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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-06-15 Daily Xml
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Early Intervention Funding

Ms SAVVAS (Newland) (14:51): My question is to the Minister for Human Services. Can the minister update the house on the Malinauskas government's investment into early intervention to help children and families?

The Hon. N.F. COOK (Hurtle Vale—Minister for Human Services) (14:52): As a matter of fact, I can. I thank the member for the question and for her commitment to a much better future for South Australia's children. Early intervention services are essential in our collective efforts to strengthen families and keep children and young people out of the statutory child protection system. This work requires commitment and effort across government amongst many portfolios and with our very good partners in the community.

Early intervention refers to a range of activities, programs and services aimed at assisting families who display warning signs that they need support. The primary goal of early intervention is to provide families with the necessary resources and skills to disrupt the progression of emerging problems and to foster positive child development.

Early intervention services target various issues that can potentially pose challenges to families. These may include parenting stress, caring for children with significant disability, social isolation, poverty and parenting while managing disability and mental ill health or substance misuse. If left unsupported, these issues can become increasingly overwhelming and difficult for families to manage. In turn, this can impact their ability to parent effectively.

It is important to recognise that each family possesses a unique combination of risk and protective factors, along with existing strengths that can help them cope with the challenges they face. The Malinauskas government is proud to be using best practice and evidence-based approaches to early intervention.

As part of this commitment, the 2023-24 budget will fund a program, called Strong Start, in the north. The $6 million Strong Start program builds on the government's commitment to get it right for every child from the start, in addition to meeting recommendations from recent reviews and Closing the Gap priorities through supporting at-risk parents in the north to break intergenerational cycles of harm. The new service will provide intensive family support services at the earliest opportunity, from pregnancy and through the first 1,000 days of a child's life.

As I previously noted, early intervention work takes effort from across government, and a key part of this program will be a strong partnership with birthing hospitals. This innovative model will use a linked data approach to support families experiencing complex disadvantage and cost-of-living challenges through a rapid response and multidisciplinary service.

This kind of data-led approach is only possible because of our earlier investments in long-term linked datasets that have tracked the development of South Australian children since the 1990s. The new system will include system navigators and prioritise connections to critical services that can help parents and children, including NDIS access, child care, early learning, financial support, mental health and drug and alcohol services, domestic violence services, and housing support.

The Department of Human Services does play a crucial role in supporting children, young people and families through its Child and Family Support System and the Early Intervention Research Directorate. These initiatives collaborate with other government agencies, such as the Office for Data Analytics, to evaluate progress and develop evidence-based approaches.

Recently, I was proud to also announce $35.7 million over four years in additional funding to further enhance this critical work. With an annual investment now reaching almost $70 million, the new funding will improve clinical and cultural governance in Safer Family Services and provide additional support to at least 250 families, benefiting around 625 children.

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