St George Family Support Services Inc. ANNUAL REPORT 2015 - 2016 CONTENTS Acknowledgements ............................................................................... 2 Vision, Mission, Values & History ......................................................... 3 Principles ................................................................................................ 4 Organisational Structure ...................................................................... 5 Our Management Committee ............................................................. 6 Agenda .................................................................................................... 7 Minutes from 2014-2015 AGM ............................................................. 8 President’s Report ................................................................................. 10 Treasurer’s Report ................................................................................ 11 Manager’s Report .................................................................................. 12 Group Reports ....................................................................................... 15 Client Stories ......................................................................................... 17 Financial Report ..................................................................................... 20 Page 1 St George Family Support Services Inc. Annual Report 2015 - 2016 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We are grateful to the NSW Department of Family & Community Services for providing us with our ongoing funding. Thank you to local councils Georges River and Rockdale, and the following organisations for the support provided throughout the year. Activus St George Domestic Violence Arncliffe Public School Service Barnardos, Family Referral Service St George Hospital Beverly Hills Public School St George Police/Hurstville BRIC Project St George Youth Services Centrelink St John’s Anglican Church, Dandelion Support Group Rockdale Department of Education & St Vincent de Paul Society, Training Hurstville Georges River Life Care Southern Sydney Women’s Helping Hand Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Housing NSW Service Hurstville Public School Sustaining NSW Families Kingsgrove Public School Sydney Basket Brigade Kogarah Diagnostic Centre Sydney In Home Childcare Services Learning Links Sydney Women’s Counselling Mary Kay Cosmetics Centre Penshurst Public School TAFE St George PHN Central & Eastern Sydney The Salvation Army, Hurstville Relationships Australia The Salvation Army, Kogarah Rockdale Community Health Centre Moneycare Rockdale Public School Uniting Church, Kogarah SDN Brighter Futures – Sutherland Volunteer Link SGS News Worldwide Printing Solutions St George Child & Adolescent YouthZone Mental Health Services 3Bridges Community St George Community Housing St George Community Services Centre Importantly, the services listed are just a few agencies within the St George area that have provided such invaluable support and we look forward to working in partnership with all our various stakeholders in the coming year. Again a huge thank you to: our amazing volunteer Les and the Management Committee and guest speakers whose support over the year has been vital and appreciated. A special thank you to the Staff for their commitment to providing support to the families referred to St George Family Support Services Inc. Page 2 St George Family Support Services Inc. Annual Report 2015 - 2016 VISION Healthy, Happy, Safe Children This holds true for all children within the community regardless of ability, health, religion, ethnicity or family structure. MISSION SGFSS will work with children and families to help them build their knowledge, skills and resilience, whilst affirming their social, racial and linguistic identities. We will support local families to provide safe environments for children, strong relationships and a healthy, harmonious community through the provision of strength based services. This comes from the belief that: a community where children and families are supported and empowered to reach their full potential because of a nurturing environment that values the richness of diversity, enables a sense of belonging for all its members. VALUES Social Justice: Participation Equality Access Equity Empowerment Respect HISTORY St George Family Support Services Inc. was established in 1987 in response to the needs of families and children. The needs were identified by a sub-committee for St George Children’s Interagency who prepared a submission to the then NSW Department of Family and Community Services. St George Family Support Services Inc. was initially located at the rear of Rockdale City Council premises in Bryant Street Rockdale and shared premises with Rockdale Early Childhood Health Centre. The name, used to incorporate “Backstop” emerged as a result of the services location at the back of the building. In 2008 the service officially became St George Family Support Services Inc. removing the name Backstop. In 1996, as a result of a collaborative partnership between St George Family Support Services and Sutherland Shire Family Support Services, the Southern Sydney Domestic Violence Court Support Scheme was established. St George Family Support Services continues to participate in a roster to provide this service. Page 3 St George Family Support Services Inc. Annual Report 2015 - 2016 PRINCIPLES . All children have a right to be healthy, happy and safe. All families have a right to prompt and easy access to services to meet their individual needs. Service delivery should be child and family focused. Families have the right to participate in the planning of services that affect them. Service responses should be built upon foundations of trust, accountability and transparency. Children and families have knowledge about their lives and individual experiences, together with much strength which should be respected and used to support self-determination. Children and families have a right to be listened to and encouraged in a non-judgemental environment. Services need to be culturally appropriate and responsive to the diverse needs of the community. Families should be empowered to develop skills that will enable them to build their independence. Children and families have the right to confidentiality (within the limits of the law). Children and families have the right to complain about services they are receiving without prejudice. Additionally we support the NSW Family Services Principles:- . Staff and families work together in relationships based on trust and respect . Enhance families’ capacity to support the growth and development of all family members . Affirm and strengthen families’ social, cultural, racial and linguistic identities and enhance their ability to function in a pluralist society . To be embedded in their communities and contribute to the community building process . Flexible and continually responsive to emerging family and community issues . Members of a family should be safe from violence . Children should be provided with safe, quality alternatives if it is deemed they can never live with their birth family Page 4 St George Family Support Services Inc. Annual Report 2015 - 2016 ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE 2015-2016 Volunteers throughout 2015 – 2016 Cindy Zhou Wei Zhang Student throughout 2015-2016 Tegan Kannard Page 5 St George Family Support Services Inc. Annual Report 2015 - 2016 MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE PRESIDENT John Hallam has a professional background in law, change management, strategic planning, sales, marketing and business development. John has held several senior legal and business roles in a number of global organisations, having worked mainly in Australia, New Zealand and Asia. He is passionate about ensuring organisations have robust processes, allowing people to fulfil their goals - personally and from a business perspective. In his spare time, his time is focused on his teenage boys, cycling and bagpipes. SECRETARY Debbie Hunter is currently a local primary school principal with over thirty years’ experience in education. She has worked in many diverse community settings in her career and believes in equitable access to community services and initiatives. She maintains a strong ethos in the integration of services in which the wellbeing and education of families is paramount to building a strong sense of belonging to a community. She is very excited about assisting St George Family Support Services to help provide these opportunities to all families and values the commitment of these services. TREASURER Lee Payne is a graduate of both the University of Sydney and the University of Technology Sydney and is a director of Auswild & Co Chartered Accountants. She has over 15 years’ experience in public practice, providing accounting, taxation and advisory services to a large range of clients, including motor dealerships, building and construction entities, as well as a number of international clients. Lee is an advocate for social justice and is keen to promote equality and engender a greater sense of community. To this end she is willing to devote her time and efforts to organisations that look to provide positive outcomes for all families. COMMITTEE MEMBERS Rodger Robertson is retired after 30 years with Qantas in management and 15 years at The University of NSW lecturing in airline management. He is currently active in voluntary work with the management of Oatley Heritage and Historical