2014-2015 Annual Report Learning & Sharing for life changing impact
About Us
Purpose
Values
Vision
Inclusion
Transforming lives for stronger communities.
For all children to thrive within strong families that are supported by capable and caring communities.
Respect
Empowerment Community
Mission
Through effective services, support and connections, enable children, young people and families to thrive in caring communities.
Our History
Family Life was founded in 1970 by a caring and concerned group of citizens who wanted to ease the growing pressures on families. Today, Family Life continues to provide support for families across the life cycle, by adapting and responding to changing needs and family diversity. Our activities include counselling, mediation, mental health services, parenting skills and support, community education services, outreach to home, case coordination, children’s contact services, social enterprise employment pathways programs, volunteering, evaluation and research and advocacy for innovation and investment to prevent the root cause of social problems. Our Mission and outcomes are achieved with 120 staff, 400 volunteers, and a large community of diverse supporters.
Margaret McGregor the first Social Worker and Founding Director
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Family Life 2014-2015 Annual Report
Doris Cater (right) founding Committee member & Volunteer Reception Coordinator with an early volunteer
Opening of the 197 Bluff Road Service Centre
Founder and first President, David Allison served until 1979
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Our Values
At the heart of our community organisation is the authentic grass-roots relationships with our people; the people we help and the people of the community.
Respect
Family Life acknowledges and values the human and legal rights of all individuals. Gloria (Volunteer at Highett Opportunity Shop) has been volunteering at Family Life for over 36 years, starting in 1979 at Family Life’s first Opportunity Shop at Bluff Road Hampton. Gloria has loved being part of the Family Life family. Even at 92 years of age she’s still enjoying being part of the Friday team. She supports young people as well as new starters to help meet the needs of the local community.
Empowerment
Family Life encourages and strengthens individuals, families and communities. After completing the Creating Capable Leaders program, Cheryl’s confidence increased to talk to people she didn’t know very well. Her family have always been cricket enthusiasts, so Cheryl requested a cricket clinic at the AfterSchool Club. The staff, volunteers, and children and parents on the housing estate thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon, resulting in increased community connection.
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Family Life 2014-2015 Annual Report
Inclusion
Family Life maximises the opportunities for individuals and families to participate in local and broader communities. Grandmother of 2, with a background in childcare, Sue has been volunteering for 8 years, including her weekly visits as part of the Family Support Services team. She supports families that attend the weekly Buddies Playgroup at the Keith Street Community House. These sessions provide families with an opportunity to learn and play.
Community
We understand that Family Life exists as part of a network of relationships and interactions. Mornington Peninsula Advisory Committee is a newly established community group providing leadership, support and advice for strengthening local families and the community. The Tootgarook Community House is meeting local needs through a range of programs and support activities to support local residents.
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Our Highlights
1011
Launch
Award
Launch
family members engaged in Family Dispute Resolution
10 years of Community Bubs NAPCAN Play Your Part Awards
352
individuals take part in Creating Capable Communities
Relationship Renew and Review one year pilot program
first owned retail premises Highett Opportunity Shop
469
families supported through Integrated Family Services
Jo Cavanagh OAM presented an applied research, practice change proposal at the “Addressing Filicide: Moving to Prevention International Conference� held in Prato, Italy
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Family Life 2014-2015 Annual Report
Alicia McCoy presented ‘Creating an organisational culture for social impact measurement’ at the “Social Impact Analysts Association Conference” held in Toronto, Canada
536
children, young people, men and women participated in Group sessions
Launch Collective Impact Cardinia project
400+
volunteers donated 54,175 hours
794
children helped through SHINE program
Award
2014 Women of Influence (Social Enterprise/ Not for Profit Category) awarded to Jo Cavanagh OAM
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Community Bubs families and babies supported and thriving
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Family Life’s Theory of Change - A whole of community approach
Capable Communities
Strong Families
Adults, young people and children learn and participate within supportive communities
Families experience positive wellbeing and strong and respectful relationships
Individuals are connected to their culture and community and feel a sense of belonging Individuals are participating through employment, training, education and volunteering Children and young people are achieving educational milestones
Individuals experience optimal individual functioning Individuals have healthy relationships Individuals and families experience reduced conflict and violence Individuals utilise their personal strengths in times of adversity
Individuals actively contribute to strengthening their community
Individuals are connected through a mutual support network of friends, family and neighbours and by participating in community activities Individuals recognise when they need help and know how to find and access support services Individuals are work-ready and motivated to engage in employment and training opportunities Children and young people are engaged in school and learning with support from their parents Individuals have the skills and support needed to volunteer in their community
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Family Life 2014-2015 Annual Report
Individuals recognise their health and wellbeing needs and make positive choices and decisions to address them Individuals develop healthy relationships with family, friends, peers and intimate partners Individuals understand the dynamics and effects of conflict and violence Individuals develop their ability to manage individual and family challenges
Our priority is to achieve wellbeing for families and assist them to overcome vulnerabilities and barriers from disadvantage. We do this by leveraging the strengths and resources of all sectors and community members in a collaborative effort where we do better because everyone helps. We work together to create capable caring communities that can strengthen families for children to thrive.
Thriving Children Children and young people experience optimal development and are safe from harm Parents provide care that optimises their children’s physical, mental, emotional and social development Children and young people have a secure and positive attachment to their parent Children and young people live, learn and play in an environment that is free from violence and conflict Children and young people have a positive sense of self
Parents understand how to manage their children’s behaviour and meet their developmental needs Parents have the ability to create a safe, stable and nurturing environment for their children Children and young people use prosocial strategies and behaviours to express themselves and have their needs met
To accurately measure and report value creation and the social and economic return of our whole of community effort is, like the problems we seek to solve, a complex, multifaceted issue. However, the experience and evidence of successful Family Life innovations has been a powerful motivator to embrace the challenge to more effectively document and communicate those results. We know from the consistent outcomes of our community-based programs that the lives of vulnerable families, children and young people are changed for the better: that together we transform lives for stronger communities. We know that whole school communities are improved and neighbourhoods become more inclusive and residents more supportive of each other. We know that local leaders can be developed and empowered to address local concerns. Local leaders become the role models for others to become engaged and the impact and benefits grow. We also know that through our social enterprise businesses we can engage the good will of the surrounding community to make the business successful as a work place where those struggling to engage with employment can receive training and social support to achieve their aspirations and goals.
Children and young people develop self-awareness and self-esteem
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Families across the lifecycle
Supporting the most vulnerable through innovation and impact
Government
Partners Business
Social Enterprise
Research Evaluation and Impact Analysis
Philanthropy
Aging and disability
Families
Communities Children and Young People
Community Houses and Outreach
Volunteers Community Engagement and Leadership
Research Institutes and Universities
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Service Centres
Family Life 2014-2015 Annual Report
Donors
In this report Message from the CEO................................................................................................................................12 Message from the President..................................................................................................................... 14 Patrons and Board Members.....................................................................................................................15 Strategic Pillars - What we will have achieved by 2017...................................................................... 16 Preparing for Change..................................................................................................................................17 Capable Communities................................................................................................................................ 18 Creating Capable Leaders.........................................................................................................................................19 Innovation.....................................................................................................................................................20 Tootgarook - Mornington Peninsula Advisory Committee......................................................................... 21 Collective Impact Cardinia Shire............................................................................................................................22 Social Enterprise Opportunity Shops and PeopleWorx................................................................................23 Strong Families............................................................................................................................................ 25 Integrated Family Support...................................................................................................................................... 26 Youth and Family Team.............................................................................................................................................27 Family Violence Services.......................................................................................................................................... 28 Family Law Services................................................................................................................................................... 29 Family Support Services........................................................................................................................................... 30 Innovation......................................................................................................................................................31 Social Enterprise Services......................................................................................................................................... 31 Bayside Children’s Contact Services..................................................................................................................... 31 Bayside Counselling Services..................................................................................................................................33 Relationship Review and Renew Pilot.................................................................................................................33 Thriving Children........................................................................................................................................34 Community Bubs.........................................................................................................................................................35 Children’s Mental Health (SHINE)........................................................................................................................ 38 Innovation.................................................................................................................................................... 40 Family Violence Services..........................................................................................................................................40 Being Remembered by Your Community - Legacies That Live On...................................................42 Our People.....................................................................................................................................................43 Staff ..............................................................................................................................................................43 Volunteers.....................................................................................................................................................45 Thank You..................................................................................................................................................... 47 Service Area Map.........................................................................................................................................48 Message from the Treasurer.................................................................................................................... 49 Financials......................................................................................................................................................50
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Message from the CEO
Who do we think of when we use the adjective “vulnerable”? When we say we are here to help vulnerable families, children and young people, who comes to mind? Do we think of conditions like “in need of special care, support or protection because of age, disability, or risk of abuse and neglect”?
