BUSHkids Annual Report 2019-20

ANNUAL REPORT 2019–2020 SECTION TOPIC 20 HE FIRST FIVE YEARS CPSS BUSHkids was funded to provide:  home visits  parenting skills and support  school readiness programs  supported playgroups. During the first five years, BUSHkids has employed local people from the regions served, providing stronger local connections to the community, families and children in those areas. Two of our current BUSHkids CPSS staff, in fact, are parents who originally attended our playgroups as a parent with their child, reflecting our ongoing commitment to local capacity-building. Our teams have spent significant time on the road – in the last quarter alone, staff travelled approximately 20,000km. In the early days of this program, staff worked from their cars in Kingaroy and Stanthorpe regions with the Agnes Water worker hosted by the local state school. Home visits continue to be an important method of service provision and provides valuable insight into the daily lives of the parents and children with whom we work. As a single team, we are separated by hundreds of kilometres and rarely see each other in person – although our regular morning catch-ups by video-conference and phone have certainly predated the pandemic’s forced adoption of ZOOM. Due to poor rural internet, some of us have had to ZOOM from the car in front of the local shopping centre as it has the best connection! Today, we can link in from anywhere – including the sides of the road – with a laptop, a phone to tether and a portable BUSHkids teleHealth unit. Provision of parenting support and skills development is individualised for each family. Many parents seek support at playgroup as this is a safe place to engage in discussion with the facilitator and also to obtain peer support. Often, opportunities for group parenting programs emerge when a group of playgroup parents wants to get together and receive a parenting program. Our key CPSS programs are:  1-2-3 Magic ® & Emotion Coaching  Bringing Up Great Kids  Triple P Positive Parenting Program. 1-2-3 Magic ® & Emotion Coaching really suits parents who are looking for support in managing some of their childrens challenging behaviours, as it helps them learn how to coach their children in dealing with big emotions that often trigger behaviours. It also teaches parents to relax about the small stuff but work out what is really important in their family. This program has been consistently used in the last five years across all three sites and has had significant positive impact for many families. Bringing Up Great Kids is currently being rolled-out in Kingaroy and Stanthorpe. This is a ‘reflective’ parenting program, again identifying priorities for the family, with a big focus on safety and relationships. Triple P Positive Parenting Program is well-known and evidence-based, and is also offered free online with many parents opting to access it this way. Parenting support often involves normalising children’s behaviours and development. Parents often ask questions about their child’s development. We are able to guide them when their concerns need a review by a GP, paediatrician, child health nurse or Allied Health clinician. Across all three locations, staff maintain a strong working relationship with these local professional peers. 5 years of CPSS In 2015 BUSHkids received funding from the Department of Social Services (DSS) to provides Children and Parenting Support Services (CPSS) in three areas of regional Queensland. These included the towns of Agnes Water and Miriam Vale as well as the district, Kingaroy, Kingaroy North and Nanango, and Stanthorpe on the Granite Belt.

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