Centre for Community Child Health
RCH > Clinical Support Services > Centre for Community Child Health- About Us
- Research
- Consultancy
- Clinical Services
- Professional Development
- Resources and Publications
- Careers & Internships
- Media
- Mailing List
- Donations
- Contact Us
Print version
The Early Years: Refocusing Community-based Services
- About the project
- Professional development modules
- Professional development seminars
- Community development
- Engaging schools
- Project team
About the project
Overview
The Centre for Community Child Health (CCCH), in partnership with "Good Beginnings" Australia, has been funded by The R.E. Ross Trust to develop and implement a methodology for local communities to:
- refocus existing family and children's services in the local area to ensure they provide an emphasis on prevention, early detection and early intervention.
- establish processes and structures at a local community level so that family and children's services collaborate to provide an integrated network of family centred services.
The aim of the project is to empower local communities and equip them with the necessary expertise so that they can effectively refocus existing services.
The rationale for this project is based on the research and practice evidence that suggests the lack of coordination of relevant services at a local level make it difficult for families. To provide optimal, safe and nurturing environments that young children need to establish a favourable developmental trajectory that leads to good outcomes, families require integrated support.
More detail about the phases and components of this project can be accessed in the first issue of the project newsletter Issue One: March 2004 and The R.E. Ross Trust website.
Literature Review
During the very successful Phase One of this project, a comprehensive literature review was undertaken. This literature review has been published in both academic and plain English versions.
- The Early Years Project: Refocusing community based services for young children and their families: A Literature review - Academic version
- The Early Years Project: Refocusing community based services for young children and their families: A Literature review - Plain English version
Newsletters
The project produces a quarterly newsletter, providing an update about how the project is progressing.
Issue One: March 2004
Issue Two: May 2004
Professional Development Modules
Overview
To support community based services and professionals to refocus on young children and their families, a series of professional development modules have been developed by the Centre for Community Child Health, with funding from The R.E. Ross Trust.
The materials in each module is designed to be delivered by a facilitator and take 3 hours to complete. The content of these modules will provide professionals with the knowledge and skills that will enable them to refocus existing services in their local area so they emphasise prevention, early detection, and early intervention. The materials also provide guidance and support to communities on establishing the local processes and structures to facilitate closer coordination and integration of children's and families' services.
To ensure the effectiveness of these professional development materials each module will be based on adult learning principles:
- building on previous experiences,
- fostering reflective thinking,
- using problem solving as fundamental, and
- incorporating a relevant direct action component.
These strategies are recognised as being essential to achieve an improvement in knowledge, skills and practice in the workplace. Participants will be encouraged to bring real life issues and problems from their own communities, reflect on these and develop strategies to move forward.
There are seven modules in the series which includes an introductory module, a concluding module and the remaining five modules are conceptualised under three themes, these being:
- Working with families (2 modules)
- Working with communities (1 module)
- Service delivery issues (2 modules)
Developing the materials in a modular format allows for flexibility, recognising the different needs of the professionals in a community. It will be possible to "mix and match" the modules to put together training programs that address the educational needs of the participants and also match practicalities of time and venue constraints. This may mean a series of three hour workshops held over a six month period or a three day "conference" using six modules.
It is recommended that all participants complete the introductory module before undertaking any other modules. The concept of having an introductory module is based on the need to have a common language and understanding about child development and family functioning as this impacts on all the work that is undertaken.
The concluding module will provide a framework to support the professionals within a community to develop action plans to enable their services to meet the needs of young children and their families.
Participant pre-reading
The introductory module "The underlying factors affecting child health and development and family functioning" in this series has compulsory "pre-reading" to be undertaken by the participants before attending the workshop.
A copy of this pre-reading can be downloaded here.
References / Resources
Within each professional development module there is a list of all the references and resources that were drawn upon to develop the materials. In addition to this extensive list for each module, a recommendation is given to the facilitator, highlighting one or two references that provide key background information.