needs have changed so must our responses. Our strategic planning requires knowledge, innovation, and entrepreneurial approaches to learn from history, clarify our priorities, and ensure our responses are effective for now and into the future.
As an independent community agency, we lead with our values of respect, inclusion, community and empowerment. We have no religious or specific cultural affiliations, and we remain focussed on the vision of our founders - caring community members who wanted to help vulnerable families. As
Fortunately, the Cybec, Cabrini Health and Barr Family Foundations are all committed to philanthropic grants for Community Bubs. These donors get “up close and personal” with the children and families and the difference staff, volunteers and community houses make to reducing isolation and strengthening
Over the past year it was made clear to Family Life that our work is also vulnerable Do we think this means people in the - vulnerable to changes in government, community we don’t know, or are we policies and funding at all levels - local, state increasingly realising that vulnerability is and federal. The federal austerity budget of very close to home? So close that researchers 2014 delivered a bitter blow as we saw our report there are even more families “one pay SHINE children’s mental health innovation packet away from homelessness,” and 1 in 5 adults will experience a mental illness in their unravelled and programs closed; we were advised of contract terminations for Creating lifetime. Capable Communities, and new contracts As I look back over the past year on the work offered were at a reduced level of funding of Family Life, it is clear to me that those with no indexation. At the state level, Family seeking our assistance, whether for learning life skills to improve relationships, or intensive Life saw resources “redistributed” to other organisations, and the process of service retherapeutic services to overcome trauma and organisation reduce the level of services we harm, are families from all walks of life, and all cultures. Issues like family violence, mental had been providing for the most vulnerable children and parents in our community. It illness, drug and alcohol abuse are not sociowas a bitter experience to reduce services, lose economically determined. Whilst research good staff, and overall implement cut backs. identifying high need postcodes certainly And in a context where we know problems alerts us to the neighbourhoods where problems and poverty cluster, requiring multi are spreading and impacting on more. level responses, we also know that families in The only option, is to focus where we do any neighbourhood need support from others have control over our resources, review for efficiencies and cuts, and re-organise and professional assistance to overcome ourselves to find the opportunities to continue issues creating vulnerability to poor health our Mission. and reduced well-being.
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Family Life 2014-2015 Annual Report
people - through evaluation and feedback from our services, - and action based consultation with communities. parenting. In the past year we have been able to start Community Bubs in Tootgarook for Rosebud West and the surrounding area. After 10 years of success, and a national award, we know we have a program which is ready for impact investing or payment for success, the new funding models which are bringing private capital into a new social outcomes for a financial return market. Family Life has embraced the learning to be ready for these new client focussed payment models. We have more to do as so many of our families have members with a disability and we work with many children with the multiple effects of developmental delay due to trauma and abuse. As governments continue to talk about targeting and cuts, Family Life has engaged more pro bono support and community experts to assist us strengthening our innovation, social enterprises and impact reporting. This is definitely a time of transition to new models to respond to social and community needs. It is a time for Family Life to press forward with determination as a future focussed, high impact community organisation, seeking effective responses and solutions to the root cause of vulnerability in our community. Why is family violence increasing? Why are more young people attracted to devastating drugs? Why are more people feeling vulnerable and struggling with the daily challenges of life? We believe solutions must be found in partnership with
Our Collective Impact project to stop family violence in Cardinia Shire, and our Relationships Review and Review pilot to prevent separation conflict, are two examples of our community wide and family focussed innovations for evolving effective responses and root cause prevention solutions. With no specific funds for fundraising (our Community Relations Department has been closed due to budget cuts), we increasingly rely on good people of the community to share by word of mouth and social media, and encourage family and friends to exercise their social responsibility by choosing to donate to and support the work of Family Life. Our website is a cost effective way for us to communicate and share what we do and how people can contact us and donate to our work. We are working to make this our leading customer and community interface accessible via mobile phones. Our service outcomes report the measurable difference we make to those encountering new problems causing vulnerability, and to those facing multiple disadvantages with economic, social and personal issues compounding their vulnerability. As a community organisation we rely on government elected by the community for support, and on you as individual community members. Please invest in what works and share what you can with Family Life, and enjoy the successes we experience to transform lives for stronger communities. Take care - Jo
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Message from the President
The 2015 financial year has been another year of significant achievement for Family Life, with the agency responding well to challenges on multiple fronts. However, funding reductions experienced in the second half of financial year have meant that some services have had to be cut and that tight control on expenditure is forecast for FY 16. As highlighted in the CEO’s report, this is very disappointing for the agency and, more particularly, for the clients we serve. The issue is covered more fully in the CEO’s report. A few highlights: • Our range of services continue to deliver excellent results, across the bayside and Mornington Peninsula areas and in our “step out” areas of Casey, Cardinia and Cranbourne. Feedback from our client surveys remains very positive. • The agency changed its structure from a Victorian association to a company limited by guarantee. This important structural change better positions the agency for work on a national basis. We have already tendered for work interstate in partnership with others. • We continued our anchor partnership with Impact Investing Australia, which aims to greatly harness the use of non government funds to fund social programs. It is expected that FY 16 will see the launch of new funding models and sources, including social impact bonds. These models are needed as governments face budget pressure from an ageing population, slower economic growth and the end of the mining boom.
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Family Life 2014-2015 Annual Report
On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank: • all staff for their ongoing dedication and achievements, led by our visionary CEO, Jo Cavanagh and her executive team; • the dedicated 400 plus volunteers who underpin the agency’s work; • all those who have supported the agency during the year, through donations either financially or in kind and through participation in our fundraising events; and • the following who provided probono services to assist the Board: Balfe and Webb, K&L Gates, Malcolm Parks, Herbert Smith Freehills and CE Family Lawyers. I would also like to thank my Board colleagues - volunteers all - for their invaluable contributions and support. The agency is pursuing a number of initiatives for FY16. These include securing further funding from government and nongovernment sources and increasing revenue from our independent social enterprises. The agency is also exploring partnering options which might strengthen the agency as we continue to work to “Transform Lives for Stronger Communities.”. Len Gill President
Patrons
Dr Roger Riordan AM
Mr Graeme Disney OAM
Following a successful career developing and marketing the Vet antiviral software, in 2002 Roger and his second wife the late Patricia Riordan set up the Cybec Foundation as a Charitable Fund. The Foundation has established scholarships in a variety of fields of study, and has funded a number of major charitable and environmental projects. In 2012, Roger was made a Fellow of Trinity College at the University of Melbourne. Family Life is grateful to Roger for his extraordinary support of our Community Bubs program.
