CareSouth’s Brighter Futures program is a child protection service to prevent struggling families from fracturing.
The program, which CareSouth has been running for almost 10 years, provides support to families facing challenging situations like domestic violence, mental health issues or drug and alcohol problems. Brighter Futures caseworkers help support families to give their children the best possible start in life. Brighter Futures facilitates activities such as parent groups and playgroups and caseworkers also advocate for parents to access essential support services to enhance their child’s quality of life.
This year CareSouth’s Brighter Futures caseworkers helped 282 families from Gerroa to Helensburgh who have one or more children under the age of nine. Families expecting a child but facing challenging obstacles to parenting were also referred to the service. The Brighter Futures program received 138 new referrals, 80% of which were from the Department of Family & Community Services, for children considered at Risk of Significant Harm (ROSH).
Brighter Futures is a voluntary program so families can choose to decline the service. Of the 138 new referrals received by Brighter Futures this financial year only 15 families declined to join the program. This has resulted in an 80% uptake for the program. The suburbs with the highest need for Brighter Futures services were:
• Wollongong/Gwynneville/Keiraville/Mt Keira
• Lake Illawarra/Warilla/Windang
• Warrawong/Cringila/Lake Heights/Primbee
Families struggling with parenting issues or experiencing domestic violence had the highest referral rates to the Brighter Futures program in 2015/2016.
Brighter Futures services were delivered to families with the following vulnerabilities:
• Parenting issues 80%
• Domestic violence 67%
• Mental health 65%
• Drugs and alcohol 56%
• Parental disability 7%
CareSouth’s child protection strategies helped support families at risk of entering the foster care system. This year 159 families graduated from the Brighter Futures program.
