Redfern-Waterloo UPDATE OCTOBER 2005

Redfern-Waterloo UPDATE OCTOBER 2005 Redfern-Waterloo Authority

REFORMING HUMAN SERVICES • 10 PRIORITY AREAS • INSIDE YOUTH PRECINCTS

Providing better human services in Redfern and Waterloo

Draft Redfern-Waterloo Human Services Plan

The Draft Redfern-Waterloo Human Services Plan will be on public exhibition until close of business on Friday 11 November 2005.

Feedback from the community is encouraged and can be submitted in writing, by email or via the feedback form on the Redfern-Waterloo Authority (RWA) website. Contact details are listed below.

A copy of the complete draft Plan and implementation schedule can be downloaded

from the RWA website, obtained by phoning RWA or sending a request by email.

Draft Human Services Plan Public Information Forum

A Public Information Forum about the Plan will be held on
Saturday 29 October
1.30 – 3.30 pm
Redfern Town Hall
73 Pitt Street, Redfern

Tell us what you think …

Redfern-Waterloo Authority
Level 11,Tower 2, 1 Lawson Square,
Redfern NSW 2016
PO Box 3332, Redfern 2016
Email (general):redfernwaterloo@rwa.nsw.gov.au
Email (Draft Human Services Plan): humanservices@rwa.nsw.gov.au
Website: www.redfernwaterloo.com.au
Telephone: 9202 9100
Facsimile: 9202 9111

Reforming human services in Redfern and Waterloo

During 2004 the New South Wales Government undertook to improve the quality of human services provided in Redfern and Waterloo. The Redfern Waterloo Authority (RWA) was given responsibility for developing a Human Services Plan for the area.

Beginning in April this year extensive consultation was undertaken with local service organisations and members of the community. This included four community workshops and 16 meetings with service provider cluster groups.

Current situation

There are more than 100 government and non-government human services organisations delivering more than 190 services to the Redfern-Waterloo community. $40 million is spent annually by the NSW Government on service delivery into Redfern-Waterloo of which one quarter is for the provision of services through non-government organisations.

Some services in the area are poorly coordinated, with service delivery hindered by administrative inefficiencies, poor governance and red tape.

The Plan

This Human Services Plan forms part of a wider Redfern-Waterloo Plan. The Redfern-Waterloo Plan will set out a staged, comprehensive framework for revitalising Redfern and Waterloo through urban renewal, employment and enterprise and reforms to the delivery of human services in the area.

The Human Services Plan has been developed by the RWA using the ideas and suggestions of the community. The Plan is broken up into ten priority areas that capture the spirit and concerns of issues raised during consultations in April and May. Actions for implementation have been identified for each priority area.

Given the large number of service providers and the wide range of issues, the Human Services Plan is being developed in two phases.

Phase One covers services primarily provided to children and families, Aboriginal people and young people.

The planning for Phase Two will commence by the end of the year and involve the development of further improvements to services for the aged, homeless people, people with disabilities and migrant communities.

Priorities and actions

The Plan will have a positive impact on families and children in Redfern and Waterloo owing to the RWA’s sustained effort, innovation and a concentration on early identification and prevention services.

Children and young people will be the greatest beneficiaries of Phase One of the Human Services Plan. It will have a strong focus on education and employment, in particular on school retention rates, academic performance and transition between pre-school and school and school to work. Additionally services to children and families will be targeted for improvement through better coordination and cooperation, more streamlined administration and more rigorous governance.

The resultant impacts to the rest of the community will be felt through a greater sense of safety and well being.

Priority 1 - Improving the health and well-being of children

Key actions

• Improve access to sustained antenatal and postnatal home visiting to vulnerable families;

• Place family resource workers in childcare centres to help families with 0 to 5 year old children; and

• 100 additional childcare places for children living in low income households.