Graeme is a former Mayor of Bayside and his contributions and service to our community have been recognised by many awards including the Attorney General’s Department Award for his voluntary work as a Justice of the Peace and in 2002, the Federation Medal. In 2006, Graeme was awarded an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) in recognition for his service to the community of Sandringham, contributing to a range of local government, yachting, church and local history organisations.
Board members Mr Len Gill – President - Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) and a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Professional non-executive director. Ms Lesley Coleman – Vice President - Master of Administration and Bachelor of Arts. Adjunct Senior Research Fellow at Monash University’s Australian Centre for Justice System Innovation. Mr Mark Vassella – Vice President - Master of Business Administration, Bachelor of Commerce and has completed Australian Institute of Company Directors course. Chief Executive, BlueScope Australia and New Zealand. Mr Jeff Phillips – Treasurer and Public Officer Bachelor of Economics and a Chartered Accountant. Chief Financial Officer of Bennelong Funds Management. Ms Heather Spooner LLB – Secretary - In 1987 was appointed a Magistrate and more recently worked as a Coroner until her retirement in 2014.
Family Life 2014-2015 Annual Report
Mr Grant Douglas - Master of Business Administration and Bachelor or Engineering. General Manager of Cope Sensitive Freight Ms Karilyn Fazio - Master of Organisational Coaching, Bachelor of Arts and Diploma of Education. Executive Coach, specialising in leadership development. Mr Richard Ruth - Managing Director for M5 Networks Australia Mr Stephen Tickell - Diploma of Teaching, Certificate of Business and a Licenced Estate Agent. Director of the Hocking Stuart Real Estate Franchise Group Ms Georgina Cohen - Master of Management (Technology) Head of Business Systems, Australia Post. Mr John Dickinson - Bachelor of Management Studies, Chartered Accountant and a Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
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Strategic Pillars
What we will have achieved by 2017 Community Impact
Have grown social and economic outcomes through effective relationships, prevention and earlier intervention, innovation, and research and evaluation.
Influencing Policy
Family Life has a reputation as a trusted partner and thought leader that informs, educates, advocates and influences at all levels
Engaging Stakeholders
Productive engagement of diverse stakeholders through an effective and integrated communications strategy.
Operational Excellence
Have a “whole of agency� commitment to the most effective use of evidence, data integrity, analysis, performance measurement and compliance
Financial Security
Have built the financial sustainability and security of our mission by growing income streams, including discretionary income; and developing the business acumen of our managers.
Cultural Development
Have a workplace community where our people are committed to our mission, capable, work as a team, achievement focused and know they are valued.  
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Family Life 2014-2015 Annual Report
Preparing for change
Political and business leaders are calling for investment in infrastructure for social organisations to scale effective activities, provide measurable data and use online systems to achieve business improvements and deliver greater impact. With an ageing population, reduced resources for health and welfare spending, an urgency for change to funding models is upon us. Leading the way is the move to customer directed care and the National Disability Insurance Scheme. Combining entrepreneurship, innovation, sector expertise and capital to tackle social issues more effectively is essential. Family Life already has expertise and evidence to be a leader in adapting to this change.
Family Life made the strategic decision in 2014 to become an investor and early adopter for new private capital models of funding. Building on our investment in research and evaluation to demonstrate our impact, we are now investing in digital communications and online service access to meet family and community requests for help. Sadly to be future ready we have had to reduce fundraising and community event activities to direct our time and resources to preparing for the changes coming in how government and private investors will distribute funds for helping people in need.
Impact investment aims directly to improve lives. Its objective can be social, environmental or developmental. It includes investment in non-profit organisations and “profit-with purpose� businesses. Its defining characteristic is the setting of clear impact objectives from the start and the continuous measurement of their achievement. - Sir Ronald Cohen Source http://www.ronaldcohen.org Revolutionising Philanthropy: Impact Investment Sir Ronald Cohen, Chair of the Social Impact Investment Taskforce established by the G8 The Mansion House Thursday 23 January 2014.
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Capable Communities 18
Family Life 2014-2015 Annual Report
Capable Communities
Family Life works in partnership with communities to understand and address place-based needs. When communities work together, families are strengthened, communities are connected and inclusive, and individuals have a positive sense of culture and belonging. Community members support each other and participate in work, education and volunteering. Children and young people grow up in safe and supportive neighbourhoods.
Creating Capable Leaders Creating Capable Leaders is part of the Creating Capable Communities program that aims to strengthen families and neighbourhoods. It’s objectives are for participants: to feel an increased connection to their community and to have increased self-confidence, leadership skills, community development knowledge, and increased motivation and confidence to seek further vocational, educational and/or volunteer pathways. Over the past five years Family Life has been progressing culturally respectful partnerships with Aboriginal organisations. We established the Aboriginal Advisory Committee chaired by
75%
of participants reported an increased connection to their community
75%
Aunty Carolyn Briggs, a senior Boonwurrung Elder. The Mornington Peninsula Shire Aboriginal Support and Development Team who provided Family Life staff with cultural sensitive training. Creating Capable Leaders with the Willum Warrain Aboriginal Association Inc. has empowered local leadership, community-led change, increase in school and community volunteering, engagement with learning and employment, stronger and resilient families. People are working collaboratively for everyone’s benefit and the results are inspirational.
100% of participants reported improved self-confidence
of participants reported increased confidence and motivation to seek out job, study or volunteering opportunities
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Capable Communities - Innovation
“Participating in this course is committing myself to an ‘educational experience’, getting out there, and meeting new people and experiences.” “(I a m) enjoying reconnecting with the community after five years in isolation after a fa mily tragedy.” “ It has made a remarkable difference in my confidence & my ability to remove myself from stressful situations. I now know how to connect with my inner self, I have reconnected with community & have developed new passions & a new vision”
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Family Life 2014-2015 Annual Report
Tootgarook - Mornington Peninsula Advisory Committee Family Life’s Tootgarook Community House opened in March 2013 and became our third Family Life Community House where staff, volunteers and local residents work together in high-need communities to promote children’s wellbeing and development. Families gather in a safe and supportive environment to socialise, form friendships, and learn skills and access formal and informal support.
The newly established Mornington Peninsula Advisory Committee provides leadership, support and advice to build and maintain relationships with families, residents, local service organisations, community groups, local government and schools in Hastings and Tootgarook/Rosebud. Collectively, we are working to improve and transform the lives of local families. Family Life led the planning with residents for Neighbour Day 2015 at Eastbourne Primary School and Seawinds Community Hub. Over 1200 residents attended a fun day with 28 service and business stalls.
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Capable Communities - Innovation
Collective Impact Cardinia Shire
Cardinia Shire is one of Victoria’s fastest growing municipalities - a large urban and rural Shire on Melbourne’s metropolitan fringe. The Shire is experiencing alarming levels of family violence – and it is happening in front of and around children. In the last 5 years 2,142 children were witnesses to family violence in Cardinia Shire A 156% increase in family violence call-outs in Cardinia since 2000
The vulnerability of these children to behavioural and learning difficulties and mental illness is profound, and the growing complexities are playing out in children’s services and local classrooms across the growing catchment. Nothing short of a paradigm shift is needed to build resilience and stop the abuse, but it must come from the community. That is why Cardinia Shire Council and Family Life have come together with a sense of urgency in a ground-breaking Collective Impact project to prevent family violence from its root causes
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Family Life 2014-2015 Annual Report
In last 12 months across Casey, Cardinia and Dandenong: One reported incident every 75 minutes and estimated one unreported incident every 9 minutes in the community. Collective Impact Cardinia was launched at the May 2015 Child Aware Conference. The Collective Impact approach engages local families with lived experience of family violence with local government, community members, groups, businesses, sporting clubs service organisations and schools that have the same drive and commitment to reduce and prevent family violence. It is a unique project that will engage the voices of children to gather their ideas about happy and kind relationships and what helps to make children feel safe and loved. Family Life is the Australian partner for Map Your World – a Google Map technology and software that enables children to share their stories and ideas on an interactive website and contribute as change agents in their communities. This technology will add to ensuring this crosscommunity collaboration is a bold approach to making change happen at a local level. It’s exciting and very future focussed on new ways to address the root cause of social problems.
