Family Empowerment Report - April to June 2012

Family Empowerment4th Quarter Report, April to June 2012

2 Cape York Partnerships

©2012 Not to be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written permission of Cape York Partnerships. Cape York Partnerships takes all care to ensure the accuracy and quality of the information in this report. Cape York Partnerships cannot guarantee complete accuracy and all materials are provided without warranty.

In memoriam

The board and staff of Cape York Partnerships were deeply saddened by the sudden passing of Aurukun’s long-serving mayor on April 23.

The mayor was a director of Cape York Partnerships and a founding director of the Cape York Aboriginal Australian Academy. His belief in the importance of education and ongoing commitment was instrumental in bringing Direct Instruction and the

Cape York Aboriginal Australian Academy to Aurukun and Cape York.

His dedication to our Cape York Agenda and his tireless work for his community was a testament to his great leadership. His sound judgment, generous spirit and deep

commitment to welfare reform, will be remembered by all who knew him.

He will always be remembered as a Cape York leader, a good friend and yaba.

4th Quarter Report, April to June 2012 3

Contents

Foreword .........................................................................................................................4

Our family empowerment agenda ...................................................................................6

Opportunity Products available ........................................................................................7

MPower ..............................................................................................................................7

Wise Buys ...........................................................................................................................7

Student Education Trusts ....................................................................................................7

Pride of Place .....................................................................................................................7

Bush Owner Builder ...........................................................................................................7

It takes a village to raise a child ..........................................................................................8

Opportunity Products under construction ........................................................................9

Aurukun Opportunity Hub .............................................................................................. 10

MPower ............................................................................................................................11

Student Education Trusts ..................................................................................................14

Wise Buys .........................................................................................................................14

It takes a village to raise a child .......................................................................................15

Pride of Place ...................................................................................................................17

Coen Opportunity Hub ................................................................................................... 18

MPower ............................................................................................................................19

Wise Buys .........................................................................................................................21


It takes a village to raise a child .......................................................................................23

Pride of Place ...................................................................................................................23

Hope Vale Opportunity Hub ........................................................................................... 25

MPower ............................................................................................................................26


Wise Buys .........................................................................................................................29

It takes a village to raise a child ........................................................................................30

Pride of Place ...................................................................................................................31

Mossman Gorge Opportunity Hub .................................................................................. 34

MPower ............................................................................................................................35


Wise Buys .........................................................................................................................38

It takes a village to raise a child ........................................................................................39

Pride of Place ...................................................................................................................40

Co-Design Studio Update ................................................................................................ 42

Glossary ......................................................................................................................... 43


Foreword

First we have to get the policies right. This is not easy. In Indigenous affairs there is a long history of flawed and failed policies. We have to get the policies straightened up—and this does not happen all at once. It is an ongoing process. Not everything becomes clear from the outset. And we will make mistakes. This is the business of social reform.

And then we have to get political support for the policies. This is also not easy.

Second we have to get the programs right. There are many programs sitting on the shelves—developed by governments and non-government organisations, indigenous and non-indigenous. Many of these have been tried before. Many of them were part of the failures of the past. Not many of them are very convincing. They cannot just be ‘taken off the shelf’. We needed to design and develop our own innovative programs. This is the business of social innovation.

And then we have to get funding and resources for the programs. This is also not easy.

Third we face the hardest challenge of all: we have to implement the programs on the ground, in the communities, with the individuals and families. This is where the theory has to turn into practice. This is where — as the cliché goes — the ‘rubber hits the road’. This is — another cliché — the ‘coal-face’. This is the business of implementation.

Getting the policies right is very hard. Getting the programs right is harder. But getting the implementation right is the hardest.

I am convinced that the failure in indigenous affairs is down to the lack of understanding on the part of government — but also non-government and community leaders — of how our understanding of the crucial importance of implementation does not translate into practice. Implementation receives the least focus and attention. There is an assumption that once we have the policies agreed, and the programs funded, the implementation will just happen.

The obvious difficulties and short-comings of implementation mean that there is just too much poor implementation. Good policies and good programs fail because of poor implementation. Our expectations when it comes to implementation are, on the one hand, too low: we are satisfied with perfunctory and sub-standard implementation.

On the other hand, those who know little about the challenges and the difficulties, have unrealistic expectations about implementation. They don’t understand that implementation takes time to get right. There will be mistakes. You can’t go from start to cruising speed in a short time. Also, when you have momentum and things are going well—you must always be looking to improvement.

This is what this Quarterly Report on Family Empowerment from Cape York Partnerships is all about. It is about implementation. You will see from the report how the implementation of the various reform programs is faring. You will see the signs of success. You will see the signs of struggle and challenge. You will share our excitement about the possibilities. You will see clear evidence of possibilities turning into realities.

It is a credit to all the people involved in these reforms that indisputably we can see the wheels of change turning.

This is what implementation is all about.

Yours in partnership Noel Pearson Chairman


Donna Field Operations Manager

Operations Manager’s report

I am delighted to deliver my second report as Operations Manager of Cape York Partnerships. I am enjoying my role immensely and I am very proud to share this quarter’s highlights and achievements with you.

The past quarter was a busy and exciting period. Following the Queensland state election, Campbell Newman was sworn in as Premier and our leadership has since had numerous meetings with the new government and their representatives to ensure familiarisation with our work.

It was an incredibly busy quarter with the evaluation of welfare reform being carried out by a team of evaluators and researchers. Our teams provided valuable input into this. The evaluation reports are due for release in early September and early indicators show very positive results. This will come at a good time as interest in our work is growing across the country and people want documented evidence to complement the obvious benefits they see when they travel to our communities, visit our schools, and talk to the families who are succeeding.

Ninety-five community members signed up for the redesigned parenting program representing a full case load for each Positive Parenting Consultant. This meant a significant amount of work: engaging with individuals and families, additional accreditation and training for our team, and working closely with stakeholders to advocate for families and ensure their needs are represented.

Our efforts in family engagement are further highlighted by the completion of forty-two Pride of Place blitzes in the six months to June 30. With a further twenty-one participants interested, completion will represent significant expansion with almost a quarter of our homes participating.

I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to meet with many individuals and families in Cairns and Cape York, and I am grateful for the warm welcome I received. I am humbled by the stories I have heard; stories that have been shared with enthusiasm and pride for us to share with you. These stories are a compelling reminder of why Cape York Partnerships exists. Our focus on supporting families has reaped great results this quarter. These include:

• 82 new members signed up to MPower, bringing total membership to 1,023

• Individuals independently accessed iBank more than two thousand times. Our MPower team provided assistance on nearly three thousand occasions. This means more and more people are independently using iBank

• 195 MPower Journey sessions. With a 238 per cent increase in Mossman Gorge

• Parents continue to sign up for Student Education Trusts for their children with accounts accessed more than two hundred times

• Twenty-four Pride of Place household projects were completed, bringing the total for six months to forty-two.

We expanded our reach to families through various group meetings and undertook an internal review of MPower to ensure that our services are accessible, appropriate and effective.

We sent fortnightly E-broadcasts to our friends — participants, teams, funders and supporters — to keep them up-to-date with our achievements and share the success stories of our individuals and families.

I thank the Queensland and Australian Governments for their continuing support. Thanks also to our business partners for their commitment to our agenda; the families involved in our work for trusting us to support them; and to our wonderful team for all their hard work and effort.

Kind regards


Our family empowerment agenda

Since we began in 2000, the core work of Cape York Partnerships has been focused on developing social innovations that empower families to take charge of their lives.

From the beginning we argued that past social policy had been wrongly focused on the fraught concept of ‘community’. We felt the focus of innovation needed to be on family development and empowerment rather than ‘community development’. Individuals and families had to be given the opportunity to take charge of their lives and build their futures. This is because individuals and families are real actors and communities are amorphous.

Cape York Partnerships focused on the four areas that are central to every family and household:

• Income• Education• Health• Home

But the difficult question was: how do we support individuals and families in ways that enable them to take control of their lives? In other words to become empowered. And not follow past failed social programs that delivered ‘passive’ services to families, and created further dependency? We became convinced that the major challenge was to intervene without taking responsibility away from families.

We were convinced that traditional ways of family support created or perpetuated dependency, and in any case were not effective. All of the social programs offered in the past, the fact of failure, spoke for itself.

Our first innovation was to stop thinking in terms of conventional social programs but rather talk about opportunities. Our innovation was the concept of ‘Opportunity Products’, creating a suite of opportunities that support families in relation to their four basic requirements. These opportunities needed to encourage self-reliance and responsibility, rather than being passive services that compounded dependency.

Our Opportunity Products are customised to support families as they embark on their journey out of poverty and disadvantage. Embedded in each product are some standard features like:

• Real incentives like a job, the chance at home ownership, or children getting a high-quality high-expectations education

• Capability building through the transfer of knowledge and skills, and embedded responsibilities

• Strategic conversations that empower individuals and families to imagine brighter futures and the tools that enable them to take control of their journey and support them to get there

• Quid pro quo commitments on individuals and families to contribute their money, labour or time. Such commitments may be maintaining regular financial contributions, or providing ‘‘sweat equity’ to enhance their homes, or making regular payments into their children’s education trust.

Ten years on we now have a suite of Opportunity Products on offer in the communities. These Opportunity Products are regularly reviewed and continually refined or have additional features added on. We also have a number of other product innovations that are under development.

Cape York Partnerships’ second breakthrough innovation is the concept of the Village Opportunity Hub, the conduit for providing Opportunity Products to community members. Village Opportunity Hubs replace traditional welfare service centres with purpose-built ‘opportunity’ centres. Our Opportunity Hubs are busy places were families come with a sense of purpose and to sign up to and participate in Opportunity Products. The high rates of sign-up to these products, which you will see throughout this report, is an indicator of the way in which families are embracing the opportunities.

Responsibility. Opportunity. Choice. This is what underpins our Family Empowerment agenda.


