Annual Report 2018/ 19 A year of transformation Mission, Contents purpose Our mission To improve the health and values and wellbeing of children and young people who live in rural and remote Royal Far West is one of Australia’s The need 4 most enduring and respected communities. charities. Established in 1924, we consistently adapt to meet the changing health needs of children Who we support 6 and families living in rural and remote communities. We provide services to improve the Our values Securing our future 8 health and wellbeing of country children at the Centre for Country Kids in Manly, as well as virtually via Respect Governor’s letter 11 Telecare, and in local communities. We build the capacity of country families and communities. We Chairman and CEO note 12 leverage our knowledge, expertise Integrity and relationships to advocate for the equitable provision of health Highlights 14 and wellbeing services for country children. Energy Programs 16–22 Care Fundraising 24–26 Financial summary 27 Corporate governance 29 Thank you 30 Contact Details Phone: Web: Parents, Health Professionals, School Principals & Teachers (02) 8966 8500 www.royalfarwest.org.au If you believe a child in your care or in your community needs Free call: our help, please go to the ‘Programs’ section on our website or 1800 500 061 call our Client Services team. Fundraising enquiries: RoyalFarWest External Audit 1800 961 001 Accommodation: Conducted by Stewart Brown & Co. [email protected] (02) 9466 1700 ABN: Postal address: Royal Far West School: 37 821 970 819 PO Box 52, Manly, NSW, 1655 Ph (02) 9977 2452 This Annual Report covers the period 1 July 2018 until 30 June 2019. 2 royalfarwest.org.au Annual Report 2018/ 19 3 The state The need of country 42% children’s health of Indigenous and development children are vulnerable on one or more More than Geography should not be a barrier to developmental domains disadvantage, yet children living in rural and 1 in 6 (16.2%) remote areas of Australia are up to five times* children and as likely as children living in urban areas to have adolescents aged 4-17 challenges with their developmental health. in rural areas have In addition, NSW Health reports that 32% of mental health rural children cannot access the services they 377,000 arn problems need. Lack of access to services creates systemic children are barriers to optimising health and wellbeing aterne outcomes, so children and families affected developmentally by these challenges who live in regional areas ununurra are often doubly disadvantaged, with life-long vulnerable* on one or more domains across This is closer to implications. rooe Australia aged 3-11. The physical, emotional and social development 1 in 5 (19%) attained in childhood sets a trajectory for ount a in outer long term outcomes in health, education and 114,000 children* ort ealan regional areas wellbeing. Delays or vulnerabilities are linked are developmentally vulnerable on onrea † with poor educational outcomes, disability, one or more domains across Royal Far Ale prn NSW Ministry of Health data chronic mental health problems and a higher West’s core markets (Regional, Remote risk of unemployment, personal relationship and Very Remote areas) aged 3-11. Carnarvon difficulties, contact with the criminal justice Roa system and homelessness. Cooer e rane There are currently 377,000 children aged 3-11 in Australia who are developmentally vulnerable on one or more domains, based on 2015 AEDC* aloorle roen ll estimates and current population data. This uo means that more than 1 in 5† children across Australia are starting school with a significant Physical Health ert Aelae Syney developmental vulnerability. More than 1 in 6† and Wellbeing Canerra perane children and adolescents are experiencing a recent mental health condition. It is clear too elourne many children are falling through the cracks. Communication Social Despite its critical importance, childhood Skills and General Competence development does not get the attention or Knowledge investment it deserves. Domains of Child The rate of developmental vulnerability in Development Remote Australia is 10% higher and Very > 1500+ km oart Health workers Remote Australia is 53% higher than in major < 20 km > 1053 km in rural and remote cities. These increasing rates of developmental areas serve a population vulnerability, combined with the decreasing Language and Emotional at least number of clinicians, exacerbates inequity Cognitive Skills Maturity between city and country. For example, there Major cities Remote Very remote 5 times are 12 times the number of children per 21% 28% % Developmental vulnerability Developmental vulnerability 42.4 psychologist in very remote regions of Australia Developmental vulnerability greater than their city compared to city areas. 111 1 1 35 1 60 counterparts * 2015 Australian Early Development Census (AEDC). 