Social Enterprise Opportunity Shops and PeopleWorx PeopleWorx was initiated over 10 years ago in response to a significant community problem; youth unemployment. Victoria’s unemployment is growing; the current youth unemployment rate is 14.6 per (the highest since the 1990s). The PeopleWorx program is a grass-roots program, based around trained volunteers working as a team with employed staff to empower unemployed people to realise their talents and a fulfilling future of social participation and employment. Family Life’s Opportunity shops are vibrant, busy stores, filled with community spirit and camaraderie where PeopleWorx participants experience an excellent workplace. We see people: • Going forward and getting jobs in community.
PeopleWorx, is funded by income from Family Life’s three Social Enterprise Opportunity Shops. Funding is supplemented when we are successful with grants from philanthropic trusts and foundations and through corporate and individual donations. Training programs for special development schools via an initiative called Beyond the School Gates has become a priority as we recognised a service gap to help young people with mild to moderate disabilities to prepare for a successful life beyond school.
• Becoming volunteers in the community, and staying connected. • Whose mental health issues are reducing. • Who are going back to school, back to education, having a future where perhaps they mightn’t have had one before. We also see evidence of lives being changed.
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Capable Communities
Intro to Work (PeopleWorx), July to November 2014:
86%
of participants reported learning new things
71%
of participants made new friends
“This progra mme is one of our most important (flagship) progra mmes. The environment that these students get to work in and learn in, is so unfailingly supportive they get the opportunity to be gently introduced to the world of work, they work with the volunteers and the staff here who are really important, not only do they understand about work readiness, but they are also kind, supportive and patient. These students grow in confidence, for many of our students this is the first time they’ve actually worked in a real work environment... outside school, ... to be better prepared for their life after school. PeopleWorx is offering real genuine work experience for our students, and opportunities that they wouldn’t get anywhere else.” Emma Mestitz Beyond the School Gates Manager
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Family Life 2014-2015 Annual Report
Strong Families 25 25
Strong Families
Family Life recognises the importance of individuals’ wellbeing and relationships and the impact on families. When individuals are healthy and resilient they lead a full life and can overcome personal challenges. They form and sustain positive relationships with family, friends, peers and intimate partners. Individuals are safe and conflict and violence is reduced.
Integrated Family Support Family Life’s Child and Family Teams provide in-home family support, for diverse families including single, step and kinship families. Families Support staff are trained in cultural competencies to work effectively with people of diverse cultures and socio-economic backgrounds. Our specialist staff take a whole of family approach to promote effective and sustainable change with a focus on the best interests of the children. Staff collaborate with other service providers and parents/carers, making regular outreach visits to homes, schools, child care centres and other specialist agencies.
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Family Life 2014-2015 Annual Report
”She has been so supportive and informative, giving us a feeling of security and confidence that the past incidences do not need to be our future.” ‘‘We really appreciated your help and support throughout our hard and tough times we faced this year! You were a helping hand when needed most.”
Youth and Family Team The Youth & Family Team work with young people aged 11 – 25 years, individually and with their families. Our specialist staff meet young people in the community, as a proven way to ensure engagement and build trusting relationships. This team also specialises in supporting families where there is family violence perpetrated by the young person. Over the past 12 months, Family Life has offered a volunteer Youth Mentor program. Volunteers meet with the young person weekly working on the agreed goals set by the young person and the Case Manager. Mentors provide emotional support and encouragement with activities and community connections.
“She gave me advice on how to deal with my parents.” “Got my Dad involved to help me, and was respectful of keeping my information private and not telling my mu m.” “She helped me understand my parents point of view better and helped me with my organisational skills”.
Young people:
84% 94% 91% felt listened to
felt respected
The Youth Team provide Life Skills Groups in schools for students needing extra support. A former AFL player, a mentor in the program, also helps with presenting students with a certificate of attendance upon completion. School feedback has been excellent, with expansion of the program to more schools underway.
felt supported
“‘I learnt how to manage my anger.” ‘“It was a very great course and taught me a lot. I was very happy I joined.” “‘I got support and help and it will never be forgotten.”
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Strong Families
Family Violence Services The Family Violence Services Team assists men, women and children affected by family violence. The team delivers the MATES program for men who use family violence against family members. The program requires them to take accountability and responsibility for their violence they have used. Family violence counselling and case management services assists men to sustain the changes they have made in the group, and provides additional help to overcome issues affecting their well being such as language barriers, homelessness, mental health issues and drug and alcohol problems. Family violence counselling and monitoring safety of the women and children who have been affected by the men’s violence is an integrated and critical part of our safety processes. Building understanding of family violence and how it affects adults and children throughout their life is essential to promoting change. The Making Choices group for women assists them to realise they are not alone with this experience. Groups for children who have experienced or witnessed
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Family Life 2014-2015 Annual Report
family violence assist children to make sense of their experience and regulate their emotions. With and increasing numbers of adolescents using violence against parents, siblings and other family members Family Life teams are working to improve early intervention and prevention innovations to get to root causes and reduce violence in our families and communities.
Family Law Services Family Law Services provide support for separated parents, grandparents and children with complex issues to resolve. Our highly skilled teams have worked closely with the families, across program areas and with other allied professionals to find the very best solutions to meet the needs of families. At Family Life we have a wonderful suite of programs that ‘wrap around’ families when they need it most. Our goal is always to keep parents out of court where possible, and assist them to develop strategies to reduce conflict. The Children’s Contact Service (CCS) works closely with our Parenting Orders Program (POP) to deliver safe, fun, accessible services for children and parents to
strengthen their relationships during challenging times. The Goodstart Early Learning Centres work closely with the CCS team to provide an ideal environment for young children and parents to enjoy time together. When parents are ready to mediate and create a parenting plan for the future, they attend our Family Relationship Centre for Family Dispute Resolution (FDR).
Parenting Orders Program:
70%
of parents reported the relationship with their child had improved
30%
of parents reported having less conflict about parenting arrangements
Parenting After Separation:
100%
of parents said they would use tools and strategies they learnt in their future parenting
40%
of parents reported their children experienced less conflict
Family Dispute Resolution:
73%
of parents reported acquiring new skills and knowledge through the FDR process
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Strong Families
Family Support Services The Family and Relationship Services team deliver high quality counselling to couples, children and individuals across the Mornington Peninsula and bayside areas of Melbourne. The team also provides our Specialised Family Violence Service in the form of counselling, groups and community education. Family Life has partnered with Victoria Police to collaborate and innovate with new approaches to supporting families who are experiencing Family Violence.
