Communities for Children - a new approach to policy and program development and delivery
Marie Leech and Evan Lewis
Mission Australia and Department of Family and Community Services
Contact Email:   HampshireAmissionaustralia.com.au

Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) have a strong tradition of providing services to support disadvantaged people, particularly in partnership with Australian governments. More recently, the role of NGOs in service delivery has evolved to also focus on broader community capacity building and development. An example of the collaboration between NGOs and the Commonwealth Government is the Department of Family and Community Services’ (FaCS) Communities for Children Initiative.

This $140 million initiative supports disadvantaged families with young children aged 0-5. It funds NGOs as ‘Facilitating Partners’ who engage the community, build networks and foster partnerships between local early childhood stakeholders. The community, through the Facilitating Partners, administer funding on behalf of the Government to local providers to deliver services to families with young children.

This approach recognises that locally based NGOs, in consultation with the community, are well placed to understand local issues, build on existing community strengths and have the capacity to facilitate local partnerships between service providers, levels of government and business. FaCS provides the policy and administrative framework and on-going support for NGOs in undertaking this work.

This presentation examines the Communities for Children innovative and collaborative approach to policy and program development and details the experience to date of the NGO and Government partners.

Paper Download Information (if available):

Paper193.doc

Copyright © 2007 Social Policy Research Centre.