Strengthening Families is an early intervention program that works with families to improve parenting skills, reduce problem behaviours, to develop resilience and to build a nurturing environment for children to grow and flourish. The in-home service focuses on supporting parents in their efforts to care for their children. The program is available in the Far North and the Yorke & Mid North regions to families with children under the age of 15.
Strengthening Families supports families to achieve stability so they can care and nurture their children in a safe, supportive family environment, preventing abuse and neglect and, ultimately, preventing children from entering into the child protection system. Parents will build positive parenting skills that promote child wellbeing and enhance family functioning.
How can this help my family?
Strengthening Families encourages positive parenting through role modelling and teaching parenting skills; develops supportive networks through engagement in local community activities and provides opportunity to expand on decision making and problem-solving abilities.
Case managers focus on four key areas to assist families experiencing challenges in parenting and family life:
- Increasing protective factors and reducing modifiable risk factors that can lead to child abuse and neglect. Risk factors could include issues associated with anger/aggression, household management, parenting/behaviour management, domestic violence, substance abuse, mental health, grief and loss homelessness, finances and family breakdown.
- Assisting families to become more emotionally resilient to better cope with challenges, now and into the future
- Provision of learning opportunities to increase parental knowledge about children’s developmental needs
- Increasing connectedness to extended family, community and to support services
Families benefit from participation in the Strengthening Families program by developing emotional resilience and becoming better able to cope with life’s challenges. In the short term you will be able to better care for your children through increased parenting skills and knowledge of child development. In the long term you will develop help improve your children's overall wellbeing, physical and emotional development.
What does my family do in this program?
Parents work together with case managers to identify areas of family life needing support using Family Plus Outcome Star tool. Plans are then made to help parents work towards addressing those areas of need.
Families participating in this program will have the opportunity to attend parent education courses, complementing the work undertaken by case managers and to assist with developing sound parenting skills. Courses may include recognised programs such as Circle of Security, Bringing up Great Kids and Learning Together at Home or other workshops developed by UCSA focusing on personal growth and wellbeing.
How can I access this service?
Interested in this service, complete this referral form, or visit your local Uniting Country SA office:
Uniting Country SA
205 Main Street
Peterborough
SA 5422
Phone: 08 8651 2666
resilientfamiliesreferrals@ucsa.org.au