Opportunity Products available

MPowerSupports individuals and families to manage money for basic material needs; builds capabilities through financial literacy and behaviour change; and builds assets through saving and disciplined money management.

Launched: April 2011 Membership: 1,023

Pride of PlaceA backyard renovation project. Participants receive financial contributions towards improvements, and make their own financial and ‘sweat equity’ contribution.

Launched: October 2010 Completed households: 63

Wise BuysA retail internet portal that increases consumer knowledge and access to household goods and services at value-for-money prices.

Launched: June 2012 Membership: 70

Student Education TrustsStudent Education Trusts Supports parents to meet their child’s education and development needs from birth to graduation. Regular contributions ensure parents can meet educational expenses.

Launched: 2007 Membership: 712

Bush Owner BuilderDesigned to allow individuals and families to build environmentally, socially and culturally sustainable dwellings through the use of local natural resources and their own ‘sweat equity’ or labour.

Trial: Hope Vale 2011, with two houses.


It takes a village to raise a childThere are three parts to this program: Baby College, Positive Kids and Strong Families. Each part provides customised opportunity services to support the physical,

Baby CollegeExpectant parents socialise and learn together while they travel on the journey to parenthood. Parents are supported by experienced aunties, uncles and grandparents in the community and from baby health and parenting professionals.

Launched: April 2012 Membership: 32

Positive KidsDelivered through CYAAA, works with parents to encourage positive behaviour, management that optimises learning, and prepares students for success in secondary school.

Launched: February 2012 Membership: 10

Strong FamiliesHelps parents to develop Positive Parenting skills and engages at-risk families so that everything is done to ensure families stay together and stay strong.

Launched: February 2012 Membership: 103

emotional, social and intellectual development of the child from infancy to adulthood.


Green Box Red Box (seeking funding)• Gain food security and break the ‘feast and

famine’ cycle• Fortnightly subsidised mixed

food boxes paid for by family • Demonstrations on cooking,

food preparation and storage • Linked to MPower and Wise

Buys to purchase affordable and quality kitchenware.

First and Second Step programs (in design)• Addresses wellbeing to remain in employment• First Step — enables people to take the first step

in overcoming drug and alcohol addictions

• Second Step — a pathway to sustainable employment opportunities.

Home Ownership (seeking funding)• Bayan — a financial case management framework

to support families to be successful in renting, preparing for a home loan to owning a home

• House to Home — switches on the ‘home gene’; renovating social housing with ‘sweat equity’ leading to home ownership

• Home Ownership Opportunity Port — allows people to orbit for employment and build wealth by accessing a mobile Home Ownership on Indigenous Land subsidy.

Work Opportunity Network (in design)• Work Opportunity Port — provides employment

mobility support for external labour market opportunities

• Employment Case Management System — provides the foundation for a tailored approach to individual needs through assessment and support

• Youth Pathway Scheme — provides training, work experience, mentoring, transition support and placement in work.

Australian Institute for Direct Instruction (seeking funding)• Helps schools implement a Full Immersion Direct

Instruction approach to transform student literacy and numeracy outcomes

• Provides implementation support to schools, develops Australian Direct Instruction expertise and supports research to build a local evidence base

• Advocates the value of Full Immersion Direct Instruction to and promotes the value of this approach.

Opportunity Products under construction

Cape York Partnerships’ Co-Design Studio has a pipeline of Opportunity Products currently ‘under construction’. We co-design with our team, families, funders and professional partners. The direction of our leaders ensures we have the right intent, our families provide the voice of experience, and our team provide the design methodology. The following


Aurukun Opportunity Hub

This quarter we continued to increase the number of families joining and participating in Opportunity Products.

Our team carried out a range of family engagement activities to promote the benefits of taking up opportunities and to increase membership and participation. Engagement activities included an MPower presentation at the Wellbeing Centre on cost-effective purchasing and cooking of food, MPower participation at the Aurukun market day stall and home visits.

Our engagement efforts continue to bring success with twenty-five new members signed up to MPower over the quarter. This boosts MPower membership base to 508 people, approximately sixty-three per cent1 of Aurukun’s adult population. This is a significant achievement and one the Aurukun Opportunity Hub team is proud of and keen to continually grow.

Aurukun’s MPower members attended an impressive eighty-nine Money Management sessions this quarter, a sixty-five per cent rise on the previous quarter. MPower members also participated in eighty-five MPower Journey Coaching sessions, another rise of twenty-one per cent. These higher participation rates mean more individuals and families in Aurukun are moving towards financial independence.

During April and May the Cairns team carried out an internal review of MPower implementation and found a high degree of ‘client delight’ among partners. Using the ‘net promoter score’ methodology2, Aurukun’s client satisfaction level sits at fifty-six per cent. This compares favourably to social media websites such as YouTube (fifty per cent), Facebook (thirty-three per cent) and LinkedIn (thirty per cent). Although the review involved a small sample size; eighty-eight per cent of respondents report they now pay their bills and rent on time since MPower.

1 This percentage is calculated using 2011 Census data, which lists Aurukun’s adult population as 811. 2 The net promoter score was taken from Steve Denning’s book ‘Radical Management’.

On June 21 six parents graduated from It takes a village to raise a child, our recently launched parenting program. The graduation celebration featured a barbeque dinner and speeches, with graduates walking the red carpet in their graduation mortars. The parents, who participated in Strong Families, graduated with improved knowledge, skills and confidence in how to positively respond to the behavioural, emotional and developmental needs of their children and make their families stronger. Another seventeen parents signed up to Strong Families throughout the quarter, bringing total registrations to 423.

On April 16 the parenting team launched Baby College, the third project in It takes a village to raise a child. Baby College, a product that supports expecting new and parents to socialise and learn together while they travel on the journey to parenthood, incorporates a trial of the Baby Triple P into the program.

One of the five Pride of Place backyard blitzes completed in Aurukun this quarter was Kenlock Yunkaporta. Kenlock was Aurukun’s first ever MPower member who, along with his family, finalised their backyard with a pergola, cubby house, garden bed, sail shade, barbeque and paving. The Yunkaporta family celebrated their achievement on June 28 with friends and family.

The Aurukun community elected councillors on April 28 to represent them in local government, including Vera Koomatta, Ada Woolla and Edgar Kerindun, who are also Commissioners for the Family Responsibilities Commission (FRC). The mayoral election was held on June 16 with Derek Walpo elected Mayor. The Opportunity Hub team is looking forward to building on the strong foundations that exist with our local council.

3 This figure includes the six parents who graduated in June 2012. It also accounts for four participants who commenced in the third quarter but did not complete the course .

Aurukun Opportunity Hub


Above: MPower membership within adult population

MPowerMembershipMPower membership increased to a total of 508 members this quarter, boosting our membership base to sixty-three per cent of Aurukun’s adult population. In line with our ‘radical management’ approach used to increase levels of family engagement (including weekly submission and review of data by our Opportunity Hub management team) we are now tracking the engagement sessions held, with a view to steadily increasing uptake. Nine engagement sessions were held this quarter. Twenty-five new members signed up between April and June after hearing about the program through friends and family, or being referred by the FRC, or following an engagement session.

Activity April May June This quarter Last quarter

MPower members 508 483

Engagement sessions 1 2 6 9 n/a

New members 25 62

Little ‘a’ sessions 33 63 31 127 128

iBank sessions (assisted) 601 723 662 1986 2069

iBank sessions (unassisted) 335 389 292 1016 999

MPower Journey Sessions 10 42 33 85 70

Money Management Tools sessions 24 31 34 89 54

Banking Products and Services — referrals - 1 - 1 1

MPower has been really good for me and my grandchildren.

Artist Jean Walmbeng wants to earn an income through her painting so she can help support her family.

Jean is passionate about painting and weaving, and paints at the local centre. She met with her local MPower Consultant to put together a budget to save for painting materials. The MPower Consultant also helped Jean order the materials, canvas, brushes and paints which has given her the opportunity to paint on sacred country. “She ordered things for me to take out to the Outstation at Love River. It’s a sacred place with many stories.”


iBank Existing MPower members used the Aurukun Opportunity Hub’s iBank (internet and online banking) facilities a total of 3002 times throughout the quarter, with a slight increase in the percentage of ‘unassisted’ iBank sessions compared to last quarter (up from thirty-two per cent to thirty-four per cent4) and a slight decrease in the number of ‘assisted’ iBank sessions (down from sixty-eight per cent to sixty-six per cent5). These variations — each at two per cent — suggest our members are gradually beginning to gain the capabilities they need to do online and telephone banking independently. Particularly impressive are our unassisted iBank telephone figures6: this quarter sixty-two per cent of our telephone iBank sessions were done without assistance from MPower staff.

Little ‘a’ sessionsOur team worked with MPower members to address 127 little ‘a’ issues over the reporting period. Little ‘a’ issues are small financial problems that individuals and families need help to resolve. The number of little ‘a’ problems remained steady over the past two quarters, suggesting that there is a great need in the community for families to get more support on tackling the ‘big issues’ impacting on their family life.

4 Per cent of total iBank use.5 Per cent of total iBank use.6 These incorporate telephone banking and Centrelink phone calls.

MPower Journey MPower Journey sessions are the ‘heart’ of the MPower program: during these coaching sessions MPower members identify goals for their financial future and the steps they need to take to get there. We are exceptionally proud that Aurukun’s MPower members attended eighty-five coaching sessions this quarter, fifteen more than last quarter. This suggests a greater commitment on the part of our MPower members to contemplate — and put into action — their dreams for the future. Eight MPower members completed their MPower Journeys; an achievement that means they completed four coaching sessions, established an action plan and began to put this plan into practice. Twenty-five new MPower members began the MPower Journey this quarter, while our MPower coach followed up with seven previous coaching participants to check their progress through their action plans.

We saved money because we have MPower.

Joyleen Keppel and Clifford Pootchemunka have always enjoyed fishing. “We go out fishing with our family.” Cliff would row the boat, which took a lot of time and effort. Through MPower, Cliff and Joyleen were able to budget sufficiently and saved $200 each fortnight for five months.