Counselling - Clients were generally feeling low (3/10) when they came to Family Life and this improved (8/10) after counselling
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Family Life 2014-2015 Annual Report
Strong Families - Innovation
Social Enterprise Services Social Enterprises combine commercial trading with a social (or cultural or environmental) mission to create ‘profit-with purpose’ in order to fulfil social mission. Trading is not to create a profit for private benefit. In contrast to traditional charities, which are dependent on grants and donations, social enterprises sell products and services in order to achieve their aims. Our Opportunity Shops have led the way demonstrating how a retail business can generate income and create social benefits to fulfil the Family Life Mission. From this retail success, we are seeking to meet other service gaps and needs in the community using the social enterprise approach. Our new enterprises are Bayside Counselling Service and Bayside Children’s Contact Service. In line with changes in government policy (like the National Disability Insurance Scheme) Family Life is ready for Consumers making the
service purchasing decision. By purchasing services locally consumers are also supporting the community in which they live. By opting for a social enterprise service, there is a ripple effect in the community, as our ‘profit-with purpose’ proceeds are invested back into local programs which are transforming the lives of children, young people and families in our community.
Bayside Children’s Contact Service Family Life provides the government funded Children’s Contact services for the southern and south eastern suburbs of Melbourne to help families to reduce conflict post separation by having a safe supervised location to spend time with their children. The government service currently has a 6-month waiting list. Problems, which bring families to the centres, continue to compound and relationships deteriorate during this waiting period. At times alternative arrangements are made to use McDonalds, Police Stations, and sometimes public settings when a supervised service is not available. As we saw in the tragic end to Luke Batty’s life, such compromises can be a high risk for children.
Family Life has developed a social enterprise solution for this community need. A user pays program, is available at our 199 Bluff Road Community House for supervised Children’s Contact, on week days and Saturdays. Family Life suggests parents can make a valuable investment in improving their relationships by paying for supervised contact with children, rather than waiting for a funded service or using less secure alternative settings. Success thus far does confirm that there are parents who have a capacity and willingness to pay. Using this evidence we have advocated with the Federal Government to consider a subsidy to individual families needing assistance to use the service. This is the direction proposed by the Competition Policy Review (2015) to promote individual rather than block grant funding models for services.
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Strong Families - Innovation
Bayside Children’s Contact Service:
21
families have engaged with the Bayside service since March 2014
121
supervised contact visits have occurred at the Bayside service
100%
of parents reported that the BCCS environment allowed them to enjoy time with their children
Bayside Children’s Contact Service Case Study: Jenny and Keith met at a party and after dating for a short period of time moved in together. Jenny fell pregnant quickly which was planned and their relationship was positive and they were both happy. After the birth, Jenny developed Postnatal Depression and their relationship deteriorated quickly with them constantly arguing. When Lance was 7 months old, Keith moved out of the family home and visiting arrangements were inconsistent and ceased when Jenny established a new relationship. Keith initiated mediation, however an agreement could not be reached and court proceedings started. It took 2 years before Keith would see Lance through the Bayside Children’s Contact Service. Keith attended the Bayside Children’s Contact Service for seven supervised visits with Lance, all of which were extremely positive in establishing and rebuilding their relationship. Keith’s behaviour was consistent, age appropriate and child focused. Bayside Children’s Contact Service provided a court report requested by the Independent Children’s Lawyer. Following court, the decision was made for Keith to have unsupervised time with Lance every second weekend leading up to overnight visits after a six week period. This has been a very positive outcome for the family. Family Life is able to innovate to meet community needs using our own child and parent friendly facility. The outcomes for children like Lance are that disrupted bonds and attachments with parents are restored. We know this improves the child’s sense of self-worth and identity and capacity to progress through developmental milestones.
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Family Life 2014-2015 Annual Report
This increases capacity to engage with learning and education, and reduces the need for, and cost of, special developmental services. The evidence supports better outcomes for all when parents and extended family provide safe nurturing care for their children, and we can reduce the burden of health and welfare costs for the community.
Bayside Counselling Services This is Family Life’s newest Social Enterprise. Counselling and relationship services are available on a fee for service basis to anyone seeking support for: • Children & Young People
• Communication Coaching
• Family Relationships & Parenting • Life Transitions/Challenges • Individual counselling
Our qualified and professional staff provide the service to the same quality assured standards which apply to government funded programs. This quality guarantee means people receive help from qualified and supervised professionals. As ‘profit-with purpose’ services, any surplus from Family Life’s Social Enterprises are reinvested into unfunded innovative programs responding to community needs.
Relationship Review and Renew Pilot Family Life was selected by the Federal Government to pilot the Relationship, Review and Renew (RRR) program in 2015. More than one hundred couples who are ambivalent about whether to separate or not, have participated in this innovative program. The RRR pilot is being evaluated by Emeritus Professor Thea Brown (Monash University) and the Family Life Research Outcomes Measurement Evaluation (ROME) unit. The RRR model is based on Dr William Doherty’s Discernment Counselling combined with a psycho-educative component. The RRR program was designed with contributions from Family Life’s relationship counsellors, family dispute resolution and child-inclusive practitioners. The counsellors trained with Dr Doherty in 2014 as part of the development of the RRR model. Evaluation of the Pilot program will be available early in 2016. We are delighted with preliminary findings and the benefits participants are reporting for strengthening families and relationships and reduce separation conflict. Advocacy to influence
policy and government investment in this cost saving early intervention service will be a priority in 2016.
What’s different about RRR? It gives you scope to explore the issues with the individual, the role they play which has had a negative impact on their relationship/ marriage and then bring it back to them as a couple. We are encouraging deeper self-awareness, which results in individuals taking more responsibility for how they’ve contributed towards the decline of the relationship. The structure is different from traditional couples counselling as it does not focus on change but rather on gaining insight into their own histories and patterns of their own relationship behaviour. The process allows for individual focus within the couple system.
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Thriving Children 34
Family Life 2014-2015 Annual Report
Thriving Children
Family Life recognises that for children to thrive their physical, mental, emotional and social needs must be met. When parents are skilled and confident they form a warm and secure bond with their children and meet their developmental needs. Parents create a nurturing environment for their children to grow up in that is free from violence. Children and young people achieve developmental milestones, feel good about themselves and have a strong sense of self-identity.
Community Bubs The Community Bubs Program is an outreach and home visiting support program for families. with infants to ensure children thrive and parents provide safe and nurturing care. Family Life improves outcomes for babies and their families by combining intensive home visiting by professionals and trained volunteers, with a strong focus on helping families connect to their local community. The goal of Community Bubs is to create a legacy of change which can be sustained by parents and their informal supporters when services withdraw. Three critical elements to the success of the Community Bubs model are: 1. Trained and highly-skilled specialist staff 2. Trained volunteers and support from the community
3. A community house where families can meet with staff, volunteers and join parenting groups Families in the program receive seamless referrals into our services (as needed) including counselling, mediation, family violence, No Interest Loans, Children’s Contact Services and mental health services. A number of mums have remained linked with local playgroups, involved in Family Life’s Creating Capable Communities (CCC) and other recreational and social groups to support positive connections with their local neighbourhood, well after formal services have closed. Over the past two years we have seen an increase in complexity of needs across challenging family issues, including ongoing inter-generational trauma and a higher incidence of reported family violence.
All parents strongly agreed or agreed that their practitioner listened and respected them and was supportive, flexible and communicated well with them and their family.
