In April 2015, YFS learned that we had won the tender for Intensive Family Support in Browns Plains-Beaudesert.

 

With our partner organisations Beaucare and Mununjali, YFS rose to the challenge of setting up a new service in a new area.

 

“We had less than 12 weeks to find a place to set up, to recruit and train staff, and to promote the service and get it up and going,” Intensive Family Support Senior Worker Melissa MacGregor says.

 

YFS managers and staff pulled together, locating and fitting out a base at Browns Plains, setting up systems and logistics, and recruiting staff from inside and outside the organisation.

 

The service is part of a new Queensland Government approach to child safety that includes new information and referral processes, and the new Intensive Family Support service to work with families with child safety concerns.

 

The service provides intensive case management to help families get the skills and support they need to care for and protect children.

 

“We have built on our multi-functional, multi-disciplinary approach from our Step by Step families program,” Melissa says.

 

“A big difference has been getting our heads around having to “sell” the service to families, as some of them are referred without their consent. Our job is to encourage them to engage with the service.”

 

The Intensive Family Support team includes five workers, along with a co-located Child Safety officer.

 

One member of the team is based at Beaucare to service the southern part of the region, which extends to the New South Wales border.

 

“It’s a large area, which means you have to manage your time well to cover it and meet everyone’s needs,” Melissa says.

 

The Browns Plains office is becoming a co-location hub for outreach from other YFS services including Legal, Financial Counselling, Step by Step Counselling and IRAS.

 

 

 

 

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“Our purpose is to help families make changes so they’re able and willing to keep their children safe. We help people make informed decisions about the safety and protection of their children.”

 

 

 

“Our program has been very readily accepted because of the relationships and reputation YFS has in the community.”

 

 

 

“Our team is small and robust. We’ve been malleable enough to be able to work with families really quickly. We all came to this program with lots of experience in work and life. We know it’s tough raising a family, plus we’ve got our book knowledge as well.”

 

 

YFS is funded by the Australian Government and the Queensland Government.

YFS acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are Australia's First Peoples and the traditional owners and custodians of the land on which we meet and work.