Australian Indigenous

Conference abstracts and papers

12th National Health Promotion Conference: Inequalities in health - reflecting back, stepping forward.
29 October - 1 November 2000, Hotel Sofitel, Melbourne, Victoria.

Shane Hearn, Telphia Joseph, Marilyn Wise, Elizabeth Harris and Vanessa Rose
Families First Program: consultation and recommendations for intersectoral collaboration to strengthen support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families in South Western Sydney.

Objectives: To develop a process to consult Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and service providers about actions to strengthen Indigenous families and improve the health and wellbeing of children living in outer urban suburbs of Sydney. To provide advice on ways to improve collaboration among community, non-government, and government agencies and to improve their services and programs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families.

Outline: As is true of all cultures Aboriginal families play a critical role in maintaining and transmitting social values and culture from generation to generation. The establishment of the Aboriginal Protection Act in 1909, which gave the right to the government authorities of the time to remove Aboriginal children from their parents led to familial, social and cultural disruption. The intended effects and unintended side effects of this policy have not healed, and generations of Aboriginal families are still trying to cope.

The 'Families First' initiative in NSW aims to support parents and carers who are raising children under eight. Led by the Department of Community Services, the initiative involves four government agencies. A series of programs and services is being implemented to strengthen families and improve the health and wellbeing of children. Specific attention is being given to identifying and addressing the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families in the outer urban suburbs in south-western Sydney. Working with Indigenous and mainstream service providers and Indigenous residents of the area, an extensive consultation process has been carried out.

The findings highlight important issues. First, the whole population of South Western Sydney experiences significant, socioeconomic disadvantage. The population also experiences locational disadvantage. Given this overall level of disadvantage, the particular needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families have been overlooked.

Second, the consultation has identified strengths as well as needs in the community. It has shown that. there are many strengths within the Indigenous community that provide a strong base for future action to support families raising young children.

Discussion: The issues faced by Aboriginal people today require many sectors to work together with the community .No individual services can provide the skills and resources to provide the full range of services needed to strengthen and support Aboriginal families. This session will discuss the consultation process with Aboriginal community members and services (ACCO, government and NGO) of the south-western Sydney area. It will outline community and service deliverers' responses, discuss the analytical framework used to understand the issues and to define solutions, and discuss the recommendations that have been developed.

Last updated: 5 October, 2001