“I realised it’s normal to be overwhelmed and learned strategies to deal with it.” “[My Community Bubs Specialist] was a reliable and consistent support. Very supportive and was very helpful and honest in providing me with advice”
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Thriving Children
Community Bubs:
100%
clients reported that they would come back to Family Life if they needed help or support
100%
that they would recommend Community Bubs to other parents
71%
indicated they’d gained new skills to use in the future
Parents feel a lot more confident after receiving a Community Bubs service than before they came to Family Life, with averaged ratings of confidence increasing by at least 30%. Community Bubs is a philanthropically funded initiative made possible thanks to the generosity of the Cybec Foundation, Cabrini Health and the Barr Family Foundation
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Family Life 2014-2015 Annual Report
Community Bubs Specialist Staff (past and present) at the 10 year celebrations with Dr Roger Riordan AM
Thriving Children
Children’s Mental Health (SHINE)
The SHINE Mental Health Support Services provides services for children and parents where mental health issues are already a concern within the family. SHINE focuses on early intervention and prevention and aims to reduce the risk of a child experiencing a mental health problem by helping them to strengthen their resilience and coping skills. Family Life has had to wind back our service delivery as the federal government de-funded SHINE children’s mental health program in Bayside and Frankston. The SHINE team in the City of Greater Dandenong and in Casey continue to work effectively with local schools and communities, as demand is high for Family Life SHINE services. The SHINE team works from our Cranbourne office and are also co-located at Southern Migrant Refugee Centre and Doveton College. The team provides intensive case management support and have a suite of ‘value adding’ initiatives including group work to support wider community health. The team have integrated a portfolio approach into practice where each team member is strengthening connections to respond to specific issues or vulnerable communities. Doveton is one of the most disadvantaged communities in Melbourne and in the South East Growth Corridor. Indicators for Mental Health and Wellbeing in Doveton provide evidence of a high level of ‘at risk’ youth and families. Family Life works on-site at Doveton College a purpose-built public school in the third poorest postcode in metropolitan Australia. The school is home to 700+ children from birth-to-Year 9, a significant Educational/ Community precinct with a primary school, secondary school, an early learning centre and community hub.
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Family Life 2014-2015 Annual Report
Our staff at Doveton College continue to collaborate with an educational community towards a focus on holistic wellbeing. Our Creating Capable Leaders program has led to the development of volunteers able to support our groups and therapeutic activities which compliment intensive case work. A snapshot of one of these groups is provided on the following page. Y-Girls is a group provide to empower increased self- awareness and promoting social skills and resilience. The course included: • Exploring contemporary issues that affect teenage girls e.g. identifying as LGBTI • Self-discovery: who are they as young teenage girls? • Issues that impact teenage girls: self-image, self-esteem, well-being and bullying • Exploring friendship circles, trust groups and positive language to make changes • Responsible decision-making including reproductive health, consent, drugs & alcohol. The program promotes well-being and encourages positive and supportive relationships with peers. Our volunteer Lana noted that the girls have matured as a result of the course; being able to express their hopes, dreams and aspirations.
SHINE Case Study: Supporting change through a friendship circle A shy but placid 8 year old, Regan was referred to SHINE by her school who were concerned about her emotional wellbeing, learning and engagement. Regan initially expressed that she had experienced being bullied at school and she found it difficult to make friends, leading to her wanting to leave school and stay at home. Regan shared that she enjoyed arts & crafts and she spoke about other girls in her class and how she’d like to get to know them but that she was terrified. A lunchtime friendship circle was introduced to do Arts & Crafts. For 10 weeks, 6 participants together with a SHINE worker and a professional volunteer with skills in Art Therapy explored topics with the girls around values, culture, how to address bullying, types of violence, conflict resolution, body signals, breathing, and relaxation and how to make friends. After each group session, individual casework was provided to Regan, including creating a safe space, skills in managing anxiety and friendships and supporting the group work done in the friendship circle. We began to see rapid and significant change in Regan over a short time frame. Regan no longer made excuses about not wanting to go to school and she felt great playing at recess and lunch (only feeling nervous sometimes). Regan is now confidently making friends and is able to manage bullying, in part due to her new supportive friendships. It was evident throughout the process that the dynamics of the friendships greatly complemented and enhanced the individual therapeutic work in achieving these significant outcomes.
My puppet is sad because she has no food and no one to play with. My happy puppet’s na me is Alexa. Both puppets sing, ‘Don’t you worry child’… This puppet story is from Act Up. Act Up is a psychosocial drama program designed to promote emotional selfregulation, pro-social behaviour and tools to build resilience through the platform of drama and role-plays.
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Thriving Children - Innovation
Family Violence Services
Since 1986 Family Life has been at the forefront of developing best practice to responding to Family Violence, using innovative techniques and programs to assist families, children and young people exposed to violence. Over the past 12 months Family Life has been working with the Victoria Police and the innovative Taskforce Alexis to offer quicker responses to family violence reports in the community where children are present. Under current police policy should the police attend an incident of family violence they are required to complete a report (L17) and send it on to a suitable responding agency. The aim of the L17 Response team is to ensure that victims and perpetrators of domestic violence are given the opportunity of speedier, integrated access to available services, within a mandate of early intervention and onwards referral for sustained support. The team collaborate closely with Victoria Police, Salvation Army Family Violence Outreach Program, DHHS Child Protection and a range of other family violence-related service providers.
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Family Life 2014-2015 Annual Report
The service includes a therapeutic approach, information, advice, support and referral either via phone consultation and/or limited home visits where required. This consult may also result in a referral into other Family Life services including family support or counselling. The L17 respondent practitioners are providing secondary consults to their colleagues and have been working closely with colleagues in the Family Violence team to enhance a culture of responsiveness and evidence informed practice around the issue of domestic violence. A structure has been set up consisting of representatives from all partner agencies which meet weekly to triage reports and identify any gaps in services.
Family Violence (Care Team Approach) Case Study: Megan separated from partner Dale after an 8 year relationship, 3 years after the birth of their child Taylor. Both parents had drug and alcohol issues and Megan was being treated through counselling and medication for Postnatal Depression. Megan described the relationship as ‘loveless” where she was frequently abused, with her daughter witnessing the abuse. This included: • Being pushed into a cupboard,
• Blocking exits and invading personal space. • Teasing and making derogatory jokes.
• Acting in a threatening manner and yelling
• Jealousy, accusations of affairs and using highly offensive language, • Mocking Megan’s mental health, particularly Postnatal Depression. • Derogatory name calling and belittling Megan in front of friends. • Not contributing to Taylor’s daily needs financially.
• Excluding Megan from attending Dale’s family events.
• Ridiculing Megan’s family traditions and describing her family as being useless. The Specialist staff worked on; • Psychoeducation in understanding how the cycle of violence may have been experienced by Megan and Taylor. • developing Megan’s understanding of the impact witnessing Family Violence can have on Taylor both short and long term.
• developing Megan’s self-esteem to enable her to make choices about her future and minimise the risk of harm.
• developing confidence to start a new phase in her life post separation with Dale if that is what she should choose. The therapies and approaches used were Client centred, solution focussed, strengths based, systems theory, stages of change theory, Relaxation techniques, Mindfulness, Cognitive and Behavioural Therapy and Emotionally Focussed Therapy. A Care Team approach included Community Health and Drug & Alcohol Counselling. The power that occurs when services move out of silo style case management to cooperate results in goals being achieved more efficiently and effectively. Megan made a decision to obtain an Family Violence Intervention Order. She and her daughter reside in the family home with Dale having fortnightly contact with Taylor.
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Being Remembered by Your Community
Legacies That Live On
Mrs June Rose Taylor - $20,000 – Bequest June Taylor and her family spent much time caring for disadvantaged children. June’s $20,000 (specific sum) bequest to Family Life has been invested in a Family Life Service that enables parents who have Court Orders, to spend time with their children, in a safe, supervised and welcoming home-like environment at the Family Life Community House at 199 Bluff Road Sandringham. Most importantly, the children are able to build and maintain crucial bonds with their parent. Family Life has honoured Mrs Taylor on the signage at the Community House.
