AbSec 2017 Conference Program

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Sector Conference – Wednesday 22 November 2017 (Day 1)

Session 1

• CREATING CULTURAL CONNECTIONS – AbSec
  This workshop gives an insight into how to meaningfully create a cultural plan which will give Aboriginal children and young people in care the opportunity to engage in activities that will strengthen their connection to cultural and identity especially when they are placed of country.
• INNOVATIVE PRACTICE — EVALUATION FINDINGS: PRACTICE STANDARDS WORKSHOP AND SUPERVISION FRAMEWORK TRAINING — QATSICPP
  In 2016, QATSICPP launched a suite of practice resources aimed at enhancing and supporting those working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child and families in Queensland. The resources include: Practice Standards, Practice Guide, and supervision framework. In 2017, a training package based on the practice resources. The training package includes modules focus on QATSICPP Practice Standards and Supervision Framework.
• NGO BENCHMARKING – RESULTS AND WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? Department of Finance & Services
  The Department of Finance and Services has recently completed a round of NGO Benchmarking. Hear about how NGO Benchmarking is levelling the playing field for all NGOs. How can your organisation get involved? Find out how to interpret your benchmarking results and use them to influence your organisational development plans as your organisation grows and evolves.

Session 2

• WORKING TOWARDS BETTER OUTCOMES FOR ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER CHILDREN AND FAMILIES THROUGH BUILDING A STRONG, SUSTAINABLE AND CAPABLE SECTOR — QATSICPP
  QATSICPP will discuss how the concept of storylines assisted the Practice Development Team of the Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Protection Peak Limited (QATSICPP) to develop a suite of practice resources to assist frontline practitioners throughout Queensland. These tools and a further conversation of storylines will be discussed during this presentation.
• REPORTABLE CONDUCT: KEY ISSUES ARISING FROM OUR OVERSIGHT OF ABORIGINAL AGENCIES — NSW Ombudsman
  The NSW Ombudsman’s Office will present on key issues and trends from their oversight of Aboriginal agencies including the importance of Reportable Conduct in the NGO sector.
• ABORIGINAL CASE MANAGEMENT POLICY AND GUIDELINES — AbSec
  AbSec has been working in partnerships with FACS and Aboriginal stakeholders to develop a separate Aboriginal Case Management Policy and Guidelines for practitioners who work within the NSW Child Welfare System. The purpose of the policy is to promote an integrated case-management approach that is tailored to the needs of Aboriginal children and families, that commences early in the continuum of support and that empowers and supports families and communities to reduce the incidence of harm, addressing identified risks and thereby support Aboriginal children and young people to thrive. AbSec will be presenting the endorsed version of the Aboriginal Case Management Policy and Guidelines.  The workshop will provide an opportunity for practitioners to discuss practice changes and implementation requirements.    

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Workers Conference – Thursday 23 November 2017 (Day 2)

Session 1

• HOW CONNECTION CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE TO ABORIGINAL HOMELESSNESS & PREVENTING EXITS INTO HOMELESSNESS FOR ABORIGINAL CARE LEAVERS — Wentworth Community Housing and Aboriginal Corporation for Homeless and RCS
  This workshop will provide an overview of how an issue, “Aboriginal homelessness”, can be identified and then how commitment and passion can have an impact on reducing homelessness within the Aboriginal community. This session will also look at the interconnections between homelessness and out of home care systems for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It will examine the supports needed for young people entering and exiting the care system in order to prevent homelessness, particularly around maintaining connections with family, community, land and culture. Greater collaboration between staff from these two sectors is critical to preventing exits into homelessness for Aboriginal youth. Importantly, the failures for Aboriginal people in housing and care systems mirror broader system failures. The lack of cultural appropriateness and understanding in juvenile justice, education and health systems, for example, continue to perpetuate poor outcomes for Aboriginal people. This session will examine the ways in which cultural appropriateness can be reflected in these systems and what is needed to promote genuine empowerment of and respect for Aboriginal people and their communities
• REDEFINING ABORIGINAL COMMUNITY CONTROL AND SHIFTING THE POWER BACK INTO ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER COMMUNITIES, FAMILIES AND CHILDREN — QATSICPP
  This presentation will discuss and provide the findings and the proposed definition of Aboriginal Community Control, which both will be presented to Australian governments in order to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to both determine their futures and furthermore, access funding that is currently going to non-Aboriginal organisations that claim to service Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and children.
• ACCREDITATION AND THE CARERS REGISTER — WHAT, WHY AND HOW WE DO IT? — Office of the Children’s Guardian
  The presentation focuses on the OCG role in accreditation – purposes, agencies have told us, and lessons learnt through accreditation process. The second part is the NSW carers register strengths, gaps and lessons learnt.
• VOICES OF ABORIGINAL CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE IN NSW — Advocate for Children and Young People
  This session focuses on the information gained by the Advocate for children and young people following his state-wide consultations and recently released report. Where to from here and next steps.

