growing waitlist
offering the weekend program as a regular option to individual families and in a group setting will help to make it more accessible , for example to working families
What ’ s next ?
securing funding beyond the end of 2024
completing consultation and a report on the appropriateness of Family Foundations for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
continuing to advocate for Family Foundations perinatal care
building networks with maternity education and other key areas
completing Phase III evaluation in collaboration with MCRI
“ We were able to bring all our issues into the sessions . Taking part was a good challenge for me , because it pushed me out of my comfort zone and made me start exploring new areas in myself and our relationship .”
– Abdul Motraje
42 Health