STRONGER SAFER TOGETHER A reflective practice resource and toolkit for services providing intensive and targeted support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care STRONGER SAFER TOGETHER A reflective practice resource and toolkit for services providing intensive and targeted support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families This practice resource was developed with input SNAICC thanks organisations and individuals from: SNAICC staff, Joanne Borg, John Burton, who provided guidance, review and input as part Hannah Donnelly, and David Ellis; Dr Paul Harnett, of the project Steering Committee, including: School of Psychology, University of Queensland Garry Matthews, AbCare (Chair); Sharron and Professor Sharon Dawe, School of Applied Williams, Aboriginal Family Support Services (SA); Psychology, Griffith University, and Capacity to David Tierney and Michael Higgins, Aboriginal Change; and Cox, Inall, Ridgeway. Child, Family and Community Care State Secretariat (NSW); Kerry Crawford, Victorian The guide is informed by research described Aboriginal Child Care Agency; Natalie Lewis, in the SNAICC (2015) publication, Moving to Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Prevention research report: Intensive family Child Protection Peak; Fiona Arney, Australian support services for Aboriginal and Torres Centre for Child Protection; and Sharron Wallace, Strait Islander children, as undertaken by Stronger Aboriginal Families, Together. Prof Clare Tilbury of the School of Human Services and Social Work, Griffith University, SNAICC also thanks the family members with the assistance of Tracey Smith, Senior who gave their time, shared their stories, Research Assistant, Griffith University, and and expressed their views about the services. Joanne Borg, SNAICC Senior Resource Officer. SNAICC thanks the Australian Government SNAICC acknowledges and thanks the Department of Social Services for funding organisations and individuals who participated in support to develop this resource. The views the research project for sharing their knowledge in this publication do not necessarily reflect and experience to inform this resource, including: those of the Australian Government. • Clarence Valley Intensive Family Based Photographs by Wayne Quilliam. Service, NSW The photographs in this publication are intended • Bungree Aboriginal Intensive Family Based for illustrative purposes only. No inference is Service, NSW intended or implied that the children or adults • Townsville Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander depicted are the subject of any issue of interest Health Services Family Intervention Service, to any child welfare authority in Australia. QLD Artwork and design by Mazart Design Studio • Central Australian Aboriginal Congress, www.mazartdesignstudio.com Targeted Family Support Service, NT • Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency, VIC. AbouT SNAICC The Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care (SNAICC) is the national peak body representing the interests of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and their families. SNAICC represents a core membership of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled organisations providing child and family welfare and early childhood education and care services. SNAICC advocates for the rights and needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families, and provides resources and training to support the capacity of communities and organisations working with our families. 2 SNAICC | Stronger Safer Together TABLE OF CONTENTS 4 What is this practice resource and who is it for? 5 How to use this resource 9 PRACTICE FOCUS AREA 1: 41 PRACTICE FOCUS AREA 5: Working differently with Aboriginal and Including families in case planning Torres Strait Islander families and decision-making 10 Cultural awareness, understanding and 42 Supporting the participation of all connections family members 13 Working together: Relationships between 43 Setting family goals and reviewing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and progress towards achieving them non-Indigenous professionals 47 PRACTICE FOCUS AREA 6: 15 Understanding historical and inter- Working effectively with statutory child generational impacts on the situation protection agencies and needs of Aboriginal and Torres 48 Strait Islander families Working differently to child protection services and making the difference clear 17 PRACTICE FOCUS AREA 2: to families building trusting relationships and 49 Understanding child protection decision- partnerships with families making and decision-making thresholds 18 Effective engagement strategies 51 Strategies for effective communication 20 Specific Aboriginal and Torres Strait and collaborative work with child Islander cultural considerations for protection services effective engagement 53 20 PRACTICE FOCUS AREA 7: Learning from engagement ideas that Ensuring worker safety, self care, work for others and planning your boundaries and supervision strategies 54 Supervision and support for workers 23 PRACTICE FOCUS AREA 3: 55 Strategies for taking care of yourself Identifying the needs of children and their 57 families Establishing appropriate professional boundaries 24 A guiding framework for needs and strengths assessment 60 SUPPLEMENTARY LEARNING AREA: understanding and using family support 29 Understanding strengths of Aboriginal tools and Torres Strait Islander child rearing practices 60 Understanding tools and their purpose 30 Assessing Capacity to Change 61 Risk assessment tools 62 Strengths and needs assessment tools 33 PRACTICE FOCUS AREA 4: Providing an appropriate mix of practical, 64 Assessing specific areas of child and therapeutic, educational and advocacy family functioning supports 68 Assessing the tools we use 34 Matching supports to child and family needs 38 Effective referral practice 40 Strategies and ideas for providing effective in-home supports SNAICC | Stronger Safer Together 3 WHAT IS THIS PRACTICE RESOURCE AND WHO IS IT FOR? This resource is primarily designed to support 1. Working differently with Aboriginal and good practice learning and reflection for workers Torres Strait Islander families providing intensive or targeted family support 2. Building trusting relationships and services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander partnerships with families families with multiple and complex needs. 3. Identifying the needs of children and There are many different models of intensive their families support provided across Australia. Many of these services are provided on referral from 4. Providing an appropriate mix of practical, statutory child protection services, though therapeutic, educational and advocacy there is increasing recognition that they should supports be available through other and earlier referral 5. Including families in case planning and pathways. The primary goals of these services decision making are to strengthen family functioning to care for 6. Working effectively with statutory child children and prevent child harm that may lead protection agencies, and to child protection intervention, or to support 7. Ensuring worker safety, self care, family reunification where children have been boundaries and supervision. placed in out-of-home care. The resource also includes a supplementary Across Australia, a number of Aboriginal and learning chapter on using child and family Torres Strait Islander agencies offer intensive assessment tools. support for families to ensure children are safe, healthy, nurtured and loved. These agencies This resource is designed for use by Aboriginal share a will to keep Aboriginal and Torres Strait and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous Islander families and communities together, and agencies and practitioners to support their put a stop to the damaging effects of separation practice. However, SNAICC notes that a core that have continued from the experiences of component of effective practice is Aboriginal the Stolen Generations. The expert knowledge and Torres Strait Islander community leadership and experience of a number of these agencies in service design and delivery. SNAICC has strongly informs this resource. A separate report developed a number of resources to support on the strengths of their practice is available in mainstream agencies to explore and develop the SNAICC (2015) report, Moving to Prevention genuine partnerships with Aboriginal and research report: Intensive family support for Torres Strait Islander communities and their Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. organisations that are available for download from the SNAICC website, www.snaicc.org.au The agencies that offered their expertise operate in very different contexts, from urban to remote locations, and with families from diverse Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural groups and traditions. They each emphasised the need for local adaptations of ways of working to recognise diversity of cultures and environments. However, they also identified common elements that define the essence of effective practice to provide intensive support to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families. These elements are addressed in this resource within the following seven practice focus areas: 4 SNAICC | Stronger Safer Together HOW TO USE THIS RESOURCE The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander agencies that contributed to inform this guide had existing high-levels of cultural and other professional expertise, knowledge and practice experience. They