Mrs Evelyn Lord - $56,879 - Bequest We learned from her nephew Mr Harry Lord and his wife Carmel, that throughout her life, Evelyn Lord was passionate about the welfare of children. So, Family Life invested Mrs Lord’s residuary bequest in supporting our high-impact Community Bubs and PeopleWorx programs. Thanks, in part, to Evelyn’s bequest Family Life was able to develop the Chelsea social enterprise; today it provides a safe and welcoming environment in which locals can learn new skills, make friends, develop confidence, get work experience and contribute to the community. Evelyn’s 16-year-old great niece is a volunteer at the Family Life Opportunity Shop Social Enterprise in Chelsea. What an incredible family!
Would you too like to leave a legacy and be remembered by your community? If you would like to leave a lasting legacy by making a bequest to Family Life in your will, please talk to your lawyer. Information is available on the Family Life web site www.familylife.com.au or phone Family Life on 8599 5433 and ask to speak to Jo Cavanagh Family Life CEO.
Mrs June Rose Taylor with her husband Peter and in her WREN uniform (c1944). Photos supplied by her daughter Linda Taylor.
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Family Life 2014-2015 Annual Report
Mrs Evelyn Lord (centre) aged 99. Photo supplied by her nephew Harry Lord and his wife Carmel.)
Our People
Staff Family Life engages multidisciplinary, professional staff to deliver quality services to the community. Staff are highly engaged and have an overwhelmingly strong commitment to Family Life’s values - Respect, Inclusion, Empowerment and Community. 93% of staff agreed with the statement ‘I am proud to tell others I work at Family Life’ in the 2014 Staff Engagement Survey. Adding strength to the People, Culture and Quality team, Family Life has a dedicated Learning and Development Coordinator and Quality and Compliance Coordinator. With this added expertise, the team has implemented numerous initiatives and launched various projects to further strengthen the skills and employment experience of Family Life staff. Leadership has been a key focus this year. Over 95% of respondents to the 2014 Staff Engagement Survey are confident in the ability of the Executive Leadership team. With the foundations of a strong executive level team, a Leadership model was developed and launched for all Family Life staff members to nurture and extend the inherent leadership qualities in our staff and to provide a greater capacity for professional development and learning. A range of leadershipfocused training has also been rolled out and targeted to staff in a supervisory role. Mental health at work and workplace wellbeing is another focal point. With just over 90% of staff reporting that Family Life understand the importance of being mentally healthy, this understanding and focus has been further accentuated over the year. The launch of a confidential and highly accessible Employee Assistance Program to staff and volunteers
has been key to investing in staff wellbeing. A dedicated mentally healthy working group has been established internally with a number of initiatives launched throughout the year with frequent communication, reminders and reflections for staff. Family Life has maintained certification to ISO 9001:2008 and the Department of Human Services Standards covering all Victorian State Government funded programs, and has implemented internal quality audit systems. In an evolving regulatory environment Family Life has remained responsive and proactive, with a collaborative approach and an ongoing commitment to quality. We also congratulate the following staff members who were awarded scholarships in 2015: Marie Stanway (Team Leader Child & Family Team) was awarded the Great Leaders Are Made (GLAM) Scholarship. Alicia McCoy (General Manager Research & Impact) received the UNSW Executive Education Scholarship - Australian Graduate School of Management on Shaping Strategy to Create Value. Gregory Storer (General Manager Operations) is completing a Master of Business Administration through the Australian Scholarships Foundation/ Kaplan Business School scholarship. Meagan Norbury (General Manager People, Culture & Quality) attended the General Managers Program and Authentic Communicator course through UNSW Executive Education. Michelle Stevenson (Business Development Manager) was awarded the Australian Scholarships Foundation/University of Melbourne to attend the Managing Innovation course.
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Services: Child FIRST Community Bubs Community Development Family Law Services Family Support Family and Relationship Counselling Family Violence Services NILS SFYS SHINE Children’s Mental Health
Research, Outcome, Measurement & Evaluation
People, Culture & Quality
CEO/Board
Bayside Counselling Service
Finance & Development Business Development
Marketing and Fundraising
Bequests & Major Donors
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Family Life 2014-2015 Annual Report
Social Enterprises
Bayside Children’s Contact Service
Operations
Information Technology Volunteers
Service Support
Opportunity Shops PeopleWorx
Our People
Volunteers With the support of approximately 400 volunteers, Family Life is able to leverage government and philanthropic investment as we work together to strengthen local community and build a civil society together.
200+ volunteers work every week in the Opportunity Shops and Warehouse, mentoring our PeopleWorx participants, generating $913,573 and recycling tonnes of goods. 57 trained volunteers worked with our Service teams to provide care and support for vulnerable families, children and teenagers. 112 skilled volunteers undertook community lead fundraising events including the Open Garden Day and Golf Day. Volunteers also provided support to the Corporate Services teams, providing administrative and pro bono services.
Our Volunteers Feedback:
98%
feel valued by Family Life
98%
would recommend volunteering at Family Life
87%
volunteer to give back to the community
60%
volunteer to meet new people
57%
believe they help improve the lives of vulnerable children and families
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Our People
Special Mention volunteers Judith Campain
Pauline Reynolds
Nancy Kulawasky
Amanda Barnett
Sattar Kianifar
Marina Williams
Raeleen Thompson
Sandra Ellery-Evans
Gerry Lambourne
Rosemary Carter
Heather Hunter
Malcolm Parks
Ray Crombie
Allison Ladd
Cheryl Brettargh
Pat Gundish
“A sense of purpose.” “Other volunteers have become like a 2nd fa mily when I had my ups and downs.” “As an older volunteer, it has made me feel needed and given (me) confidence.”
46
Long standing volunteer Gloria James (left with Heather Copley)
Family Life 2014-2015 Annual Report
Long standing volunteer Alan Begg (on right, with Bob Standaloft) retired from volunteering with Family Life in 2014. His late wife Paddy was the Family Life Director in 1978.
Thank You
During the year we engaged with government, businesses, trusts, foundations, donors, health services and corporate volunteers; thanks to their support we were able to expand our services in high-need communities and help more families. The full list of supporters may be found on our web site. This list provides an illustration of the breadth of our relationships: Balfe and Webb
Mornington Peninsula Shire Council
Barr Family Foundation
Monash University
Bennelong Funds Management
Mr Malcolm Parks
Cabrini Health – Malvern and Brighton
Ms Christine Richardson
Cardinia Shire Council
Philip Coombs Children’s Foundation
CE Family Lawyers
Pratt Foundation
Cope Transport
Rotary Clubs
Cybec Foundation
Royal Melbourne Golf Club
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu
SMRC
Doveton College
State Government of Victoria
Dr Roger Riordan AM
Swinburne University
EACH
The Good Guys Foundation
Federal Government
The G.P. & M.D. Farrell Foundation
Foundation 59
The Hofmann Family
Freemasons
The Ian Potter Foundation
GR Herbert and Co
The Newsboys Foundation
Herbert Smith Freehills
The R.E. Ross Trust
Intimo Lingerie (Intimo Aware, Domestic Violence Awareness program)
The Royal Children’s Hospital
Kingston Council Lions Clubs Lowe Construction and family
The University of Melbourne ToniKaye Foundation VACCA
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Service Area Map
Ringwood
Hampton East Highett Moorabbin Sandringham Cheltenham
Children’s Contact Services
Dandenong Doveton
Chelsea Berwick
Community House Opportunity Shop
Cranbourne Frankston
Partnership
Cardinia
Service Centre Warehouse Hastings
Tootgarook Stories in this Annual Report have been modified to protect the identity of the families; however the essence of the stories are accurate. Please note the statistics quoted in regard to client feedback are based on the number of clients who responded and in some instances are derived from small samples. Some figures may also include double counting of clients due to individuals receiving support via multiple service areas. Photos have been provided by Family Life staff and by volunteer photographers Zoe Singleton and Miranda Kremers. Annual Report design by grizzledesign.com.au
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Family Life 2014-2015 Annual Report
Message from the Treasurer
Despite the challenges that Family Life experienced in the past twelve months, we still enjoyed a moderate growth in revenue from $9.8 million (13/14) to $10 million (14/15), up by 3.6%. As the 2014 government funding cuts impact, we are working our way through the financial and service continuity challenges these are creating. Performance Family Life’s surplus from all ordinary operating activities was $50,560 (13/14 surplus of $174,104). This was a good result considering all the external challenges. Underpinning our growth was a $308,000 increase in government funding, up 4.1% on last year. It is important to note that this increase has largely come from a Federal government pilot program (Relationship Review and Renew). Family Life’s reputation and capability to research and innovate has rewarded us this excellent opportunity to address social needs with high impact and efficient solutions. As a community-based charitable organisation, Family Life worked closely with our local partners to address localised social issues with our innovative programs. These for-purpose collaborative endeavours have led to heightened awareness and in turn have generated increased grant incomes; i.e. $25,000 more from philanthropists and $27,000 more from local governments. Despite the challenging economic outlook, the sales revenue from our social enterprises increased by $25,000, up 2.8% compared to last year.
