The major political parties were represented by Senator Claire Moore (ALP), Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells (Liberal) and Senator Rachel Siewert (Greens).

The roundtable was a lively and very productive gathering, especially as it drew together leaders in so many fields to throw additional light on the needs of families.

The roundtable was the first major national gathering after the May 2011 Federal Budget announcement of major funding for mental health.

Some of the highlights from discussions were that:

• now is a golden opportunity to build in greater support for families in the implementation of the mental health reform package;
• much more needs to be done to improve cooperation and service integration across the mental health field and child and family services;
• governments can, and should, realise better outcomes for families through greater emphasis on early detection and prevention;
• families themselves should be utilised more in order to build family mental health and wellbeing; and
• there is a moral imperative to make the mental health platform announced in the 2011 Budget the start of a far longer and more sustained commitment to improving mental health outcomes over the next decade.

On the evening of 24 May, Professor McGorry AO, Executive Director, Orygen Youth Health Research Centre, and Professor of Youth Mental Health at the University of Melbourne, delivered the Third Families Australia National Oration at Parliament House, Canberra. Addressing an audience of around 150 people, including many political and community leaders, Professor McGorry spoke passionately about the ongoing needs in the field of mental health in Australia.

Following on from the roundtable and oration, Families Australia and Orygen Youth Health will be embarking on work to highlight further the role and needs of families in the context of mental health.

‘Sticking together: families in good and tough times’

Families Australia is delighted to advise that National Families Week 2011 will be held from Sunday 15 May to Saturday 21 May 2011.

Each year, tens of thousands of people and hundreds of organisations celebrate National Families Week –Australia’s annual celebration of the vital role of families. In 2010, over 120,000 people participated in National Families Week events aroundAustralia, illustrating the importance of families within the community.

The central aim of National Families Week 2011 is to celebrate the vital role that families play. This year’s theme is: ‘Sticking together: families in good and tough times’.

This National Families Week everyone is encouraged to think about things that make their family strong in both good and tough times, whatever their circumstances. See www.familiesaustralia.org.au for more information.

National Families Week is timed to coincide with the United Nations International Day of Families on 15 May. This day is observed by the United Nations to mark the importance that the international community places on families as the most fundamental units of society, as well as to show concern about their situation in many parts of the world. The UN theme for the 2011 International Day of Families is ‘Confronting Family Poverty’.

National Families Week is funded by the Australian Government Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs. Centrelink is also promoting National Families Week and providing support through its national network.

Families Australia is happy to answer your questions about how you can celebrate National Families Week. Contact us by phone on 02 6273 4885, by fax on 02 6273 4886 or by email to admin@familiesaustralia.org.au

http://www.aph.gov.au/hansard/senate/commttee/S13654.pdf

To start our work, we are delighted to announce that, in conjunction with Orygen Youth Health Research Centre, we will co-host a National Roundtable on Building Mentally Healthier Australian Families, at Old Parliament House Canberra on 24 May. The Roundtable will commence a high-level examination of ways in which families affected by mental health issues can be further supported.

On the evening of 24 May, Professor Patrick McGorry AO will deliver the Families Australia Oration at Parliament House, Canberra. Professor of Youth Mental Health at the University of Melbourne, Executive Director of Orygen Youth Health and former Australian of the Year, Professor McGorry is a world-renowned youth mental health researcher and founding member of the National Youth Mental Health Foundation (headspace) board. Orygen Youth Health (OYH) is Australia’s largest youth mental health research centre and clinical service, targeting the needs of young people with emerging serious mental illness.

Families Australia will use the outcomes of the Roundtable and Oration to develop policies which can be presented to Governments and the community in the interest of promoting greater family wellbeing.

Nationally, the AIHW report shows that: the number of children subject to a notification of child abuse or neglect and the number subject to a substantiation of a notification have decreased over the past year; however, the number of children under care and protection orders and the number in out-of-home care are rising; and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are over-represented in all of these areas of the child protection system.

In the last 12 months: the number of children subject to a notification decreased by 10% from 207,462 to 187,314; and the number of children subject to a substantiation of a notification decreased by 4% from 32,641 to 31,295 (from 6.5 to 6.1 per 1,000 children). From 2004–05 to 2009–10, the number of children subject to a substantiation of a notification decreased by 8% from 34,046 to 31,295 (7.1 to 6.1 per 1,000 children).

In the last 12 months, the number of children on care and protection orders increased by 7% from 35,409 to 37,730 (7.0 to 7.4 per 1,000 children). Since 2005, the number of children on care and protection orders increased by 57% from 24,075 to 37,730 (5.0 to 7.4 per 1,000 children). Over the past 6 years, the number of children admitted to orders has increased by 27% from 11,492 to 14,564. However, between 2008–09 and 2009–10 the number of children admitted to orders decreased by 6% from 15,509 to 14,564.

In the last 12 months, the number of children in out-of-home care increased by 5% from 34,069 to 35,895. Since 2005, the number of children in out-of-home care rose by 51% from 23,695 to 35,895 in 2010 (4.9 to 7.0 per 1,000 children).

In 2009–10: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were almost eight times as likely to be the subject of substantiations as non-Indigenous children (rates of 35.3 and 4.6 per 1,000 children, respectively).  

Families Australia strongly supports the National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children and encourages all parties to intensify their work under the Framework to tackle child abuse and neglect and its underlying causes.

Yesterday (16 December 2010), was a landmark as Commonwealth, State and Territory Community and Disability Services Ministers (CDSMC) endorsed the National Standards for Out-of-Home Care.  This is a major accomplishment under the National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children 2009-2020. The Standards are a first for Australia. They will provide a national benchmark for the care of children and young people who are unable to live with their parents, no matter which State or Territory they are in.

The Standards focus on the critical areas of providing children with access to health, education and training, as well as improved planning for children’s transition from care.

In a nutshell, the new National Standards provide, inter alia, for children and young people to:

• participate in decisions that have an impact on their lives
• have an individualised plan that details their health, education and other needs
• have their physical, developmental, psychosocial and mental health needs assessed and attended to in a timely way
• be able to access and participate in education and early childhood services to maximise their educational outcomes
• be supported to be engaged in appropriate education, training and/or employment
• be supported to safely and appropriately maintain connection with family, be they birth parents, siblings or other family members
• be supported to develop their identity, safely and appropriately, through contact with their families, friends, culture, spiritual sources and communities and have their life history recorded as they grow up
• be supported to safely and appropriately identify and stay in touch, with at least one other person who cares about their future, who they can turn to for support and advice; and
• have a transition from care plan commencing at 15 years old which details support to be provided after leaving care.

In addition, carers are assessed and receive relevant ongoing training, development and support, in order to provide quality care.

The Coalition of Organisations Committed to the Safety and Wellbeing of Australia’s Children played a decisive role, working with Governments over the past 12-18 months, to develop the new Standards.

Much now rides on how well the Standards are implemented and monitored so that we see better outcomes for children and young people in the out-of-home care system and the people who care for them.