237 Too many country kids are missing out on Children who score in the bottom 10% of the AEDC Speech Psychology OT Clinician / child ratio 158 138 the vital services that are integral to a positive are developmentally vulnerable. Australian children 1 1 1 767 living in rural and remote areas are more likely to be Speech Psychology OT trajectory for life. Clinician / child ratio 429 developmentally vulnerable, and the gap between urban 354 and rural children is widening. 1 1 1 Speech Psychology OT † NSW Ministry of Health data Clinician / child ratio 4 royalfarwest.org.au Annual Report 2018/ 19 5 Who we Our reach Royal Far West is always transforming to support meet the ever-increasing demand for our services as well as supporting the growing complexity in needs of children and families from rural and remote Australia. Through the use of technology and in-community programs, over the coming years Royal Far West will expand further and deeper into We believe every Australian child has the right NSW, Queensland, WA and beyond. to the health, education and developmental care that will help them unlock their potential, wherever they live. We boldly go where the system stops, to wherever we are needed, and use technology to ensure no community is beyond our reach. In the last year Royal Far West supported 9,668 Our impact country children, parents, We work with research partners to build a strong evidence base for children’s carers, educators and health developmental health in rural and professionals remote areas and to demonstrate the through multidisciplinary services provided impact of our programs. in our Centre for Country Kids in Manly, via This year: Telecare into schools and homes and through community-based programs. 85% of parents/carers/teachers with children on our Telecare and Windmill Programs noted In 2018/19 improvement/great improvement in the targeted Royal Far West: area of function (e.g. speech) Children consistently met/exceeded their Supported more Telecare goals (using Goal Attainment Scaling or Health professionals and educators: people Canadian Occupational Performance Measure) 2,637 Up 17% Our work was published in three international, 9,668 people compared to 8,258 peer reviewed journals – Digital Health Journal, American Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology and Health Economics Review Parents/carers: Reached more 3,398 communities We developed innovative partnerships to broaden our impact – trialling a wearable device 30+ new to understand the signs of emotional distress and prevent escalation (CSIRO) and starting a postcodes study on the diets of children in rural and remote Children: Australia (Macquarie University) 3,633 Delivered Telecare into more schools The child voice has been increased across our research and evaluation, using the Child 122 schools Outcomes Rating Scale and the child and young up from 102 last year child session rating scale. 6 royalfarwest.org.au Annual Report 2018/ 19 7 Thank you Securing Government The Centre for Country Kids would not have been our future possible without the significant funding contributions from the Federal and NSW Governments. FDC Construction and Fitout Pty Ltd & Architectus FDC and Architectus were the design and Royal Far West has been supporting the health construction partners for our world-class building. and wellbeing of country children and families for Both parties worked closely with Royal Far West to almost 100 years. Our focus in 2018/19 was to secure bring our unique requirements to life. A 21st century our future and that of the country communities we building, the Centre for Country Kids was shortlisted in the “public architecture” category in this year’s serve for the next 100 years. The growing prevalence Australian Institute of Architects NSW Awards of behavioural, mental health, speech and language as well as being a finalist in the Master Builders challenges coupled with a gross inequity of Association Awards. services between city and country has been driving unrelenting demand for our services. In the last Sargents Charitable Foundation 10 years we have grown tenfold in the numbers of people we have supported, and it is essential Royal Philanthropy is an important component of our Far West transforms and innovates in order to meet funding mix and a generous donation from Sargents future need. allowed us to open the Oral Health unit within the Centre for Country Kids to continue to deliver vital This year marked some very tangible achievements dental and orthodontic services to our clients. on our journey to become a national charity providing health, education and disability services HP PPS Australia Pty Ltd & Cisco Systems across rural and remote Australia. The generosity of our technology partners to donate all our end user computing needs, infrastructure and communications systems has enabled The Centre for Country Kids: us to become more secure, agile, mobile and The Centre for efficient. This is a massive contribution toward our transformation and our ability to support thousands Country Kids more country children into the future.