“Every fortnight we put money aside. Then we would go into the Opportunity Hub together to check the balance, and transfer the amount into our I-Save account.”

With their savings, Cliff and Joyleen purchased an outboard motor for their boat. They are now able to travel up the Archer and Watson Rivers, and cut pandanus for weaving and for Cliff to make spears. Having experienced the success of their saving, Joyleen and Cliff are saving again, this time to buy a new car.


Money Management Support A key focus for our MPower Consultants this quarter was the delivery of more Money Management Support sessions. Money Management sessions support individuals and families develop financial literacy skills, such as budgeting or debt reduction, so they can manage their daily finances. Over the quarter, MPower members attended an impressive eighty-nine Money Management sessions — up from 54 last quarter — an increase of nearly sixty-nine per cent. These Money Management sessions included thirty-five internet banking, thirty-three Budgeting Support and twenty-one Payment Support sessions. This breakdown demonstrates a need for our team to focus more on promoting the Debt Reduction and Wealth Creation Support sessions so these capabilities are further developed in the community.

Banking Services Although referrals to banking services were low, this is expected to increase with additional staff training on banking products and services, and new initiatives that will come online in the coming months.

Through MPower I am saving money to start a Pride of Place backyard blitz.

Gary Namponan enjoys growing fruit and vegetables and is very proud of his garden. He had seen other people in Aurukun building pergolas and using them for family gatherings so met with his local Pride of Place Enabler to find out more.

Through MPower, Gary is now saving up $1,000 to buy a maintenance kit and hopes to build a pergola himself. Gary believes this project will make a positive difference for him and his family, and is looking forward to saving money to get more plants to add to his garden.


Activity April May June Total

Total SET Membership

Early Childhood 27

Primary School 144

Secondary School 62

Further Education 1

Non-Active 4

Not categorised 1

Total 239

New SET Total - - - -

SET Funds Balance (end of month)

Early Childhood $42,361.37 $43,292.40 $44,233.40 $44,233.40

Primary School $144,685.32 $150,845.33 $153,540.86 $153,540.86

Secondary School $99,390.15 $101,631.20 $100,334.37 $100,334.37

Further Education $3,683.51 $3,691.86 $3,699.04 $3,699.04

Non-Active $8,941.35 $8,961.62 $8,979.08 $8,979.08

Not categorised $147.68 $148.01 $148.30 $148.30

Total $299,209.38 $308,570.42 $310,935.05 $310,935.05

Number of Educational items purchased using SET

Early Childhood 3 4 8 15

Primary School 1 12 17 30

Secondary School - 2 1 3

Further Education - - - -

Non-Active - - - -

Wise BuysMembershipAurukun’s Wise Buys membership remains at six with no new sign ups over the quarter. This illustrates a need for the team to focus additional engagement efforts on the benefits of participating in Wise Buys. Updated catalogues that display a greater range of products should also help to expand interest in the program.

PurchasesOne partner purchased art supplies this quarter, working with MPower staff to compare prices to make sure they

Student Education TrustsMembershipTrusts continue to be well utilised, although there were no additional signups over this period. A total of 239 children currently have trusts, and approximately two adults per child are regularly contributing. The breakdown is: early childhood (27), primary school children (144), secondary (62), further education (1) and non-active (4), with 1 trust unclassified.

Trust balanceThe current trust balance is a healthy $310,935.05.

Trust expenditureTrusts were accessed forty-eight times to pay for educational goods and services, family books, uniforms and boarding school needs.

get the best deal possible. These purchases will be used in our partner’s art practice and she is considering selling her art products in the future.

Activity Apr May JunThis

quarterLast

quarter

Members 6 6

New members - - - - 2

Purchases - 6 1 7 15


It takes a village to raise a child Positive KidsOne Student Case Manager continued to implement Positive Kids at Cape York Aboriginal Australian Academy campuses. As per program design, the Student Case Manager was allocated a caseload of three participants. Two group sessions and one home visit were undertaken. The Student Case Manager continues to engage parents, with the intention of improving session attendance rates in the next quarter.


quarterLast

quarter

Graduates - -

New registrations

- - - - 3

Sessions held - 2 - 2 1

Home visits - 1 - 1 7

Attendance - 3 - 3 -

Strong FamiliesThis was an impressive quarter for our Parenting Consultants and Home Crew. Only four months after launching, we have thirty parents participating in sessions and another twelve signed to commence. This is a full case load for our Parenting Consultants so we have recruited an additional Parenting Consultant to work with new families next quarter.


quarterLast

quarter

Participants 421 29

Graduates 6 -

New registrations

1 16 - 17 29

Sessions held 5 29 22 56 10

Home visits - 9 17 26 14

Attendance 5 47 54 106 27

Six parents graduated from Strong Families, celebrating their achievement with a graduation barbeque for family and friends. These parents graduate with heightened awareness of the Positive Parenting approach and having developed individual Parenting Plans that set out how they plan to achieve their parenting goals. Strong Families works with parents who have been referred by, or are at risk of being referred to the FRC; approximately ninety-one per cent of our current participants were referred by either the FRC or Child Safety. As a result, our Parenting Consultants have invested heavily in developing strong relationships with the participants to ensure they feel comfortable, supported and find the sessions valuable. This also shows that we need to do more to attract families directly to Strong Families.1 Four participants were registered last quarter but are no longer registered this quarter. This accounts for the discrepancy in total participants between last quarter and this quarter.

It just gives us more space for the kids to play and be happy.

Ben Upton and his family had ideas about improving their house, putting up a shed or a pergola. They sat down with their local Pride of Place Enabler and, together, put together a savings plan and backyard design.

“We had ideas in our head that just came together”. Ben and his family already grow citrus plants so they decided to find out about other plants they could grow, and chose bananas, papaws and passionfruit.

“Our new outdoor space gives us more room to get together when we have a special occasion, and enjoy all the things we have here.”


Baby CollegeOne Aurukun parent took up the Baby College challenge this quarter, participating in sessions and home visits; one more has signed up to begin next quarter. Our team’s full Strong Families case load impacted our ability to target new Baby College participants. Registration numbers are expected to increase over the next quarter as additional staff come on board. This will be invaluable as there are approximately seventy-one children under three who could gain valuable support from this program.

Sherylene Yunkaporta and Errol Pamtoonda wanted to give their children a place to play so decided to join Pride of Place. With the help of family and friends, they built a cubby house and a barbeque. They hope to add a pergola to the garden.

Errol is painting the cubby house pink and yellow for his daughter to play in and Sherylene enjoys looking after the garden and deciding where the plants will go. “It’s really good to keep those gardens growing.”

We’re doing bit by bit. It’s exciting to get what we want.


quarterLast

quarter

Participants 2 1

Graduates - -

New registrations

- 1 - 1 1

Sessions held 1 2 - 2 -

Home visits - - - - -

Attendance 1 6 - 7 -


Pride of Place Participation ratesParticipation in household projects increased from last quarter. This demonstrates increasing levels of community support for the project and a growing commitment to well maintained backyards.

Work completedFive families completed their household projects (backyard blitzes) this quarter, adding elements such as pergolas, barbeques, cubby houses, drive ways, garden sheds and shade sails. Each of these families has also received a maintenance kit so they can continually maintain the appearance and functionality of their backyards.

These five completions brings total completions to sixteen, with 136 individual completed to date.

Family contributions and obligationsOn signing up to Pride of Place, families commit to regular financial and physical obligations. All families are required to save $1000 towards purchasing their maintenance kit and a backyard expansion, while also contributing an agreed upon amount of physical labour (‘sweat equity’) as

part of the renovation procedure. Three of the five families who completed their backyard renovations achieved their financial contribution targets, another two reached $700 and $620 respectively. Next quarter our team will focus additional time with families on developing and managing budgets so they have the capabilities to meet financial goals.

There was a significant increase in sweat equity contributions this quarter (eighty-one per cent) compared with last quarter (fifty-seven per cent), with one of the five families delivering fifty per cent of their commitment, one family delivering seventy-five per cent, and the remaining three families delivering ninety per cent or more. This reflects our team’s work toward increasing sweat equity from families, which will continue to be a major focus for our Pride of Place team for the coming quarter. They will get additional training on how to have an ‘honest conversation’ with participants; so participants are in turn confident in having ‘honest conversations’ with their families to increase their commitment.

Activity Apr May Jun This quarter Last quarter

Total number of households in community 168 168

Number of household projects completed this quarter - - 5 5 4

Number of household projects completed to date 15 10

Households with completed household projects 9% 6%

Number of household projects — new registrations - 1 - 1 1

Individual backyard elements completed this quarter 59 32

Individual backyard elements completed to date 136 77

Value of POP contributions this quarter $808 $1,034 $812 $2,654 $800

% of required contributions for completed households 100% 55% 100% 82% 100%

% of sweat equity achieved versus committed for 81% 57.5%


Coen Opportunity Hub

This quarter we continued to fine tune the engagement approach, trialling new initiatives to promote the benefits of participating in CYP opportunities. Activities included home visits, It takes a village to raise a child participation at a women’s camp, a parenting presentation at the Coen Kindergarten and weekly presence at the Wellbeing Centre’s arts and crafts activities. These initiatives allowed staff to discuss the transformative potential of our opportunities for participants and their families.

This visible presence has shown demonstrable impact: MPower memberships rose ten per cent over the quarter to 121 people, which constitutes fifty-two per cent of the adult population7. Strong Families, a component of our parenting program It takes a village to raise a child, also enjoyed higher participation rates: seven more parents signed up during the quarter, boosting registration rates by sixty-four per cent, to a total of eighteen parents. Although we are exceptionally proud of these achievements, our ultimate goal is to reach 100 per cent of the adult population and we will continue to engage families in new and innovative ways over the coming months.

