Two papers prepared by the Centre for Community Child Health for Social Ventures Australia explore the potential of holistic, integrated early learning service models for improving outcomes for young children and their families who are experiencing vulnerability.
Although there is a wealth of evidence regarding child development and the factors that shape development and learning, efforts to improve outcomes for young children have focused largely on improvements to existing services. To date, this approach has not made significant improvements to child and family outcomes that are of concern.
One of the main reasons for this is that many current approaches do not consider the social and physical conditions under which families are raising young children. These conditions have a greater impact on child and family outcomes than the services they receive.
The two papers below, and their summary briefs, consider how to improve outcomes for families experiencing vulnerability, focussing on the core needs of families and the extent to which integrated child and family centres can meet these needs.
Paper One: Core care conditions for children and families: Implications for integrated child and family services
The paper reviews what is known about the core needs of children, parents and families, the conditions that parents need to be able to meet the needs of their children, and how well the service system is meeting those needs. It uses this evidence to identify what role integrated child and family centres could play in addressing the needs of children and families.
Paper Two: Developing holistic integrated early learning services for young children and families experiencing socio-economic vulnerability
The paper reviews national and international examples of holistic, integrated early learning programs for young children and their families experiencing socio-economic vulnerability. It then uses the Core Care Conditions for Children and Families framework developed in Paper One to analyse the extent to which integrated child and family centres can meet the needs of children and families.
These papers are our initial exploration into the role of integrated child and family centres in improving outcomes for young people and families experiencing vulnerability. We welcome your questions and perspectives. If you are interested in learning more or providing feedback, please get in touch with Emma Sydenham esydenham@socialventures.com.au or Sue West sue.west@mcri.edu.au.