Session 2

• EDUCATION AND INTERSECTIONS WITH ABORIGINAL CHILDREN AND FAMILIES — Department of Education and Communities
  This session will focus on Education and its intersections for Aboriginal Children and Young People including those in OOHC, how to we work better to support Aboriginal children and young people to access education successfully.
• JARJUMS PROGRAM — Northcott
  Together, Jarjum and Northcott are building the capacity of the teaching staff and school leadership through a skills transfer and community development model. We are working holistically - supporting not only the student, but also the student’s family and community to acquire skills and resilience.
• TARGETED EARLIER INTERVENTION - Department of Family and Community Services
  This session is an opportunity to focus on the FACS reforms around targeted earlier intervention with a focus on the Aboriginal strategy. How do we ensure TEI programs and services are support our families better. What works, what doesn’t work?
• NATIONAL DISABILITY INSURANCE SCHEME – Preparation and Planning — My Choice Matters
  My Choice Matters supports people with disability and their carers to think about what makes a good life for them. The NDIS is making it easier for people to set goals, find supports and make change in their life. This session is an introduction session to support Aboriginal people with disability and their carers to approach preparation for a planning session with the NDIS.

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Workers Conference – Friday 24 November 2017 (Day 3)

Session 1

• CHALLENGES OF LEADERSHIP IN A COMMUNITY SECTOR ENVIRONMENT — Wesley Consulting
  This session will focus on leadership challenges in a community sector environment and how can we approaches these challenge and potentially overcome the constraints: (1) Lack of investment in leadership and management capability – generally due to funding constraints; (2) Reluctance by managers and coordinators to tackle poor performance issues; (3) Rigid recruitment practices – get away from having to address all the selection criteria and the formal, stilted panel interview.  Train managers to recruit skilfully; (4) Shifting the focus from activity to output, results and outcomes.  Results-based accountability and funding agreements have been a good start in shifting this thinking; (5) Lack of succession planning – generally there is a big gap between the CEO / GM and the rest of the team which means external recruitment is generally required to replace an existing CEO.
• KNOWLEDGE CIRCLES: EMPOWERING ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER COMMUNITIES THROUGH GIVING VOICE AND REAL PARTICIPATION — QATSICPP
  To ensure that the voice of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities throughout Queensland were heard and real participation was at the forefront, the QATSICPP developed the concept of the QATSICPP Knowledge Circles. Knowledge Circles have a strong focus on ascertaining information to benefit Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and children. The Knowledge Circles integrate the process of ‘yarning’, which is a highly effective tool, and/or process for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
• ART THERAPY OF ABORIGINAL CHILDREN — KidsXpress
  KidsXpress provide an art therapy program. The program is run in a partnership with AbSec and is targeting Aboriginal children. Art therapy at KidsXpress encourages children to develop their thoughts and feelings further by drawing, painting, sculpting and constructing. It differs from traditional art in that the emphasis is on the process of creating rather than the end product. Their work is not judged and art ability is not necessary.
• Health intersections with Aboriginal families, children and young people
  Presentation will include the following key projects and policy NSW Ministry of Health currently manage and lead: (1) Aboriginal Family Wellbeing and Violence Prevention Strategy; (2) Aboriginal Maternal Child and Family Health Service and the Building Strong Foundations program (child and family health service)

Session 2

• JUSTICE INTERSECTIONS WITH ABORIGINAL CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE — Judge Stephen Coates, Federal Circuit Court Australia
  The Federal Circuit Court deals with most of the family law cases in Australia. People who have experienced family breakdown come to this Court every day to seek help in resolving disputes about Children.  The person who applies is most commonly one of the parents, but might also be an uncle or aunt, a grandparent, or another adult member of the extended family. The Court is required to make Orders determined to be in the Child’s best interests, which in almost all cases, involves keeping Children within family units. The Federal Circuit Court of Australia was the first Court in Australia to launch a Reconciliation Action Plan. The RAP aims to provide Indigenous people with better access to the family law system. There is an over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children in out of home care. The Court wants to break down barriers with the community, and has been consulting widely with many agencies working with Indigenous families, to assist Indigenous litigants to better understand what the Court does, and hopefully keep Children within families.
• NDIS and it's intersections (OOHC and Mental Health) — AbSec
  This session will focus on the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) in a general sense, with a basic overview of the scheme and the opportunities it will open for our ACCO’s, Aboriginal people with a disability and their families and the employment opportunities which will open up for the benefit of the wider Aboriginal Community. This workshop will also cover the crossover of service provision for Aboriginal people with a Disability whom also are in the OOHC system, Justice System and receiving other services from parallel agencies and how it affects the participant and their life’s goals to make the most of the NDIS. We will also debunk some myths about NDIS and Mental Health. Explain why mental health has been a late inclusion into the scheme and deliver the most up to date information on eligibility for the NDIS for an Aboriginal person with a mental illness.
• POLICY HACK-A-THON — AbSec
  This session provides an opportunity for participants to engage collectively in shaping policy for the sector. In particular, this session will focus on the partnership between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal services in promoting greater Aboriginal community control of the design and delivery of service for Aboriginal children, families and communities, as part of the broader initiative to strengthen the principle of Aboriginal self-determination within the child and family system.