Thirteen new and expecting parents also signed up to Baby College after its launch on April 16. Baby College, the third component of our parenting program It takes a village to raise a child, supports new and expecting parents to socialise and learn together while they travel on the journey to parenthood. Baby College combines the Baby Triple P program with CYP’s Parenting Action Plan and is part of a Triple P trial. Baby Triple P will be evaluated by the University of Queensland in the coming months.

7 Although this percentage is lower than was reported in last quarter’s report, this discrepancy is because we have used the 2011 Census population data for this report, while the last quarter’s report was based on the FRC’s population data.

Above: MPower membership within adult population

Three Coen families finalised their Pride of Place backyard blitzes after working to install swing sets, paving, barbeques, water tanks and gazebos. These families celebrated their achievements with a backyard barbeque for family and friends. Pride of Place attracts significant attention in Coen and we signed up an additional five families to the program this quarter.

In preparation for our upcoming home ownership program Bayan, our staff held preliminary information sharing sessions for potential applicants in April. Based on existing partners’ participation in Pride of Place, we identified potential applicants, held one-on-one sessions to discuss the benefits and responsibilities of home ownership, and collected expression of interest forms from interested partners. Seven partners signed expression of interest forms, indicating an initial foundation of support for home ownership in Coen.

Coen Opportunity Hub


MPowerMembershipMPower membership rose by eleven to a total of 121 members this quarter, increasing our membership base to approximately fifty-three per cent of Coen’s adult

Activity April May JuneTotal this

quarterTotal last

quarter



New members 11 17




MPower Journey sessions 3 13 - 16 31

Money Management Tools sessions 4 8 4 16 19

Banking Products and Services — referrals 1 - - 1 6

population. A total of fifty-three engagement sessions were held this quarter, contributing to the eleven new members signed up between April and June.

Charlene Sellars has two children — four-year old Isaiah and two-year old Atayah. Charlene wants the best for her children, and that includes their education. Through Student Education Trusts, Charlene is able to save for educational materials for Isaiah and Atayah. “I started a Student Education Trust for Isaiah three years ago, when he was one-year old. Since then I’ve bought books, colouring pencils and alphabet puzzles.”

Isaiah starts grade one next year. Charlene will be able to use Isaiah’s trust fund to purchase his uniform, school books, school bag and other school supplies. When Isaiah and Atayah are ready for boarding school, Charlene will have saved enough money to pay for their school supplies as well as their boarding and tuition fees. “Student Education Trusts make a difference. My children will leave Coen to go to high school and it will help with that. I’m a single mum and some of the things they need are expensive. I want my children to have a good education and everything they need. As they get older, they’ve got the money there.”

MPower and SET make a real difference to my life.


iBank MPower members accessed our iBank (internet and phone banking) facilities a total of 212 times throughout the quarter, with ‘unassisted’ iBank sessions remaining steady at forty-eight per cent. This indicates that just under half of our members do internet and phone banking by themselves. Over time we expect to see these percentages increase as partners gain new skills and capabilities. To facilitate this goal, we have introduced a new method for recording the level of assistance provided during ‘assisted’ iBank sessions. This will allow our staff to regularly monitor and analyse individual partner progress.

Little ‘a’ sessionsOur team worked with MPower members to address thirty little ‘a’ issues over the reporting period. Little ‘a’ issues are small financial problems that individuals and families need help to resolve. They also serve as one of our gateways to the MPower Journey. While further

investigation is required, this could be an indication that Coen families are encountering fewer financial problems that they cannot resolve independently.

MPower Journey MPower members attended sixteen MPower Journey coaching sessions in Coen this quarter. Although this figure is fifteen sessions fewer than the previous quarter, it can be attributed to a key member of the team being on leave during this period and mobile support staff not being as familiar with these participants. MPower coaching sessions are an integral stage of the MPower Journey as they allow MPower members to identify goals for their financial future and the steps they need to take to get there. We are working to prevent future staff shortages by ensuring more staff in the Operations Support Team, as well as more of our Coen staff being trained to deliver the coaching component.

Helen Peter was working at the local school when Student Education Trusts started in Coen. “I had five kids at that time. They’re my nephews; they came into my care because their mum is in Bamaga and they wanted to go to school in Coen, so they stayed with me. I got them all a SET account.”

Helen speaks to other parents outside of Coen who find it difficult to pay for their children’s school needs. “I met a grandmother from Lockhart River who had to save up $2,000 just to get uniforms and school supplies for her grandson who started the same year as my nephew. She asked me how I managed to do it. I told her I started Student Education Trusts to help me buy uniforms and books for Bobby when he started year eight.”

Helen uses the money she receives from Family Tax Benefit for her family. “With the money I get from the Family Tax Benefit, I take out $50 each fortnight which goes straight into the Student Education Trust accounts and I find that very helpful, instead of paying it out of my own pocket. It’s the children’s money, so it goes towards something the children can use.”

“It paid for the excursions that allowed my nephews to go away to AFL and Rugby League camps, and with everything they needed.”

I would recommend Student Education Trusts to anybody.


Money Management Support A key focus for our MPower Consultants this quarter was the delivery of Money Management Support sessions. Money Management sessions support individuals and families develop financial literacy skills, such as budgeting or debt reduction, so they can manage their daily finances. While the number of sessions delivered was three fewer than in the previous quarter, with a key member of staff away for a significant period of time, this was a good achievement by the team. These sixteen Money Management sessions included four Banking Support sessions, one Internet Banking, four Budgeting Support sessions, and seven Payment Support sessions. Analysis of this breakdown shows that the Debt Reduction Support, Payment Support and Wealth Creation Support sessions require additional focus in the coming months.


Wise BuysMembershipEight new partners signed up to Wise Buys this quarter, bringing the total number of members to twenty-six. Updated catalogues that display a greater range of products have helped to expand interest in the program, which is expected to further increase over the coming months.


quarterLast

quarter

Members 26 18

New members 3 4 1 8 1

Purchases 1 8 - 9 16

PurchasesNine partners purchased goods through Wise Buys this quarter, working with MPower staff to purchase household goods and groceries using Coles Online and various other online retailers.

Frances Creek started a Student Education Trust for her daughter, Antoinette, when she started high school. Frances was on CDEP wages but still found it possible to contribute to Antoinette’s trust fund each fortnight. “SETs was good and it wasn’t too much. I managed even though I was on CDEP.”

Frances was able to use the money she had put aside to purchase school supplies for Antoinette, including a laptop. Frances is happy with the support she receives from MPower consultants at the Coen Opportunity Hub. “It was really good; it helped us a lot.” Antoinette is glad she has funds available to buy educational items when she needs them: “My SET account has really helped me.”

Antoinette wants her sister, Offiliah, to benefit from SETs the way she did. “I’m finishing school this year and I want her to have the same opportunities I did.”

When my daughter needed things for high school, she had money to get them.


Student Education TrustsMembershipTrusts continue to be well utilised, with another sign-up bringing the total to 172 children having trusts and approximately two adults per child regularly contributing. The breakdown is: early childhood (31), primary school children (62), secondary (33), further education (4) and non-active (42).


Trust expenditureTrusts were accessed seventy-six times to pay for educational goods and services, family books, uniforms and boarding school needs.



Early Childhood 31

Primary School 62

Secondary School 33

Further Education 4

Non-Active 42

Total 172

New SET Total - 1 - 1


Early Childhood $33,967.50 $35,455.80 $34,589.12 $34,589.12

Primary School $135,613.54 $136,983.03 $131,236.93 $131,236.93


Further Education $3,262.77 $3,270.16 $4,554.10 $4,554.10

Non-Active $27,162.57 $25,812.59 $32,833.86 $32,833.86

Total $261,836.18 $263,014.30 $265,606.33 $265,606.33


Early Childhood 1 - 2 3


Secondary School 2 11 12 25


Non-Active - - - -

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

JuneMayApril

Baby College group sessions


It takes a village to raise a child Positive Kids We do not have a Student Case Manager in Coen so there have not been any Positive Kids sessions held here this quarter.

Strong FamiliesFour months after launching the Strong Families component of It takes a village to raise a child we have eighteen parents signed up for, and participating in sessions and home visits. Although Strong Families was designed to target parents who have been referred by, or are at risk of being referred to the FRC, approximately thirty-nine per cent of our participants registered voluntarily. This demonstrates a strong base level of support for the program and suggests its reputation as a worthwhile opportunity is beginning to be established. The parenting team expects to build on this through regular family engagement and by sharing stories about family transformation.

Seven parents graduated from Strong Families, celebrating their achievement with a graduation barbeque for family and friends. These parents graduate with heightened awareness of the Positive Parenting approach and having developed individual Parenting Plans that set out how they plan to achieve their parenting goals.


quarterLast

quarter

Participants 18 11

Graduates 7 -

New registrations

6 - 1 7 11


Home visits 1 4 4 9 1


Baby CollegeSince its launch on April 16, thirteen new and expecting parents have signed up to Baby College, our newest addition to It takes a village to raise a child. Ninety-two per cent of participants are attending voluntarily. This is an exceptional achievement and demonstrates that new Coen parents value Positive Parenting as a way to ensure children can achieve their full potential, and build talent and creativity. Our Parenting consultants are also beginning to target godparents as part of family engagement efforts to ensure Coen newborns have a team of positive parents to support their early growth and development.

Activity Apr May Jun Total

Registrations 6 2 5 13

Sessions held 2 3 7 12

Home visits - 3 13 16

Attendance 2 6 6 14

Graduations -

Pride of PlaceParticipation ratesParticipation in household projects (‘backyard blitzes’) continues to increase. This demonstrates increasing uptake in the care and maintenance of backyards, which our team will continue to build on next quarter.

Work completedThree families completed their household projects (‘backyard blitzes’) throughout the quarter, adding items such as tanks, pergolas, garden beds, paving and fences to their yards. Each of these families also received a maintenance kit so they can continually maintain the appearance and functionality of their backyards. These three completions bring total completions to seven, with sixteen individual construction elements completed over the quarter.

