Building Stronger Families
and Communities
in the
Daly/Cox-Finniss Region, NT
Stronger Families Learning Exchange Bulletin No.5 Autumn 2004 p.29-30
First glimpse - project responses to a series of questions
The project setting
The region of Northern Territory served by the program covers approximately 4000 square kilometres and has within it seven substantial Indigenous communities: Belyuen, Bulgul, Nauiyu Nambiyu (Daly River), Palumpa, Peppimenarti, Wadeye (Port Keats), Woolaning, and many more outstations. The largest community is Wadeye with a population of 2200. Three other communities have populations in excess of 300 people.
Woolaning Homeland Christian College has recently been established as a regional residential college for Indigenous secondary students on the edge of Litchfield National Park, a popular tourist area. The college has been planned and is being managed by a council representing local families and communities. The College has developed within a context of holistic community development taking account of health provision, family support, training opportunities, and employment creation.
This project targets primary school children and their families in four of the seven communities and, through partnership with Woolaning College, expects to achieve enhanced educational outcomes for the children.
Why is the project needed?
From the earliest planning stage of the College, community leaders in the region identified lack of effective parenting as a key impediment to participation and success in schooling. The Collins' Report 'Learning Lessons' has also stated that, particularly in remote communities, 'poor attendance at school, for whatever reason, remains the most significant cause of poor learning'. It further based the causes of poor attendance and poor attention directly in family health and parenting practices, and also in parental experiences of school, school-community relationships and the history of these.
Successful secondary schooling, regular school attendance, focused attention in class, and parental involvement in schools need to be developed at the primary schools from which the students come. So the project leaders from the Northern Territory Christian Schools Association sought an early intervention program in the region's primary schools that developed family functioning and strengthened the partnerships between schools, parents and the community.
What are you trying to do in this project?
The FAST (Families And Schools Together) program is an innovative, early intervention program for children who are at risk for a variety of reasons. It involves families in an eight-week, school-based multi-family group experience. The program aims to build resiliency and protective factors in children by developing a support network for the family, and empowering the parents to be the primary prevention agent for their own children. It is conducted by a collaborative team, from the school, a local support group, and local parents, and it encourages the families to meet, following the program, as an ongoing support group.
It was developed by Dr Lynn McDonald from Wisconsin in the United States and was initially piloted in Australia through Kildonan Child and Family Services in Melbourne. FAST was chosen as it has demonstrated significant success in many disadvantaged communities in Australia and the United States, including those with Indigenous families. It has also included well-developed evaluation procedures showing measurable changes in child behaviour. The program is designed to build on family strengths and relationships within the community. Its internal training component develops leadership for team members.
How are you going about it?
A Stronger Families and Communities Coordinator has been appointed to work alongside schools, community councils and other support services to develop, adapt and implement the FAST program throughout the region. Daly River was chosen as the first community in which to trial the program, as it had strong connections with the new College and a well functioning primary school of about 80 students, in which the FAST program could be trialed and repeated in a further cycle. It was also accessible in most parts of the year including the wet season.
As part of the development of this program, local school and community members have been identified and trained as a team to conduct the initial program. Following this eightweek program, some of the team will organise monthly meetings of these families to maintain the support networks and provide programs to meet identified needs of these families.
Local ownership of the program is vital so that it can be adapted to meet the culture and needs of the community. The training of local people in the FAST team will empower them for this role and provide some meaningful employment. The program is also funded to provide further traineeships in the field of family support. Some of this is happening in the appointment of an Indigenous Intern Coordinator. The establishment of reference groups in the community and region will assist in monitoring the program and identifying further training needs.
