Skip to Content
  • About
  • Contact us
  • Subscribe to our eNews
  • user

    Register new user
  • search
Parenting Research Center raising children well
menu
  • Services
    Embedding evidence-based practice

    Our PracticeWorks method is a game changer for families

    Knowledge synthesis

    Locating, evaluating and synthesising existing knowledge

    Knowledge translation and exchange

    Making evidence meaningful

    Practice design

    Combining research evidence with real-world considerations

    Research and analysis

    Building the evidence base around parenting support

    Implementation

    Delivering evidence-informed programs in sustainable ways

    Evaluation

    Assessing what worked and where to improve quality and effectiveness

    Telepractice

    Resources for practitioners offering parenting support via telepractice

  • Programs
  • How we support change
  • Publications
    Journal publications

    Published research in peer reviewed journals

    Reports

    Submissions and commissioned reports

    Reviews and research

    Evidence summaries, reviews and commissioned research

  • News & Events
  • I am...
    A decision maker
    A practitioner
    A researcher
    A parent
  • Home
  • How we support change
  • Supporting vulnerable…
Related content
  • Designing new ways of working to help families
  • Recognising parenting programs that really work
  • Implementation
  • Evaluation
  • Inquiry submission: supporting new parents and babies
Find out how we can help you
Contact us

Supporting vulnerable families in the NT and SA




The challenge

To improve the health and safety of children living in the Northern Territory and South Australia, and support their families to be happy, healthy, safe, strong and out of the child protection system.

Who we worked with

The Australian Government Department of Social Services funded us to develop the Intensive Family Support Service (IFSS) program. We delivered and are evaluating this program with the following key agency partners:

  • Anyinginyi Health Aboriginal Corporation
  • CatholicCare NT
  • Central Australian Aboriginal Congress Inc.
  • Lutheran Community Care
  • NPY Women’s Council
  • Save the Children Australia
  • Sunrise Health Service Aboriginal Corporation

What we did

We designed the evidence-informed Intensive Family Support Service (IFSS) program for vulnerable Indigenous and non-Indigenous families with children aged 12 and under. We also designed a structure for how services under the program could be delivered.

The program was developed as part of a package of measures developed in response to the 2010 Report of the Board Inquiry into the NT child protection system.

This program helps families with basic child care, supervision and home safety, preventing and treating illnesses and parental healthcare skills. It also assists with determining which learning environments children need at different ages, and developing positive and effective parent-child interactions.

Local, non-government providers deliver the program. The service is free and voluntary for NT families referred by their local child protection agency. In SA it is available in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunyatjatjara (APY) Lands and to families based in Amata, Pukatja and Indulkana.

The service is based on a simple practice model that involves: engaging the family; assessment; selecting priority areas of focus; developing and implementing a family support plan; and closure. Drawing from social learning, behavioural, developmental and other theories, it includes up to a year’s one-on-one support for each family.

The Yarning Mat

One key resource, central to the way the service engages families, is the Yarning Mat. The mat is based on an extensive understanding of Aboriginal kinship systems and family life. It enables Aboriginal families to talk about their lives and concerns for children in a safe, non-shaming, and culturally sensitive way.

It was developed by Faye Parriman, a Yamatji woman from the Nhanda clan in the wild flower country of the Western Desert area, who previously worked as a Parenting Research Centre implementation specialist and practice coach. Faye is also a Noongar woman from the Balladong clan in South Western Australia.

The results

During this project, we produced an evidence-informed practice framework for use by IFSS teams, trained more than 70 agency-based staff in the practice framework across the Northern Territory, provided direct, on-site practice support to all trained staff and agencies,  and chaired and participated in regular implementation support meetings within IFSS agencies.

We produced support resources for IFSS teams including a dedicated website with a moderated forum, a program manual, an IFSS content guide, assessment support tools, program planning documents, practice demonstration videos, and ‘Yarning Mat’ resource and support material.

We also produced parent support materials, including an illustrated book of all intervention strategies, demonstration videos, and links to evidence-based information sheets.

Learn more

  • Visit the Intensive Family Support Service (IFSS) program website
  • Contact us
Follow us on
Subscribe to our eNews
  • Contact us

The Parenting Research Centre acknowledges and respects the diverse Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people of this country and the Elders of the past, present and future.

  • About Us
    • Our journey
    • About Parenting Research Centre
    • Leadership
    • Careers
    • Terms and conditions
    • Privacy policy
  • Services
    • Knowledge synthesis
    • Knowledge translation and exchange
    • Practice design
    • Implementation
    • Evaluation
    • Research and analysis
  • Publications
    • Journal publications
    • Reports
    • Reviews and research
  • How we support change
    • Filling the knowledge gap on how parents are coping
    • Building support structures for child mental health
    • Recognising parenting programs that really work
  • Programs
    • Partnering with Parents: Building quality relationships that benefit children
    • raisingchildren.net.au
    • MyTime
  • News & Events
    • End of year message
    • Children’s sleep a problem for Victorian parents
    • Telepractice a viable option for families

© 2014-21 Parenting Research Centre

Parenting Research Center raising children well
  • WAI-AA WCAG 1.0
  • Quality ISO 9001
Back to top