Family contributions and obligationsOn signing up to Pride of Place, families commit to regular financial and physical obligations. All families are required to save $1000 towards purchasing their maintenance kit and a backyard expansion, while also contributing an agreed upon amount of physical labour (‘sweat equity’) towards the renovations. Two of the three families completing backyard renovations this quarter achieved their financial targets, with one family contributing $300 more than required. The remaining family almost achieved their target, contributing $925 of the $1000 commitment. This demonstrates that our Pride of Place families can manage their budgets and achieve financial targets.

Sweat equity contributions increased from sixty per cent last quarter to seventy-five per cent this quarter. Follow up on sweat equity contributions had been difficult with no Pride of Place Enabler based permanently in Coen, but was able to be pursued with members of the team travelling from other communities to Coen for support. Increasing sweat equity commitments will continue to be a major focus for our Pride of Place team for the coming quarter. They will get additional training on how to have an ‘honest conversation’ with participants; so participants are in turn confident in having ‘honest conversations’ with their families to increase their commitment.


Activity Apr May Jun This Last


Number of household projects completed this quarter - - 3 3 1



Number of household projects — new registrations - - - - 2



Value of POP contributions this quarter $125 $298 $248 $671 $175


% of sweat equity achieved versus committed for 75% 60%

Rosie and Bernard Bulmer have made a small investment in their garden which has resulted in returns for the entire family. Before joining Pride of Place, they only had a small space on their veranda where the family could sit and talk. “We couldn’t all fit to sit down and have a cup of tea.”

Rosie and Bernard decided they needed a shed and turned to POP for assistance. “They plan with you — where you want your shed, how to grow your garden and the things you need.” Rosie and Bernard joined MPower and started to save towards their $1000 Pride of Place goal. “I deducted $50 from my pay every fortnight, until $1000 was paid. It only took eight months.”

Rosie and Bernard were very pleased with the maintenance package they purchased through Pride of Place. “When you go to the shop here to buy a lawnmower you don’t get bottles and a jerry can to go with it, you just get the lawnmower. But

with Pride of Place we got our lawnmower, our oil and our little jerry can tin with a seal.”

“The shed, plants, mower, wheelbarrow, whipper snipper and rake are all from POP. Now I’ve got a water tank around the back and I’m getting a veggie garden too.” The garden package makes it possible for Rosie and Bernard to maintain their new garden.

Their family and friends can now visit and talk under the shed. They ask Rosie and Bernard how they got the shed. “I tell them you’ve got to join up with MPower and put in some money.”

As well as the shed, Rosie and Bernard had a swing set installed for their children. “I’ve got a safe place where the children can play in the front area … I’m getting a fence too, so I can sit under the shed and watch my children play.” According to Rosie, “POP made all of this possible.”

It was like a blessing to my place. I am happy and I spend a lot of time here.


Hope Vale Opportunity Hub

This quarter we continued to increase membership and participation in Opportunity Products.

Our team carried out an impressive array of family engagement activities to promote the benefits of taking up our opportunities. Notable activities included a parenting presentation to thirty-two men at the Hope Vale men’s group, a Mother’s Day Luncheon and MPower presentations at the Wellbeing Centre, Health Care Clinic and Community Development Employment Program.

These engagement efforts are paying off, with twenty-eight new members signed up to MPower over the quarter. This boosts our MPower membership base to 276 people, approximately one third of Hope Vale’s adult population8. Our parenting team’s engagement efforts have also shown demonstrable success, with thirty-four individuals joining Baby College and Strong Families over the quarter. This represents a 283 per cent increase in the number of people signed up to and participating in It takes a village to raise a child. The Hope Vale men’s group has also shown interest in holding a parenting group session so new fathers can support their partners in using Positive Parenting strategies at home.

MPower members attended thirteen Money Management Support sessions, which was down from the previous quarter’s result of eighteen. MPower Journey Coaching sessions also reduced, declining from 103 to sixty-three. These lower figures are a result of a staff absence over the quarter, which highlights the need for more flexible support from the Operations Support Team. This issue will be addressed in the coming quarter.

Our team continued preparations for the move into our new Opportunity Hub, scheduled for the end of July. We are all excited about the move and expect it will greatly

8 This percentage is calculated using 2011 Census data, which lists Hope Vale’s adult population as 827 whereas last quarter we used the FRC’s population data. Although registration numbers reported in this report are higher than those reported last quarter, the population percentage is lower because of the different population data used.

boost participation rates given its highly visible central location in the Hope Vale Business Precinct.

On June 21, two parents graduated from It takes a village to raise a child, our recently launched parenting program. To celebrate, we held a graduation celebration for all participants and their families featuring a barbeque dinner, speeches, graduation caps and even a red carpet. These two parents, who participated in Strong Families, graduate with improved knowledge, skills and confidence in how to positively respond to behavioural, emotional and developmental needs of their children and make their families stronger. On April 16 our parenting team launched Baby College, the third project in It takes a village to raise a child. Baby College, a product that supports expecting parents to socialise and learn together while they travel on the journey to parenthood, incorporates a trial of the Baby Triple P into the program.

In preparation for our upcoming home ownership program Bayan, our team held preliminary information sharing sessions for potential applicants in April. Based on existing partners’ performance in Pride of Place, we identified twenty-five potential applicants, held one-on-one sessions to discuss the benefits and responsibilities of home ownership, and collected Expression of Interest forms from interested partners. Twenty-two partners (eighty-eight per cent of those invited to the information sessions) signed up, indicating strong support for the project in Hope Vale.

Thirteen Pride of Place families completed their backyard blitzes. These families will celebrate their achievement early next quarter with a barbeque for friends and family.

Hope Vale held its mayoral election on April 28, with the re-election of Gregory McLean as Mayor and June Pearson as Deputy Mayor. The Opportunity Hub team is looking forward to building on its relationship with the Council so families in Hope Vale can get the best possible support.

Hope Vale Opportunity Hub


MPowerMembershipMPower membership increased to a total of 276 members this quarter, boosting our membership base to approximately one third of Hope Vale’s adult population. Twenty-eight new members signed up between April and June, following seventy-two engagement sessions held by MPower staff and referrals from family and friends upon hearing stories of positive change from people in the community. Above: MPower membership within adult population




New members 28 83



iBank sessions (unassisted) 345 364 333 1,042 949

MPower Journey sessions 32 22 8 63 103

Money Management Tools sessions 6 7 - 13 18

Banking Products and Services — referrals 4 7 10 21 21

“I needed my own washing machine because I was going to my Mum and Dad’s place every day. ”

Karen Gordon walked a kilometre each day to use her parent’s washing machine. “With two adults and two young children, you have to wash clothes every day because my husband does the Gurrubi Tours and needs all his shirts. It was time for me to buy a new washing machine. So I came here [to the Opportunity Hub] and we looked through the catalogue for the best value washing machine.”

In conjunction with an MPower Consultant, Karen discovered the benefits of online purchasing, and was able to source a good quality washing machine that was affordable. “We went to the Retrovision site and found one there. I just paid for it with my card. Now I don’t have to go up and down carrying washing baskets back and forth to my parent’s place.”

Since purchasing her washing machine, Karen has signed up to more Opportunity Products.

Now I can do my washing any time.


iBank Our MPower team achieved a significant milestone this quarter: seventy-one per cent of all iBank (internet and phone banking) sessions were ‘unassisted’. Up from sixty-five percent last quarter, this means a large proportion of our MPower members have the capabilities they need to do online and phone banking independently. It also indicates that many MPower members are moving closer to financial independence. Once our members can bank independently online, they have the opportunity to access online shopping, automatic payments and a diverse range of facilities that allow them to take control of their own finances. iBank facilities were also used slightly more frequently — 1,467 times over the quarter compared to 1,451 times in the previous quarter.

Little ‘a’ sessionsOur team worked with MPower members to address 320 little ‘a’ issues over the reporting period. This represents an increase of 102 (or forty-six per cent) little ‘a’ problems than the previous quarter. We believe this rise is a reflection of the growing trust our members have in MPower. Although our ultimate goal is to see a decrease in the number of little ‘a’ problems requiring assistance, this heightened use offers us the opportunity to assist more MPower members to develop personal budgets, and to engage with them on Opportunity Products that will help them to achieve their financial and personal goals.

Maude Olbar was the first person in Hope Vale to sign up to MPower, and has since signed up to Pride of Place, Wise Buys and Student Education Trust. “I wanted to be involved because it was a good opportunity that I couldn’t get anywhere else.”

“With three adults and six children, budgeting has made my life much easier. I have money every fortnight.” Through MPower and Wise Buys Maude has been able to provide for her family. “I saved to buy whitegoods and bulk food orders. I bought a better fridge. Now I’m saving to buy a car. The amount I put aside each week is small but it all builds up. I’ve learnt a lot about budgeting.”

With SETs, Maude can pay for her children’s education. “I care for five children so SETs really helps. The kids are all in primary school, and this will see them through to their senior years.”

Maude also signed up to Pride of Place. With her family they worked together to build a barbeque area, a carport and to improve the gardens. “I wanted to upgrade my yard for family gatherings so I joined POP. The offer was really good. My brother helped lay the bricks and everybody helps keep it tidy.”

In taking up the Opportunity Products on offer in

Hope Vale, Maude has gained the capabilities to make choices around how to save and how to spend her money. “I’ve worked all my life. I just needed help with where to put my money. When welfare reform came to Hope Vale, I had so much help from CYP. Next I want to buy my own home. I’m looking into this now.”

Maude is proud of her achievements and encourages her family to take up the opportunities on offer. “I’m the head of the household — I’m the eldest in the family and give my siblings advice, as well as my nieces and nephews and my own two children. They’re slowly taking the opportunities up, unlike me — I want it all!”

I signed up to MPower because I needed help financially. I was spending too much.


