In 2024, we completed a project with the Centre for Community Child Health (CCCH) to inform how we could best influence systems to support children and families as part of our prevention and early intervention strategy.

This project included an evidence review and co-design process and identified several opportunities to influence positive systems change based on research evidence and community consultation.

There is an increased recognition of the need for preventative, place-based approaches to addressing increasingly complex social challenges in Australia. Investing in prevention can lead to better outcomes for families and communities, reduce long-term health and social costs, and build stronger communities. The review strongly supports a preventative focus on strengthening relationships, both as a protective factor and a foundation for long-term wellbeing.

Reports

The project has produced three reports which are available below.

In the evidence review, CCCH found that relationships are fundamental to wellbeing across the lifespan. Secure and responsive relationships provide the foundation for emotional regulation, social skills, resilience, and long-term mental and physical health. The quality of these relationships shapes expectations of social interactions, influences social and emotional development, and provides a buffer against stress and adversity. For children to grow and develop optimally, their core needs must be met. According to the review, these needs are largely relational for both parents and children, particularly in the early years. The report highlights that access to supportive relationships – whether within families, peer networks, or communities – is a core condition for wellbeing, reinforcing the role of relationships in primary prevention.

The options paper provides an overview of findings from 2 stakeholder workshops. The first workshop shared information from the evidence review and gathered insights from local stakeholders. The second workshop refined and prioritised these strategies into actionable options.

A third report was created for workshop participants and provides an overview of the project, the evidence review and options paper reports.

Strengthening relationships in Ballarat

In response to the evidence review and the existing strengths of our early matters service in Ballarat we have commenced a new preventative and place-based approach to improve mental health and wellbeing. This pilot will build the evidence-base for preventative approaches to mental health and wellbeing through strengthening social connections.

Between 2017 and 2024, we worked with the Yarra Communities That Care® initiative to deliver evidence-based messaging on social and emotional literacy to families in the City of Yarra. We coordinated a network of Tuning in to Teens® and Tuning in to Kids® parenting program facilitators, from multiple partner agencies, to deliver programs in Yarra. This collaborative, place-based project has led to the formation of a strong, integrated service network to better support local young people and families. We evaluated the Yarra Communities That Care® Facilitator Network model to understand the principles and themes that led to its success.

Our partnership with Yarra Communities that Care® (CTC) involved the collaborative delivery of evidence-based social and emotional literacy messaging to families in the City of Yarra. We have led the ‘strengthening family relationship’ priority area for Yarra CTC since 2017 by providing a dedicated role to coordinate a collaborative network of Tuning in to Teens™ facilitators involving multiple partner agencies.

There is an increased focus on collaborative place-based approaches at the federal, state and local levels as a promising strategy for addressing complex social problems. Previous evaluations and literature identify successful collaboration and a strong support entity or ‘backbone’ as key enabling factors that make place-based approaches successful. The collaborative place-based approach to strengthening family relationships in Yarra provides a local example of this.

Our evaluation demonstrates how place-based collaboration can build the conditions for change. Practitioners involved in the partnership developed stronger social capital, shared knowledge and ideas, and deepened their sense of professional community. These gains improved their confidence, buy-in and consistency in practice. Our experience in Yarra reinforced that change is most sustainable when collaboration is intentional, locally led, and supported by structures that centre trust and shared purpose.

The Yarra CTC Facilitator Network serves as a valuable template for implementing best practices for place-based coalitions due to its focus on collaboration and fostering a sense of community. The Network exemplified the transformative power of establishing a closely connected coalition of facilitators and stakeholders.

This report is a first step in defining, evaluating and developing our approach to place-based prevention and early intervention initiatives to strengthen family relationships and improve wellbeing.

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