THE BEGINNINGS:

In 1992 speakers from the second National Child Protection Conference which we held at Campbelltown  agreed that the placing of a volunteer with a first time mother was an effective (including cost effective) way to stem abuse.

Based on this theory and in response to the emerging and evident needs in Macarthur, one of the fastest growing areas of Australia, The Cottage Family Care Centre set up a steering committee to establish a Volunteer Home Visiting Service for vulnerable families in Campbelltown in 1992.

The aim of the program was simple – to support the development of healthy parenting, as a strategy to promote child health and as an intervention to protect children.

It took four years to launch and run a pilot volunteer home visiting program before recurrent funding was granted by DoCS in 1996.   On receipt of recurrent funding, the project was officially launched and named Focus on New Families. 

WHAT WE DID:

FOCUS provides support to families (usually mothers) by placing a trained volunteer to visit the family home, usually once a week for a couple of hours to provide support.  

FOCUS works because our volunteers are parents and they have often been on difficult life journeys of their own.   They understand how hard it can be and they work alongside parents in their own homes to role model effective parenting techniques and help parents develop their own parenting style and reinforce their strengths.  

THE UP’s AND DOWNS:

Between 1996 and 2002 the program thrived but the opening of a similar service in Campbelltown through Families NSW funding, caused our referral numbers to dwindle.

Having an abundance of volunteers and a RESILIENT spirit, FOCUS developed 3 service agreements between 2001 and 2003 with Sydney South West Area Health Service to provide volunteers assistance on the Maternity Ward at Campbelltown Hospital and support parents attending ‘Welcome to Parenthood Groups’.  This partnership with health has served FOCUS well and today we still enjoy a very rewarding and beneficial partnership with Child and Family Nurses and Campbelltown Hospital. Some 4000 babies are born at Campbelltown each year.

In 2011, FOCUS entered a new phase.  Our funding body introduced the new EIPP program – Early Intervention and Placement Prevention which required service providers to adopt a more structured approach to service delivery. 

FOCUS embraced the new service model and expanded service reach.  We opened the service to all vulnerable parents (and not just first time parents), we expanded service reach and developed a new mission statement and strategic plan. 

In the past five years we have seen our referral numbers gradually grow from on average 20 families per year to now over 200 families per year.  Our volunteer team has doubled from 30 to 60 volunteers.  Our staff has remained the same, 3 part time staff working limited hours.

Despite our growth, despite community outcry and despite many awards, we lost government funding in 2015 due to a lack of evidence supporting the effectiveness of Volunteer Home Visiting Programs.  We are currently operating on a church bequest as we work towards building the evidence base we need to advocate for funding in the Targeted Early Intervention Reforms, currently in development. 

AWARDS:

Despite many sets backs, our achievements have been recognized at both State and National level.  FOCUS was officially recognized with the following awards in the past few years.

2015       State Finalists for Excellence in Volunteer Management

2015      Premiers Volunteer Recognition Award

2015       Dept. of Primary Industries – Hidden Treasures Honour Roll

2014      National Volunteering Organisation Award – Macarthur

2014      NSW Volunteer Team of the Year – Macarthur

2014      Champions of the West – Finalist Health Category

2014       Dept. of Primary Industries – Hidden Treasures Honour Roll

2014      Mental Health Promotion & Well Being Award

THE FUTURE:

We have recently been approached by Karitane to participate in Volunteer Family Connect.  Developed as a collaboration between other major services operating similar programs, it brings together the best evidence and practical knowledge available to support the health and wellbeing of parents, children and volunteers.  The effectiveness of this program is being formally explored by Macquarie University and the University of Western Sydney to provide the most rigorous level of evidence possible.  This evidence is urgently needed to support the ongoing investment in volunteer home visiting programs such as Focus on Families and we are both excited and honored to be part of this initiative. 

WHAT WE HAVE ACHIEVED:

FOCUS has a rich heritage and a compelling vision for children in Macarthur to be safe, healthy and nurtured.  It is this imperative that has underpinned our endeavours for the past 24 years and gives us even greater determination for the future.

In January 2019, Focus on Families was transferred to the oversight of Karitane