MPower Journey MPower members attended sixty-three MPower Journey coaching sessions in Hope Vale this quarter. During MPower Journey sessions, members identify goals for their financial future and the steps they need to take to get there. Forty fewer sessions were attended this quarter than last quarter: this is due to the MPower Coach being on leave for five weeks. Although we tried to fill this gap by offering the Opportunity Hub Leader as an alternate coach, many members preferred to wait until our MPower Coach returned to resume their sessions. We are working to prevent future coaching gaps by building up coaching capabilities within our Operations Support Team.

Money Management Support Money Management Support sessions are an area we will focus on in the coming months. Money Management sessions support individuals and families develop financial literacy skills, such as budgeting or debt reduction, so they can manage their daily finances. These are an essential element of the MPower Journey and build the foundational skills an individual needs to independently manage their finances.

Over the quarter, MPower members attended thirteen Money Management sessions, a decline on the previous quarter. These thirteen Money Management sessions included one Budgeting and Payment Support session, eleven Internet Banking sessions, and one Payment

Support session. Given the large number of little ‘a’ problems our MPower Consultant addressed this quarter, we recruited an additional MPower Consultant to focus on Money Management Support sessions in the coming months. We expect these figures to rise consistently in the next quarter.


I wash clothes every day, and used to do it by hand. Now I have a washing machine, it is so easy.”

Through MPower, Miriam McGreen was able to budget and save money to buy a washing machine, a fridge, and new crockery and cutlery for her kitchen.

“The MPower Consultant [at the Opportunity Hub] helped me with my finances.”

Miriam is now saving up to buy a new lounge suite.


Student Education TrustsMembershipTrusts continue to be extremely well utilised, with another sign-up bringing the total to 179 children having trusts and approximately two adults per child regularly contributing. The breakdown is: early childhood (29), primary school children (103), secondary (42), and non-active (5).

Wise BuysWise Buys MembershipOne new partner began using Wise Buys this quarter, bringing the total number of partners who have taken advantage of Wise Buys in Hope Vale to five.

This total membership is one less than the total membership reported last quarter due to some data clean-up work which removed duplicate records from our database. Updated catalogues that display a greater range of products should help to expand interest in the program over the coming months.

PurchasesThree partners purchased goods through Wise Buys this quarter, working with the MPower team to compare



Early Childhood 29

Primary School 103

Secondary School 42

Further Education -

Non-Active 5

Total 179

New SET Total 1 - - 1


Early Childhood $18,979.90 $19,114.16 $20,246.27 $20,246.27

Primary School $63,890.23 $63,007.78 $66,079.96 $66,079.96



Non-Active $430.82 $431.80 $584.90 $584.90

Total $103,572.25 $101,584.48 $106,955.09 $106,955.09




Secondary School - 9 - 9


Non-Active - - - -


Trust expenditureTrusts were accessed 111 times to pay for educational goods and services, family books, uniforms and boarding school needs.

prices online to make sure they got the best deal possible. Purchases include a table, chairs, couch, television and washing machine. These purchases assist Hope Vale families to properly furnish their homes so they are functional and presentable.


quarterLast

quarter

Members 5 6

New members - 1 - 1 2

Purchases - 1 2 3 15


It takes a village to raise a childPositive KidsWe did not have a Student Case Manager assigned to implement Positive Kids in Hope Vale so no sessions were held this quarter. Positive Kids is scheduled to recommence next quarter.


quarterLast

quarter

Graduates

New registrations

1 3 - 4 3

Sessions held - - - - 4

Home visits - - - - -

Attendance - - - - 4

Strong FamiliesOnly four months after launching the Strong Families component of It takes a village to raise a child, we have thirty-eight parents signed up for and participating in sessions. In these four months, we have achieved outstanding success. Although Strong Families was developed to target parents who have been referred by, or are at risk of being referred to the Family Responsibilities Commission, fifty-six per cent of our participants registered and attended voluntarily, illustrating that the program’s reputation as a worthwhile opportunity is well established. Our Parenting consultants and Home Crew have invested heavily in creative family engagement activities such as the Mother’s Day Luncheon, attending ante-natal health classes and playgroup sessions, so that families in the community see the program as an opportunity all parents and care givers will benefit from. On June 21, two parents graduated from Strong Families, celebrating their achievement with a graduation barbeque for family and friends. These parents graduate with greater awareness of the Positive Parenting approach and having developed individual Parenting Plans that set out how they plan to achieve their parenting goals. Our parenting team expects to build further upon this knowledge through ongoing visits with recent graduates.


quarterLast

quarter

Participants 381 15

Graduates 2 2

New registrations

14 11 28 15


Home visits 4 2 6 2


1 Four participants were registered last quarter but are no longer registered this quarter. This accounts for the discrepancy in total participants between last quarter and this quarter.

Baby CollegeFollowing its launch on April 16, twelve parents signed up for Baby College this quarter. Nearly sixty per cent of these participants attend the program voluntarily while thirty per cent are Child Safety referrals and another twelve per cent are Family Responsibilities Commission referrals. Also exciting to note is that twenty-five per cent of attendees are male; this supports our overarching goal of transforming families. Our parenting team has focused on engaging potential male participants through family engagement sessions such as presenting at the men’s group. We will continue to pursue creative ideas for engagement to increase community support for and participation in the program.


Participants 12

Graduates

New registrations

7 4 1 12


Home visits 6 12 7 25

Attendance 19 27 16 62


Pride of PlaceParticipation ratesParticipation in household projects (‘backyard blitzes’) continues to increase. This demonstrates increasing levels of community support for the project and a growing commitment to well maintained backyards. The popularity of the program in Hope Vale continues to thrive, many participants being inspired by the work they have seen done by their friends and families.

Work completedThirteen families completed their household projects (backyard blitzes) throughout the quarter, adding items

Grace Rosendale is moving into a retirement village and wanted to improve her yard so that it was better suited to family living when her daughter and her family moved in. Grace is an avid gardener and was pleased to have some help with some raised beds and extra citrus trees to tend before she leaves.

“It was something they offered, so I took it. I thought it could be a nice barbecue area, which I never had. I’m very, very proud of what we achieved. I did a lot of the work, I had bricks around before, so they put timbers around and made it square. They help make it look nicer. It’s something for my family to do now, to look after.”

Grace is very happy that she is now leaving behind a garden that her daughter and her grandchildren can play in and enjoy.

“My daughter’s partner is great, he does the mowing and other jobs around the yard. He put in the citrus fruits and the veggie garden.”

I’m so thankful for everything CYP helped me with.

such as pergolas, lattice panels, paving, barbeques, concrete slabs and garden sheds. One family even installed a cyclone kit to make sure they are ready for any cyclones that may affect the region in the future. Each of these families also received their fully paid up maintenance kit so they can continually maintain the appearance and functionality of their backyards.

These thirteen completions bring our total completions in Hope Vale to twenty-nine, with seventy-four individual construction elements completed over the quarter.


Family contributions and obligationsOn signing up to Pride of Place, families commit to regular financial and physical obligations. All families are required to save $1000 towards purchasing their maintenance kit and a backyard expansion, while also contributing an agreed upon amount of physical labour (‘sweat equity’) towards the renovations. Nine of the thirteen families completing backyard renovations this quarter achieved their financial targets, with one family even contributing $25 more than required. The remaining four families almost achieved their targets, contributing $850, $700, $800 and $630 respectively. This demonstrates that sixty-seven per cent of our Pride of Place families in Hope Vale have the capabilities to manage their budgets and achieve financial targets.

Activity April May JuneThis

quarterLast

quarter


Number of household projects completed this quarter 2 5 6 13 8



Number of household projects – new registrations 2 5 1 8 9



Value of POP contributions this quarter $1,319 $1,433 $1,039 $3,791 $3,055


% of sweat equity achieved versus committed 55% 56.25%

Sweat equity contributions were slightly lower than the previous quarter, with families generally not achieving all their physical contribution targets. Six families contributed at least seventy per cent of their committed physical contributions, two contributed fifty per cent, while five delivered roughly thirty per cent. Increasing sweat equity is a major focus for our Pride of Place team for the coming quarter. They will get additional training on how to have an ‘honest conversation’ with participants; so participants are in turn confident in having ‘honest conversations’ with their families to increase their commitment.


I have been bragging about POP ever since it started. All the family were happy to help out. I’m encouraged to plan future projects.

Karen Gibson saw Pride of Place as an opportunity to make better use of an old concrete slab on her property. “POP requires $1000 from your own money, so I paid that over a period of time, and it was very flexible. They didn’t expect the lump sum all at once. I paid $25 a week. When I was close to $1000, we designed my garden and it started from there. When I got the call I felt very excited”.

With the help of family and friends, Karen and the POP team built her pergola with lattice edging and a barbecue. She was very proud to see her two sons contributing ‘sweat equity’ on the project, one who is a keen apprentice carpenter. “We all pitched in and helped. The last little things we’ll do on our own — cleaning up and that sort of stuff. The leftover pavers that we have here, we intend to build a dog pound for our dogs.”

“All the older trees were planted by my mum and stepfather, who have passed on now. They would have been proud today to see what’s happening here. We just wanted to keep this going.”

And there is plenty of opportunity to do more!

Karen and her family are very eager to carry out more improvements on their own. “It’s coming together slowly. I still have six fruit trees to put in the ground and I have fourteen hanging ti-tree plants, and they will be located along the driveway. Once the driveway is completely straight and all done, we’ll put them in the ground. We want to do more now that this has started.”

Karen’s pergola is now an area where she can gather with family and friends. “And just near the pergola we’re digging a fire pit for those nights you just want to sit around the fire.” And Karen and the family were creative in getting the most out existing materials. “We’ll sit out over there and use the old shower to stack the firewood.”

“It’s given us that confidence and that pride in our own place, doing something for ourselves, and that’s a good feeling. I’d like to see this project not only in Hopevale, Mossman Gorge, Aurukun or Coen, I’d like to see it in other communities as well as Cooktown where there are a lot of Indigenous people who could benefit from these types of projects.”


