Childrens Protection Society

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Childrens Protection Society
Established 1896
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• Our Vision
• .is that all children will thrive in safe
  families and communities
• Mission
• To break the cycle of abuse and neglect to
  improve the life chances and choices for children
  at risk

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Strategic Plan

• Prevention Reducing Risk Factors
• Early Intervention Perforating Cycles
• Reducing Harms Support Treatment
• Increasing Impacts Building Knowledge

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Early Years Education and Child Care

• CPS is progressing a model of Early Childhood
  Education and Care focusing on access and
  participation in early years services for
  children at risk.
• This next step in CPS service provision is born
  from existing Family Support, ChildFIRST and
  Therapeutic Service Programs and sits alongside
  these existing services in contributing to the
  future direction of the organisation.

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All round, comprehensive service provision from
CPS
Child First 1 CPS Central points of referral
and contact
Links and referrals to other services
Family Support Programs
Children At Risk
Therapeutic Services
Early Years Services
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Three streams of work

• Purchase Creating pathways
• Partnership Developing and delivering on
  integrated early years services
• Specialist Early Years Centre -Establishment of
  an Early Years Child and Family Centre

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PURCHASING
Children at Risk
Access to Child Care and Early Years Education
for children at risk
Sustained participation of parents and
children in family support/therapeutic and child
care service interventions simultaneously for a
prolonged period of time.
Change in risk factors
Access to Special Child Care Benefit
Advocacy from CPS to federal government on
adaptation of Special Child Care Benefit Resource
and Development input in universal EY settings
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PARTNERSHIPS
Child FIRST One CPS Central points of referral
and contact
CPS Services Early Years Advocacy
Children At Risk
Resources
Integrated Early Years Education And Child Care
Facility/Universal Early Years Services.
Pathway
Participation
School Participation Social Inclusion
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Specialist Integrated Child and Family Centre
Model
SOCIETY Government and Other EY
agency Funding Law Research Evaluation Policy
development Early Years Defining model
Sharing best practice Best outcomes for
all children
COMMUNITY Local community participation Schools
Health Service Playgroups OSHC Adult
Education Celebrations Events
FAMILY Wrap around service provisions Family
Support Therapeutic Programs MCHN etc
CHILD Care and Early Education Programs
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Aim

• A child focused service provision providing
  intensive support for vulnerable and highly
  disadvantaged children and their families.
• This model has been based on exhaustive
  international research, (UK Sure Start, Toronto
  First Duty, USA Head Start et al).

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Fact..

• CPS moment in time snap shot (May 2008) reported
  40 children enrolled in early years service
• At the quarter of snap shot CPS estimated to be
  providing service to 249 children 0-5 yrs
• Percent of children 0-5 therefore enrolled in
  early years service is 16

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further.

• Pre-school kinder participation despite
  governments roll out of 15 hours of free kinder
  for all children is not working for these
  children.
• Example
• We have family support services in schools where
  in a prep class of 21 children only 4 attended
  kinder..

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What does at risk mean?

• A 3 year old boy who can barely walk or talk
  because he has lived (literally) his whole life
  in a cot as his parents have mental health
  problems.
• A baby admitted to hospital with such severe
  nappy rash she has cellulitis.
• A housebound 4 year old girl who spends her
  entire waking life waiting for her mother to get
  out of bed and watching and worrying about her
  baby brother who screams all day.

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Children are growing.

• Mental Health
• Drug and Alcohol Dependency
• Family Violence
• Poverty
• Refugee experience
• are just some of the core issues of
  difficulty that require prolonged and multiple
  interventions. These are not quick fix issues..

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Children cannot wait..

• While we are waiting for change, hoping for
  progress and offering supports children are
  growing their bones and forming their neural
  pathways.
• This time is non - recoupable, we cannot go back
  to it.
• This most formative time is before 3 years old.

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Michael D. De Bellis This Article Child
Maltreatment, Vol. 10, No. 2, 150-172 (2005)The
Psychobiology of Neglect
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Platforms of thinking

• Importance of the Early Years
• UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
• Ecology of Child Development
• Social inclusion

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Importance of the Early Years

• It is internationally recognised that all
  children between the ages of minus 9 months and
  up to 5 years need special attention during this
  formative time, as they are dependent, vulnerable
  (as a result of their dependency) and are
  developing their neurological and psychosocial
  foundations.
• (UNHCR 1994, Shornkoff and Phillips 2002 et al)

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Rights of the Child.

• This model advocates that children have a right
  to access and participate in society in their own
  right.
• This is an holistic and systemic practice
  approach to
• achieving equitable and sustained access and
  participation in universal services for children
• providing a safe and consistent place for
  children to be.

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Ecology of child development

• SOCIETY
• Cultural
• Values
• Social
• conditions
• National Customs
• and Laws

COMMUNITY Culture Religion School Environment

FAMILY Structure Connectedness
CHILD
Bronfenbrenner
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Social Inclusion

• Childrens long term capacity to participate in
  the social and economic life of their family,
  community and society relies heavily on their
  very early proximal experiences.
• Children exposed to long term experiences of
  abuse and neglect will struggle to participate,
  form relationships and be contented in their
  adult lives.

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Final thoughts..

• Without carefully targeted and considered action
  to support them we risk the entrenchment of early
  disadvantage among these high risk groups of
  children and the development of a dependant,
  dysfunctional participation in their future lives
  that will cost society much more than just money.
  

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In Summary

• These children require focused, cohesive early
  intervention to improve their life trajectory.
• A cross- portfolio, whole-of-government focus on
  improving access to early years services for
  these children is needed to reduce risk, increase
  participation and change the course of their
  lives.