Springwood Neighbourhood Centre Co-operative Ltd

Facilitated by Wendy Lenthen of Re-created, this group is for parents/carers & kids to share craft activities together. Participants will share crafty tips, patterns & ideas over afternoon tea. Its a perfect excuse to get out your crochet, knitting or sewing projects & meet other local crafters.

Below is a letter sent to Minsister Goward to protest recent developments in the community services portfolio. Please feel free to use as a base or send your own letter to: 'office@goward.minister.nsw.gov.au'

Dear Minister,

I am writing to protest the recent cuts and changes you are making to the community services portfolio. While I support your aim to work towards a NSW where fewer children need to be removed from their parents, this should not be achieved at the price of adequate support for children currently in and entering the system, and the health and wellbeing of their family carers.

Kinship carers have been told that they ‘should’ apply for child support from birth parents. Many kinship carers are helping their adult child with their drug or mental health problems while also looking after the grandchildren. If the parents are supported they may be able to resume at least some care of the children; grandparents may now feel pressure to choose between the rehabilitation of their children which could be compromised by paying child support and the immediate needs of their grandchildren.

Relinquishing parents may seek to regain legal custody just to avoid child support payments which would return the children to a harmful environment, or demand further access visits which could result in more trauma for otherwise now settled and recovering children. Birth parents may also be in and out of rehabilitation, hospital or jail, and are hence unlikely to be earning any money. Why put grandparents though all the extra paperwork and jumping of hoops when systems are already stressful enough to navigate?
Cutting the allowance to kinship carers by $212.70 per fortnight, and indicating that Centrelink youth allowance will make up the difference, ignores the individual circumstances of carers and Centrelink’s eligibility requirements. Many carers will be worse off under this change. If much needed allowances will be cut by Family & Community Services regardless of whether replacement income is available, what will be next – further cuts on the basis that birth parents will make up the difference?
When compared with others their age, young people in out of home care in the first 5 years after leaving care are more likely to be:
• less well educated
• living in transient poor quality accommodation
• unemployed
• an early parent
• financially struggling
• suffering loneliness and mental health problems due to limited social, emotional and financial support

When kinship carers receive insufficient financial and general support, the needs of the vulnerable children in their care will not be met. We can choose to invest in these children now so that they will be the contributing citizens of tomorrow, or face the consequences down the track of further rising government costs and human misery.

For the want of a nail, a shoe was lost….

Yours sincerely,

Tina Napier
Kinship Care Regional Project Coordinator
Springwood Neighbourhood Centre

One of Justice Wood’s key recommendations in the 2008 Special Commission into Child Protection in NSW report was the transition of the provision of out-of-home-care services for children and young people from Community Services to the non-government sector. This recommendation was based on advice supplied by the NSW Children’s Guardian that non government agencies are better positioned to provide quality care and achieve improved outcomes for children. Child protection services would remain with the department, but services such as supervised contact, case management and after care services once children have entered the care system would be transferred across.

Negotiations have been underway for some time to effect this transition. A draft transition plan has now been developed, that proposes 3 groups to be transitioned to non government providers:

1. New foster care ‘entries’
2. New statutory relative/kinship care ‘entries’
3. Transfer of existing placements of both types

Entries refers to children and young people who are entering the statutory care protection system for the first time, as well as those who are re-entering the system. These groups will be transferred first, along with existing carers who are willing to move to an NGO.

10 Guiding principles have been established that will underpin the transition. These are:
1. Services and placements built around the child and their family’s needs with a permanency planning approach at the forefront of practice.
2. Placement stability and cultural support are paramount.
3. Joined up teams working together to ensure children and families receive the earliest possible interventions and support services.
4. Children and young people and carers are supported with the information they need to make informed choices about transferring.
5. Ultimately, all Aboriginal children and young people in OOHC will be cared for by Aboriginal carers, supported by Aboriginal caseworkers employed by local Aboriginal managed agencies.
6. All Aboriginal children and young people in OOHC must be placed in a culturally appropriate setting with a strong preference for placements in Aboriginal community controlled organisations or in non-Aboriginal agencies working in partnership with a local Aboriginal agency, with a view to developing capacity and independence.
7. NGOs must have the appropriate cultural capabilities to look after any Aboriginal children and young people in their care.
8. Government and non-government partnerships are based on trust and respect for each other’s experience and innovative ideas.
9. Case management responsibility belongs to the agency accepting the placement as the child enters care, regardless of Children’s Court proceedings. Responsibility for case management transfers with children and young people moving from Community Services placements to NGO placements.
10. Transition will take place according to service capacity and demand, some cohorts may take longer than others; success and stability will be valued more than expediency and principle.

The transition will be a gradual process, and information will be provided directly to carers by Community Services.
The implementation plan should be developed by the Transition Planning Team by December 31st, 2011, with the anticipated start date of January 2012.

For further details, see http://www.acwa.asn.au.

Is the child in your care having difficulty with reading or homework?
The Pyjama Foundation is an Australian children’s charity established in 2004 that aims to support children in out of home care (ie. children not living with a parent) with reading and literacy support via a volunteer mentoring program.

Volunteers(Pyjama Angels) are recruited, screened and trained by the Pyjama Foundation, who matches them to individual children. Volunteers spend 1 hour per week with the children, implementing the “love of learning” program. This program involves adapting reading aloud activities and educational games to the child’s individual needs and capabilities. Volunteers can also help with homework. Children can be supported from birth up to the age of 16 years.

The Pyjama Foundation has recently opened up a branch in NSW in the Rouse Hill area and will be expanding further into the Penrith, Hawkesbury, and Blue Mountains areas early in 2012. They are welcoming referrals requesting support from the Nepean area as well as any from the Blacktown/Hills district also. Volunteer applications are also encouraged.

Referrals can be made via DOCS caseworkers, or through an agency providing out of home care services. If you are raising a child via a family law or informal arrangement in this region, please contact Tina on 4751 3033 to arrange a referral.

For further information about the Pyjama Foundation, contact Lisa on 9672 6893 or lisa@the pyjamafoundation.com, or look at the website www.the pyjamafoundation.com.