Mossman Gorge Opportunity Hub

Hub operations so that attendance continues to rise.

On April 16 the parenting team launched Baby College, the third project in our new parenting program It takes a village to raise a child. Baby College, a product that supports expecting parents to socialise and learn together while they travel on the journey to parenthood, incorporates a trial of the Baby Triple P into the program. Five parents have signed up to the program this quarter. On June 21 five parents graduated from It takes a village to raise a child. To celebrate, we held a graduation celebration for all participants and their families featuring a barbeque dinner, speeches, graduation caps and even a red carpet. These five parents, four of whom participated in Strong Families, and one who participated in Baby College, graduate with improved knowledge, skills and confidence in how to positively respond to behavioural, emotional and developmental needs of their children and make their families stronger.

Three Pride of Place families completed their backyard blitzes and, with support from their families, completed their backyard renovations and celebrated with a barbeque for friends and family.

This quarter we continued to increase membership and participation in Opportunity Products.

Our team carried out a number of family engagement activities to highlight the benefits of participating in Opportunity Products. Activities included meetings with the Good Start Day Care Centre Coordinator, home visits, participation in the formal opening of the Apunipima Health Clinic and fortnightly meetings with the Mossman School principal.

These activities are beginning to show results. Eighteen new MPower members signed up over the quarter, raising our membership base to 118 people, sixty-five of whom live in Mossman Gorge and fifty-three of whom live in Mossman town. This brings our MPower membership base to sixty-eight per cent of Mossman Gorge’s adult population9. This is a proud achievement for our team, and we look forward to improving upon it over the coming quarter as we continue to share stories of personal change with the community.

Participation in Money Management Support sessions also increased over the quarter, suggesting a growing recognition of the benefits that flow from participating in our Opportunity Products. MPower members attended twenty-nine Money Management Support sessions this quarter, twenty-one more than in the previous quarter. This represents a 262 per cent increase in the number of support sessions completed, an impressive improvement and one we are proud of. MPower members also attended more coaching sessions, reaching thirty-one in total, a 138 per cent increase on the previous quarter. Participation in Money Management Support sessions and MPower coaching sessions is fundamental to our goal of supporting people towards financial independence and we will further embed engagement activities into Opportunity 9 Although overall membership rates have increased the percentage of Mossman Gorge residents signed up to MPower has remained the same as reported in last quarter’s report. This has occurred because of two factors: one, because we used the 2011 Census population data to calculate percentages in this report but used FRC population data in the previous report; and two, because the Mossman Gorge community is relatively transient and many people move between Mossman Gorge and Mossman township. Above: MPower membership within adult population

Mossman Gorge Opportunity Hub


MPowerMembershipEighteen new members signed up to MPower over the quarter, raising MPower membership to a total of 118 members. This increases our membership base to approximately sixty-eight per cent of Mossman Gorge’s



Engagement sessions 7 7 N/A

New members 18 19




MPower Journey Sessions 7 18 6 31 13

Money Management Tools sessions 29 29 8

Banking Products and Services — referrals 1 1 1

adult population. An additional fifty-three MPower members live in the town of Mossman but participate in the program so they can access support to assist their transition towards financial independence.

Fiona Henderson had been living in an apartment, then moved into a 3-bedroom house with her brother, aunty and grandson. The family wanted to improve their new backyard to allow the family some privacy and more time together outside. Fiona had seen the difference Pride of Place projects had made to the households in Mossman Gorge so signed up.

“We all helped with the garden. My brother helped with the paving and building the barbeque. Our family also purchased a whipper snipper, mower, wheelbarrow, rake and shovel to help keep the yard tidy. Growing up, I didn’t have things like this. I am proud that I am able to own these things now.”

With the help of an MPower Consultant, Fiona and her family are now saving up to buy more plants and to build a new fence. “Now I’m saving up to buy more things for my family and our house.”

Pride of Place has made a big difference for my family and changed my way of thinking.


iBank MPower members accessed our iBank (internet and phone banking) facilities 328 times throughout the quarter. While this represents a twenty-six per cent increase on the previous quarter, it also identifies an area for us to focus on in the coming months. Eighty five percent of our iBank sessions were ‘assisted’, meaning that the MPower partner required assistance from one of our team members to complete their banking transaction. This number is up from eighty two per cent last quarter, signifying that we need to focus more energy on building our members’ independent iBank capabilities. To facilitate this goal, we have introduced a new method for recording the level of assistance provided during ‘assisted’ iBank sessions. This will allow individual progress to be regularly monitored and analysed by MPower staff.

Little ‘a’ sessionsOur team worked with MPower members to address ten little ‘a’ issues over the reporting period. Little ‘a’ issues are small financial problems that individuals and families need help to resolve. This represents a slight increase (eleven per cent) on the previous quarter but also highlights a need for our team to focus more on promoting our products as opportunities to resolve the ‘big issues’ in their lives.

MPower Journey MPower members attended thirty-one MPower Journey (coaching) sessions in Mossman Gorge this quarter, up from only thirteen last quarter. These MPower Journey sessions are a key element in the progression towards financial independence: during MPower Journey sessions members identify goals for their financial future and the steps they need to take to get there. While this rise in participation rates represents a 138 per cent increase, we aim to increase these figures even more in the coming quarter to support more of our members to achieve their financial goals.

Brian Toby has been working with Money Management for many years - first with Financial Income Management and now as a member of MPower. Before joining the program, Brian didn’t have many possessions. “Before this happened I had nothing.”

Through MPower, Brian has learned to manage

his money and save for what he needs. He has transformed his home with new appliances he has purchased through Wise Buys, including a new fridge, television, laptop and a dryer. Brian has also been able to pay for trips to the doctor in Cairns and for his medication. Through learning to save Brian has the money he needs, when he needs it.

I started saving up for what I wanted to buy. I put money away and now it’s good to be able to buy things.


Money Management Support MPower members attended twenty-nine Money Management Support sessions this quarter, up from only eight in the previous quarter. These twenty-nine Money Management sessions include four Budgeting Support sessions, eight Payment Support sessions, four Banking Support sessions, six internet Banking sessions, three Debt Reduction Support sessions and four Wealth Creation Support sessions.

Management sessions support individuals and families

develop financial literacy skills, such as budgeting or debt reduction, so they can manage their daily finances. These are an essential element of the MPower Journey and build the foundational skills an individual needs to independently manage their finances.


I was able to save money with the help of CYP, and now own a new car.

With the help of MPower, Roy Gibson fulfilled his lifelong dream of buying a new car.

“I’ve had two second-hand cars, and had to spend a lot of money repairing and maintaining them. I had always wanted to buy a new car, but was scared to apply for a loan. I was sure the bank would knock me back so I went to see Roberta [Mossman Gorge Opportunity Hub Leader] for advice and support. She helped me to put money aside from my pay and before I knew it, she told me I had saved enough money for the deposit and could now apply for a loan.”

Roy met with the local Bank Manager and submitted his loan application. “The MPower Coach said he thought I had a chance of getting the loan. I told him I’d believe it when I saw it. I was scared the bank would reject my application but Reggie [Mossman Gorge MPower Coach] gave me the confidence to go ahead.”

Two weeks later the Bank Manager called

Roy with the good news – his loan had been approved!

“Reggie drove with me to Cairns to look at new cars. We looked everywhere to make sure I got the one I wanted and that it was good value. I didn’t tell my family or friends what I was doing because, to me, I still couldn’t believe it.” Roy saw the Toyota Great Wall 4WDs. After having a good look, he knew it was what he wanted and bought one that day.

“It’s been three weeks now. I recently drove to the Daintree to go fishing, and to try and get it dirty! I got it so that I could drive long distance. I’ve never been to Wujal Wujal so that’s my next stop – Wujal and Cooktown.”

“I never thought I’d own a new car like this. I was born in Mossman and I’m a proud man, but never thought I’d get a loan. I stepped into a new job at the Gateway, was able to save money with the help of CYP, and now own my new car. I am so happy.”


Student Education TrustsMembershipTrusts continue to be extremely well utilised, with 122 children having trusts and approximately two adults per child regularly contributing. The breakdown is: early childhood (11), primary school children (75), secondary (30) and non-active (6).

Wise BuysMembershipMossman Gorge Opportunity Hub is the highest performing on the Wise Buys program, an achievement we take great pride in.

Despite the small population, our team work hard to promote the value of participating in Wise Buys and this quarter signed up fourteen new members to the program. Updated catalogues that display a greater range of products will also help to expand interest in the program over the coming months.

PurchasesWise Buys partners had impressively high participation rates this quarter, carrying out forty-four purchases



Early Childhood 11

Primary School 75

Secondary School 30

Further Education 0

Non-Active 6

Total 122

New Trusts Total 0 0 1 1


Early Childhood $10,093.57 $10,102.09 $10,445.47 $10,445.47

Primary School $66,410.85 $67,077.56 $67,901.68 $67,901.68


Further Education 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

Non-Active $2,394.99 $2,400.42 $2,305.93 $2,305.93

Total $96,760.62 $95,711.55 $97,283.23 $97,283.23

Number of Educational items purchased using Student Education Trust



Secondary School 2 11 3 16

Further Education 0 0 0 0

Non-Active 0 0 0 0


Trust expenditureTrusts were accessed sixty-eight times to pay for educational goods and services, family books, uniforms and boarding school needs.

including an LCD television, a new fridge, a funeral plan, washing machine, laptop, iPad, and most impressively a Great Wall 4WD. These purchases help increase the functionality of our partners’ homes.


quarterLast

quarter

Members 33 24

New members 5 4 5 14 15

Purchases 8 18 18 44 34


It takes a village to raise a childPositive KidsOne Student Case Manager continued to implement Positive Kids. Nine group sessions were held throughout the quarter. The Student Case Manager continues to engage parents, with the intention of improving session attendance rates in the next quarter.


quarterLast

quarter

Participants 3 3

Graduates - -

New registrations

- - - - 3

Sessions held - 4 5 9 4

Home visits - - - - 14

Attendance - 4 5 9 n/a

Strong FamiliesOn June 21, four parents graduated from Strong Families, celebrating their achievement with a graduation barbeque for family and friends. These parents graduate with greater awareness of the Positive Parenting approach and having developed individual Parenting Plans that set out how they plan to achieve their parenting goals. Our parenting team expects to build further upon this knowledge through ongoing visits with recent graduates.