To meet our commitments to staff and investments in our communities, our expenditure also increased by $442,000, up 4.6% on last year.
Investment
Our investment expenditure has continued to focus on staff development, research and innovation. Systems to facilitate data collection, as well as staff learning and development, are crucial. The Board is committed to invest in our communities through our community houses, social enterprises and collective impact program.
Outlook To manage the pressures of inflation and wage growth as a result of the Equal Remuneration Order from Fair Work Australia, management will continue to seek new funding opportunities in 15/16. Family Life’s balance sheet remains very strong. Regarding our current liabilities, it is the Board’s policy to maintain full cash backing as a conservative and prudent approach. It is important for Family Life to be agile to stay on mission to help the most vulnerable in our community through our innovative programs with our collaborative approach. Please join us and support Family Life at http://familylife.com. au/donate/ Jeff Phillips Treasurer
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Financials
Southern Family Life Service Association Inc. Statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income for the year ended 30 June 2015. Income from Operating Activities
$ 2015
$ 2014
Federal Government funding
5,101,983
4,948,940
State Government funding
2,804,822
2,650,034
Local Government funding
143,087
116,444
Non-Government grants
483,813
519,975
Donations
280,538
186,748
Voluntary contributions
68,357
51,539
Public fundraising
96,854
134,641
Social enterprises
913,573
889,042
Service income
92,068
75,139
90
10
Interest
113,385
166,188
Other income
20,154
25,264
Total Revenue
10,118,724
9,763,964
1,354,375
1,300,000
11,473,099
11,063,964
Membership subscriptions
Volunteers’ in-kind contributions estimated Grand Total
Family Life is proud of its exemplary history as a provider of quality services, with full compliance with Federal and State family service audits, and ISO 9001:2008 accreditation under Department of Human Services standards . Our financial reports are audited independently every year to ensure transparency and accountability. In recent years, one of our community banking partners noted that “Family Life’s governance and structure are documented, implemented and maintained in a very sophisticated manner”. Our strong corporate governance is featured in the Department of Human Services website as a case study. (www.dhs.vic.gov.au/for-business-and-community/not-for-profit-organisations/strategicbusiness-planning/not-for-profit-case-study-family-life) Federal Government funding 44.5% State Government funding 24.5% Volunteers’ in-kind contributions estimates 12% Social Enterprises 10% Non-Government grants 8% Local Government funding 1%
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Family Life 2014-2015 Annual Report
Southern Family Life Service Association Inc. Statement of financial position as at 30 June 2015. CURRENT ASSETS
$ 2015
$ 2014
1,231,070
358,542
2,200,000
3,011,705
73,663
179,661
146,873
161,185
3,651,606
3,711,093
Property, Plant and Equipment
3,370,613
3,288,543
TOTAL NON-CURRENT ASSETS
3,370,613
3,288,543
TOTAL ASSETS
7,022,219
6,999,636
Trade & Other Payables
363,442
112,675
Accrued Expenses
438,036
437,222
Unearned Income
561,418
670,411
48,414
45,144
Provision for Employee Entitlements
413,970
406,630
Provision for Employee Entitlements - LSL
278,745
218,005
2,104,025
1,890,087
Interest Bearing Loan
537,611
782,423
Provision for Employee Entitlements - LSL
42,951
40,054
580,652
822,477
TOTAL LIABILITIES
2,684,587
2,712,564
NET ASSETS
4,337,632
4,287,072
3,784,131
3,748,930
553,501
538,142
4,337,632
4,287,072
Cash & Cash Equivalents Held-to-Maturity Investments Receivables - Trade & Other Other Current Assets TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS NON-CURRENT ASSETS
CURRENT LIABILITIES
Interest Bearing Loan
TOTAL CURRENT LIABILITIES NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES
TOTAL NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES
MEMBERS’ FUNDS Accumulated Funds Reserves TOTAL MEMBERS’ FUNDS
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Service Centres
Community Houses
Children’s Contact Services
Sandringham 197 Bluff Road Sandringham Victoria 3191
Sandringham 199 Bluff Road Sandringham Victoria 3199
Sandringham 199 Bluff Road Sandringham Victoria 3199
Phone +61 3 8599 5433 +61 3 8599 LIFE Fax +61 3 9598 8820
Phone +61 3 8599 5433 +61 3 8599 LIFE Fax +61 3 9598 8820
Phone +61 3 8599 5433 +61 3 8599 LIFE Fax +61 3 9598 8820
Frankston Level 1, 146 Young Street Frankston Victoria 3199
Hampton East 12 Keith Street Hampton Victoria 3188
Frankston Level 1, 146 Young Street Frankston Victoria 3199
Phone +61 3 9784 0650 Fax +61 3 9770 2906
Phone +61 3 8599 5433
Phone +61 3 9784 0650 Fax +61 3 9770 2906
Cheltenham Level 2, 11 Chesterville Road Victoria 3192 Phone: +61 3 8599 5433 Fax +61 3 9598 8820 Cranbourne 182c Sladen Street Cranbourne Victoria 3977 Phone +61 3 9784 0650 Fax +61 3 9770 2906
Tootgarook 10 Carmichael Street Tootgarook Victoria 3941 Phone +61 3 5985 1297 Opportunity Shops Cheltenham 316 Charman Road Cheltenham Victoria 3192 Phone + 61 3 9583 0305 Highett 14 Railway Parade Highett Victoria 3190
Frankston South Early Learning Centre 134 Frankston-Flinders Rd Frankston South VIC Phone +61 3 9784 0650 Berwick Early Learning Centre 1 Cheviot Avenue Berwick Victoria 3806 Phone +61 3 9784 0650
Phone +61 3 9555 2100 Chelsea 435 Nepean Highway Chelsea Victoria 3196 Phone +61 3 9773 9761
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Warehouse 12/94 Keys Road Moorabbin Victoria 3189 Phone +61 3 9555 2174
info@familylife.com.au
www.familylife.com.au Family Life Limited ABN: 37 712 782 209 ACN: 606 542 590 Copyright Š Family Life 2015