|
Professional development module |
References / resources |
Specific references to support facilitating the workshop |
| Module 1: The underlying factors affecting child health and development and family functioning | Complete set of references / resources |
Eliot, L. (1999). What's Going On In There? How the Brain and Mind Develop in the First Five Years of Life. London, UK: Allen Lane The Penguin Press. Facilitator's Evaluation Form - to be completed and returned to the Centre for Community Child Health after the module has been presented. |
| Module 2: Family-centred practice - an introduction | Complete set of references / resources | Moore, T.G. (2004). Family Centred Practice in Early Childhood Intervention: A Family Perspective. A Review of the Research Literature. Melbourne, Victoria: Centre for Community Child Health / Scope Inc. |
| Module 3: Identifying and responding to child and family needs | Complete set of references / resources |
Oberklaid, F., Wake, M., Harris, C., Hesketh, K. and Wright, M. (2002). Child Health Screening and Surveillance: A Critical Review of the Evidence. Canberra, ACT: National Health and Medical Research Council. Davis, H., Day, C. and Bidmead, C. (2002). Working in Partnership with Parents: The Parent Adviser Model. London: The Psychological Corporation. |
| Module 4: Community-centred practice - an introduction | Complete set of references / resources |
Edgar, D. (2001). The Patchwork Nation: Re-thinking Government Re-building Community. Sydney, NSW: HarperCollins Publishers. Scott, D. (2001). Building communities that strengthen families. Family Matters, No. 58, 76-79. Weissbourd, B. (2000). Supportive communities for children and families. Public Health Reports, 115 (2), 167-173. |
| Module 5: Effective service delivery and collaboration | Complete set of references / resources |
Service delivery: Epps, S. and Jackson, B.J. (2000). Empowered Families, Successful Children: Early Intervention Programs That Work. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association. Service systems: Guralnick, M.J. (2005). An overview of the developmental systems approach to early intervention. In M.J. Guralnick (Ed.). The Developmental Systems Approach to Early Intervention. Baltimore, Maryland: Paul H. Brookes. Teamwork: Briggs, M.H. (1997). Building Early Intervention Teams: Working Together for Children and Families. Gaithersburg, Maryland: Aspen Publishers. Consultation and coaching: Buysse, V. and Wesley, P.W. (2004). Consultation in Early Childhood Settings. Baltimore, Maryland: Paul H. Brookes. Partnerships and collaboration: Park, J. and Turnbull, A.P. (2003). Service integration in early intervention: determining interpersonal and structural factors for its success. Infants and Young Children, 16 (1), 48-58. |
| Module 6: Diversity and inclusive practices | Complete set of references / resources |
Guralnick, M.J. (Ed.) (2001). Early Childhood Inclusion: Focus on Change. Baltimore, Maryland: Paul H. Brookes. Kalyanpur, M. and Harry, B. (1999). Culture in Special Education: Building Reciprocal Family-Professional Relationships. Baltimore, Maryland: Paul H. Brookes. Gonzalez-Mena, J. (2004). Diversity in Early Education Programs: Honouring Differences (4th Ed.). Columbus, Ohio: McGraw-Hill College. Siraj-Blatchford, I. and Clarke, P. (2000). Supporting Identity, Diversity and Language in the Early Years. Buckingham, UK: Open University Press. Please note: some of these references are complete text books. Use your discretion about the volume of material you read before facilitating the workshop. |
Accessing/ordering the modules
These modules in a CD ROM format can be accessed by completing the expression of interest form requesting to purchase the product/s.
Professional Development Seminars
With funding from The R.E. Ross Trust, CCCH ran four half-day seminars in 2003 for professionals involved with young children and their families. These were well attended and well received, and a further four were scheduled for 2004. The first of these (held in March) looked at changes in the circumstances in which Australian children are growing up, and why services might need to be reconfigured so as to better meet the needs of young children and their families. The second (held in May) looked at how we might go about this, and explored the respective roles of new social institutions and of local government in providing better support to children and families.
The third seminar addressed ways of meeting the needs of families in community settings. In the first presentation, Gill Callister, Executive Director of DHS's Community Care Division, explored the role of government in supporting families, and the strategies that are most likely to make a positive difference. Gill was followed by Michael Gourlay, Chief Executive Officer of the Association for Children with a Disability. Michael drew on the experiences of families of children with a disability to discuss ways the community-based service system can better support such families. The third presentation was by Warren Cann, Director of the Victorian Parenting Centre, who presented a valuable new model of parenting that illustrates how factors in the child, parents, family and community interact to make families and children vulnerable, and how various forms of parenting and family intervention might reduce this vulnerability. The last presentation addressed the training needs of those who work with young children and their families. This involved the launch of the third and fourth modules of a new training resource designed for those working with young children and their families. These CD ROM-based modules were demonstrated.
The final seminar was held in October and featured international guest speaker, Dr Clyde Hertzman, from the University of British Columbia in Canada.
Community Development
As part of The R.E. Ross Trust "The Early Years Project", Good Beginnings has focused on implementing a community centred approach which aims to assist people to be better informed about what services are available to support them, assists agency staff to identify creative local ways to respond to people's needs and promotes community connectedness - building capacity at both family level and across the many dimensions of community.
The areas that are being focused on include South Melbourne and St. Kilda Road within the City of Port Phillip and the community of Rowville within the City of Knox.
The City of Port Phillip project commenced in March 2003 followed in June by the City of Knox project. Both projects have assumed their own personalities, focusing on a variety of issues from enhancing community social connections, supporting and resourcing playgroups, infant nutrition, focus on fathering. Each will enhance service connections and information exchange, and assist each community and its local government authority to best utilise resources in the creation of an early years family resource centre.
More detailed information about the work in Port Phillip is provided in the project newsletter Issue Two: May 2004.
Engaging schools
Overview
The aim of the "engaging schools" component of this project is to raise the awareness in schools about the importance of the early years and the need for greater linkages between early childhood services and schools.
"Engaging schools" will examine ways to create smoother transition between early years services and primary school and how to foster greater collaboration between early childhood professionals and primary school staff.
The approaches that will be utilised are:
- Deliver workshops for school staff addressing the importance of the early years, rationale and strategies for collaborative approaches that foster partnerships and engage the community. The exact content of these workshops will be determined in consultation with school staff, to ensure that teachers needs are met.
- Produce a small booklet for schools with ideas and suggestions on how to engage their local community and work in greater partnership with other services, in particular early childhood services.
The Centre for Community Child Health will engage with a small group of schools to pilot these approaches.
Project team
The following project team members are based at the Centre for Community Child Health.
- June McLoughlin
- Tim Moore
- Sharon Foster
- Cathy Archer
- Tessa Hughes
- Donna Anderson
- Raelene McNaughton
For further details about this project email june.mcloughlin@rch.org.au.
The following project team members are based at Good Beginnings.
- Barbara Wellsley
- Paul Pritchard
- Maureen Imeson
- Robyn Bourke
For further details about this project email nationaloffice@goodbeginnings.net.au.
A reference group also supports this project.