Our parenting team has invested heavily in developing strong relationships with participants to ensure they are engaged, feel supported and find the sessions valuable. This quarter the team took participants and their families on a number of beach outings as a way to maintain high levels of motivation and so that parents could practice new positive parenting strategies in a supported ‘real world’ environment. Eighty per cent of our Strong Families participants are FRC referred which demonstrates the practical value of parenting support. This figure also shows that we need to share our parents’ success stories so that more parents voluntarily attend the program.


quarterLast

quarter

Participants 5 4

Graduates 4 -

New registrations

3 - - 3 32


Home visits - - - - 2

Attendance 3 11 6 20 n/a

2 This number differs from that reported last quarter. The correct number of registrations from January to March was three. These three registered for Strong Families in March, but registration forms were not processed until April.

Baby CollegeFive parents are signed up for and participating in Baby College sessions; one of these parents graduated from the program on June 21 along with the four Strong Families graduates. Although ensuring attendance at sessions and home visits remains a challenge, the Mossman Gorge team is trialling a new method for appointment setting in an effort to increase attendance rates. Using this method, the parenting team will set a standard weekly session time for each participant to create consistency and minimise confusion.


Participants 5

Graduates 1

New registrations 5 - - 5


Home visits 1 - - 1

Attendance 3 4 5 12


Pride of PlaceParticipation ratesParticipation in household projects (‘backyard blitzes’) increased from a third of the community last quarter, to almost half of the community this quarter. This demonstrates increasing levels of community support for the project and a growing commitment to well maintained backyards.

Work completedThree families completed their household projects (‘backyard blitzes’) throughout the quarter, adding items

After seeing the benefits to others in her community, Trixie Kerr signed up to Pride of Place. “My son lent me the $1,000 to start and we got into it straight away – me, my son and my youngest daughter. My children helped me do the yard. We put plants in – a lemon tree, a mandarin tree and some plants along the wall and veranda. It was Roberta’s [the Opportunity Hub Leader] idea to do that because we have a lot of visitors and this gives us better privacy.”

Trixie also installed a pergola and her yard now attracts Ulysses butterflies by the dozen. “I like it, it’s made a big difference. The pergola is paved and it has a proper roof so the barbeque area doesn’t get wet. In the barbeque area I’ve also got two tables and a box I’m going to put more plants in. My husband is going to put some shelves around to sit pots on.”

“A lot of people have been talking about our project. I never thought I’d get this far, and there’s still more we want to do.”

I had seen the Pride of Place Enabler helping other people with their backyards.

such as garden beds, pergolas, paving, and sail shades. One family even installed a ‘chook shed’ so they can raise chickens and have regular fresh eggs. Each of these families received a maintenance kit so they can continually maintain their backyards themselves.

This brings our total completions to twelve, with eighteen individual construction elements completed over the quarter.


Activity April May JuneThis

quarterLast

quarter


Number of household projects completed this quarter 0 1 2 3 5



Number of household projects – new registrations 0 1 2 3 1


Individual back yard elements completed to date 87 69

Value of POP contributions this quarter $456 $542 $592 $1,590 $1,280

% of required contributions for completed households 100% 100% 100% 100% 97.5%

% of sweat equity achieved versus committed 50% 54%

Family contributions and obligationsOn signing up to Pride of Place, families commit to regular financial and physical obligations. All families are required to save $1000 towards purchasing their maintenance kit and a backyard expansion, while also contributing an agreed upon amount of physical labour (sweat equity) towards the renovations. All three of our Pride of Place families achieved their financial targets this quarter, with one family even contributing $50 more than required. This demonstrates that 100 per cent of our Pride of Place families manage their budgets and achieve financial targets.

Sweat equity contributions were lower than anticipated, with only one of the three families achieving ninety per cent of their physical contribution targets. The remaining two families delivered only ten per cent and fifty per cent respectively. Increasing sweat equity commitments is a major focus for our Pride of Place team for the coming quarter. They will get additional training on how to have an ‘honest conversation’ with participants; so participants are in turn confident in having ‘honest conversations’ with their families to increase their commitment.


Co-Design Studio Update

This quarter the team completed design of Bayan and now has a fully developed ‘home ownership’ solution awaiting a funding response from the Australian Government.

Case Management System• A virtual portal being explored to integrate with

Work Opportunity Port• Commenced capture of business requirements for

participant database (demographics, etc)

First Step and Second Step• Desk research carried out on current Victorian model

of First Step and Second Step Programs• Alignment of Victorian model to Cape York

requirements explored• Negotiations carried out with Toll Holdings for two

initial employment placements in Cairns

Bayan• Home ownership research undertaken (e.g. loan

default analysis, home loan scenarios and existing products in market place)

• Indigenous home owner case studies carried out• Business Case developed and presented to funders• Development of Bayan operational tools, systems

and processes underway

Australian Institute for Direct Instruction• Seed funding secured • Long term value proposition and brand messaging

developed• Key stakeholders engaged• Commenced identifying potential schools• Launched website: www.aidi.org.au

New design elements were added to updated versions of operational projects, such as It takes a village to raise a child and Student Education Trusts.

MPower• Research carried out on: Consumer Advocacy

support; the BasicsCard as a payment method for Wise Buys; and Centrelink services

• Quarterly Project Review undertaken with internal and external stakeholders

• Membership model developed• Wise Buys catalogue continued to be expanded

and updated

Student Education Trusts• Work underway to translate Trust Deed into plain

English to go with parents/donors pack along with Trust Deed

• Process and Procedure Manual and all other relevant documentation updated

• Educational books and toys sourced for the SET Book and Toy Fair (held in July)

• Fraud Policy drafted

It takes a village to raise a child• Design and fit out of Parenting Hubs complete and

awaiting possession of buildings to install• Parenting library resources purchased for each

Parenting Hub• Inaugural graduation ceremonies in each community• Design Version 2 underway on Home Crew, Alumni

and Handicrafts

Work Opportunity Port• Design work commenced • Working model drafted• Mobility research undertaken • Completed user stories to indentify user

characteristics• Case studies conducted in Hope Vale

Youth Pathways Scheme• Design of user and system pathways underway • Labour market matrix drafted identifying skill

shortages• List of target employers drafted • Participant referral sources (i.e. Job Services Australia

providers) met with to discuss project objectives· Case studies conducted in Hope Vale to inform design


Glossary

Backyard improvement element: In relation to Pride of Place, backyard improvement elements refer to an individual element within a backyard improvement, eg: a brick BBQ or a swing-set.

Backyard improvements: In relation to Pride of Place, backyard improvements encompass all elements in the Concept Design that are being delivered by the Pride of Place team. Previously referred to as design elements, or improvement elements.

Coaching: Coaching is one-on-one guidance provided to the Family Leader to address any concerns or issues with the progress of their nominated program. Focuses on capability and skills development. In relation to MPower, Coaching is also known as an ‘MPower Journey Session’.

Co-Design Studio: The Co-Design Studio is a core business unit of Cape York Partnerships that works collaboratively with Principal Partners to design projects and programs.

Home Crew: Home Crew are employees of Cape York Partnerships who support individuals and families participating in Baby College and Strong Families.

iBank: iBank is a customised self-service facility located in an Opportunity Hub. It offers independent or assisted access to telephone and internet banking and online shopping facilities.

‘Little a’ problem: A ‘little a’ problem refers to a small problem that motivates a client to visit the Opportunity Hub for assistance, eg: a utility bill that is several months overdue and the service is about to be terminated.

Money Management Tools: In relation to MPower, Money Management Tools are basic tools/services that develop skills and knowledge to address financial literacy. They support individuals and families in managing their daily finances, and in accessing and making the most of the Opportunity Products.

Opportunity Product: A Welfare Reform product tailored to bring about changes in behaviour, eg: Student Education Trusts, Pride of Place, MPower and Bush Owner Builder.

Positive Parenting Consultants: Positive Parenting Consultants are responsible for delivering Baby College and Strong Families. They undertake the Strategic Conversation and assist parents to create and implement their Action Plans. They also liaise with the Family Responsibilities Commission to support parents if applicable.

Principal Partner: Used in place of the words client or customer, a Principal Partner is an Aboriginal person who engages with Cape York Partnerships to take up an Opportunity Product or service.

Student Case Manager: A Cape York Aboriginal Australian Academy employee who monitors the attendance and school readiness of students.

Sweat Equity: Sweat Equity refers to the physical work undertaken by participants to complete projects that require manual labour as part of the family or individuals commitment.

Triple P: Triple P Parenting is included in the delivery of It takes a village to raise a child. Triple P is a parenting education approach that aims to enhance the knowledge, skills and confidence of parents in order to prevent behavioural, emotional and developmental problems in children. Triple P was chosen because of the universally strong evidence supporting its effectiveness.


Cairns Head Office Level 3, 139 Grafton Street, Cairns, QLD 4870 Phone 4042 7200

Aurukun Opportunity Hub 5 Kang Kang Road, Aurukun, QLD 4871 Phone 4083 4505

Coen Opportunity Hub 1 Taylor Street, Coen, QLD 4871 Phone 4060 1056

Hope Vale Opportunity Hub Muni Street, Hope Vale, QLD 4895 Phone 4060 9399

Mossman Gorge Opportunity Hub Kankarr Street, Mossman Gorge, QLD 4873 Phone 4084 4400

Family Empowerment Report - April to June 2012

Documents

Transcript of Family Empowerment Report - April to June 2012