Priority 2 - Lifting local school numeracy and literacy levels to at least the State average

Key actions

• Develop transition to school program guidelines for all childcare services to improve school readiness for pre-school children;

• Improve literacy among disadvantaged children by establishing a Tutorial Centre in partnership with the Exodus Foundation; and

• Support specialised literacy programs such Reading Recovery and Early Literacy that assist students who are behind in reading skills.

Priority 3 - Lifting local school attendance and retention rates to at least the State average

Key actions

• Redfern Police and local schools will work together to ensure students are not absent from school without permission;

• Introduce family conferencing in schools to engage parents, students and teachers in preventing truancy;

• Implement student leadership programs in local schools; and

• Increase family participation in school activities.

Priority 4 - Improving support for vulnerable people

Key actions

• Improve access to counselling for families and children experiencing hardship;

• Improve support for children with disabilities by identifying problems at an early stage;

• Establish an Early Intervention Team to assist at risk families access support services; and

• Improve assistance to individuals and families in need by reducing red tape and improving cooperation between Government agencies and non-government service providers.

Priority 5 - Reducing the incidence of family violence

Key actions

• Establish a Taskforce to investigate options for developing a Family Violence Service in Redfern-Waterloo;

• Implement immediately the Blackout Violence program, anti-violence programs based in schools targeting young men and boys;

• Improve access to crisis accommodation for families affected by domestic and family violence; and

• Provide urgent after-hours assistance and accommodation to children and young people experiencing family violence.

Priority 6 - Increasing the participation and involvement of young people in the community

Key actions

• Integrate and co-locate youth services into three youth precincts;

• Ensure that youth services are open when young people need them and deliver a range of services that assist young people access training, employment and other development opportunities; and

• Improve access to general health and mental health services for young people.

Priority 7 - Increasing the numbers of young people accessing employment and training opportunities

Key actions

• Establish a Training Centre at North Eveleigh focussing initially on the construction, hospitality and transport industries;

• Provide all years 9, 10, 11 and 12 attending local schools with:

- school-to-work plans;

- access to work experience in the local area;

- assistance in obtaining clothing for attending job interviews.

• Provide locally based pre-vocational education and training courses;

• Increase part-time school based apprenticeships and traineeships linked to local employment; and

• Provide education and training assistance for young mothers disconnected from the labour force.

Priority 8 - Reducing drug and alcohol misuse

Key actions

In addition to ongoing Police operations to reduce drug availability in the Redfern Waterloo area the RWA will:

• Reinstate the Redfern-Waterloo Drug Action Taskforce to implement community based drug awareness education and prevention initiatives; and

• Develop a Drug and Alcohol Health Promotion campaign as another tool in preventing drug use and misuse in the area.

Priority 9 - Reducing offending and recidivism

Key actions

• Increase the use of Youth Justice Conferencing for victims of crime and offenders;

• Provide support to people returning to the community from adult or juvenile correctional facilities to prevent re-offending;

• Provide post release accommodation for women; and

• Implement the Redfern-Waterloo Community Safety Plan developed in partnership with the City of Sydney.

Priority 10 - Building community capacity

Key actions

• Develop a cultural training package, which includes issues relevant to Aboriginal and other cultural groups, for NSW Government and non-government services providers;

• Develop a common web portal for non-government organisations;

• Implement a communication strategy that supports community ownership and improves access to local services; and

• Develop a cultural heritage program including:

- commissioning of a history project that involves an oral history of the Redfern and Waterloo area;

- ensuring the participation of long term residents;

- incorporating the story of the area pre-settlement.

YOUTH PRECINCTS

The first step in implementing the Human Services Plan will be to establish ‘one-stop-shops’ for youth services based on three precincts by mid 2006.

The precincts will be:

1. Redfern East

2. Waterloo

3. Redfern West

The Alexandria Park School will also act as another hub for service delivery to young people and families. Programs for young people to be provided from the precincts include:

• Employment & training

• Counselling

• Cultural

• Sporting

• Health

• Mentoring

• Leadership

REMEMBER THE FEEDBACK DEADLINE IS FRIDAY 11 NOVEMBER