TrustTimelyTeach

Together

Investingin the first

1,000 days

TransformingTogether

Tweddle Child and Family

Health Service is transforming

Our programsare underpinned

by four key themes:

Trust

Timely

Teach

Together

Very early experiences

matter

Babies’ and toddlers’wellbeing is criticalto brain

development and life long

outcomes

02

The Tweddle Practice Framework underpins all our services.

Tweddle Practice InfluencesBabies feel safe andsecure

when they receive positive

interactiverelationships*

Attachment theory1

03

Trust

When we work with families we consider the following:

Tweddle works with families toenable babies and toddlers toachieve the best start in life

Investing in the very early years builds the foundations trigging physiological adaptations or disruptions that influence lifelongoutcomes in health, learning and behavior.3

From birth to age 18 months,connections in the brain arecreated at a rate of onemillion per second!

The earliest experiences shape a baby’s brain development and haslifelong impacts.

Babies brains are highlyplastic; they constantlyadapt and change as theylearn to respond to theworld and the peoplearound them.2b

The first1000 daysprovide a

uniquewindow of

opportunity2

04

Timely

Secure attachment relationships emerge over time and develop through positive interactions between the infant and his or her primary caregiver(s).5

Tweddle programs are underpinned by a sound evidence base

Tweddle programs aim to foster secure attachment so the baby/toddler can use the caregiver as a secure base to explore from andreturn to; as well asproviding a source ofcomfort when needed.

The best learninghappens

in nurturingrelationships4

05

Trust

Tweddle’s early intervention in the very early years is astrategy that supports optimal life outcomes for individuals,families and communities.

Babies andtoddlers who experience

neglect may not reach their full

potential6,7

06

Timely

Tweddle programs work with families across the spectrum of vulnerability

More than two thirds of the clients in Tweddle’s residential program have scored in the clinically significant range for depression or anxiety on validated screening tools.

Complex trauma affects the developing brain and may interfere with a child’s capacity to integrate sensory, emotional and cognitive information.

This may lead to over-reactive responses to subsequent stressand long-term effects on

thinking, feeling and learning.

Changes to the Child Youth and Families Act, effective from March 2016, will require services to support earlier case planning.

Programdesign

explicitlyconsidersdiversity;offering a range ofserviceoptions

aimed atfacilitating

familypreservation

07

Teach

Tweddle programs work with families across the spectrum of vulnerability

A changing legislativeenvironment

Tweddle programs are tailoredto the needs of families who are experiencing events that may lead to the placement of their child/ren.

Our practice model works to empower and strengthen the capacity of parents and care givers through focused skill based interventions.

The focus of our Family Preservation Services is on:

helping families with babiesand toddlers to stay together

assisting families toindependently meet theirown needs

navigating access to servicesto meet identified needs

avoiding unnecessaryout-of-home placements

Changes to the Child Youth and Families Act, effective from March 2016, will require services to support earlier case planning.

Early reunification

of babies and toddlers

with their families provides the most positive

outcomes8

08

Teach

A changing legislative environmentTweddle is experienced in working with families seeking to reunify with their babies and toddlers.

We work with the aim to reunitefamilies as soon as possible.

Our approach is to help families build trusting and secure relationships.

Tweddle’s intensive strength based support programs include clinical observation of the relationship between the parent and baby.

Our needs assessment is the basis of our parenting capacity building interventions and identifies additional support services to wrap around the family to help achieve reunification.

Our focus on the baby’s mental health needs is at the heart of our programs.

In working with families we recognise diversity, are culturally informed, embrace and engage the extended family.

Our planned redevelopment can

accommodate a wide range of services

to meet the needs of babies, toddlers and families.

Babies,toddlers and their families need a

targeted multi agency

support hub9

09

Together

FamilyViolenceServices

MentalHealthServices

Alcohol and

Other Drug

Support Services

Tweddle understands the complexity of needs that are facing familiesWe work with the service system to help families navigate through the maze in order to find the most relevant resources.

The data on police attendance at family incidents in the north west metropolitan region is the highest in the state.10

From intake and assessment through all our programareas, Tweddle linksfamilies with universaland specialist services.

Babies and toddlers who may have experienced neglect or abuse, including family violence, need adults who sensitively read their cues and respond accordingly in understanding their needs and provide an experience of relationship that meets those needs.14

We focuson building relationships because we

know that relationships

change brains12

10

Tweddle programs focus onbuilding relationships

Tweddle programs help parents and caregivers understand their babiescues and sensitively respondto their needs.

Specialist clinicians work with parents and caregivers tobuild foundations for trust,empathy, positive relationships, and to understand verbal and non-verbal communications.13

Tweddle is the voice of babies/toddlers and work with families facing preservation/reunification challenges to increase positive outcomes in the timelines of the new Child Youth and Families Act.

Service Model Focus Family Preservation

Service Model Focus Family Reunification

Our programs are

tailored to flexibly

meet the diverse

needs of our clients

We are able to lock

together a range of

service options from

intensive therapeutic

residential ‘home like’

environments to

supportive Residential

programs, Day Stay

and In Home choices

Our service models

incorporate strategies

to enhance relationships,

increase parenting

confidence, improve

health and baby/toddler

outcomes. We also

support families to

connect to networks in

their local communities 11

Antenatal Program

Maternal and

Child Health

Specialist Perinatal

Mental Health

Family Services

IntensiveHome

Visiting

Tweddle IntensiveResidential Program

In Family Unit

Child ProtectionInvolvement

TherapeuticPlay Based

Group Program

Therapeutic Contact

Visits

Mental Health

HomeVisiting

Drug and Alcohol TherapeuticGroup Work

Child Protection Residential Unit Family Support

Maternaland

ChildHealth

Intervening early when there are lower levels of vulnerability is likely to prevent escalation and poorer life outcomes and makes sound economic sense.

Parents and carers are

provided withthe supports

and resourcesto reduce

vulnerability and strengthen their parenting

capacity to respond andinteract with their child/ren

to enhance the parent/childrelationship

12

2 DayDay Stay

FamilySupport

Family Support OutpatientPsychology

Maternal Child Health

Residential Program

Therapeutic Group Maternal

ChildHealth

Family Support

Disability Services

Home VisitingFamily Support

Agency

Service Model Focus Family Support

Service Model Focus Early Intervention

3070-2

Years

In Home Service 2-3Years

574620-2

Years

Residential Program 2-3Years

52850-2

Years

Day Stay Program 2-3Years

4150-2

Years

2-3YearsPASDS

Parenting Assessment

Skill Development

Service

13

Stat

istic

s 201

4-20

15 727727Childbirth Education

Participants

4242Childbirth EducationSessions

Tweddle’s work is focused in the first 1000 days of life and ‘the best interest of the child’ is at the centre of our work.

Twed

dle

In Th

e Fu

ture

14

Working together with government and community, Tweddle is investingin a future resilient society.

1. It is the experiences in infancy and early childhood that creates the foundational roots of attachment. The food

and the sensations of sight, sound, smells, touch and taste provide the infant with the things they need for survival

and in order to grow to their potential. A healthy nurturing environment provided by the primary caregiver allows the

infant’s brain to develop in positive ways and due to this dependant relationship the infant is able to form a new style

of attachment, one based on emotional relationships (Perry, 2001c).

(p.9 http://www.childrenyoungpeopleandfamilies.org.au/info/social_justice/submissions/research_papers_and_

briefs/?a=62366)

2. http://www.1001criticaldays.co.uk/UserFiles/files/1001_days_jan28_15_final.pdf

2b. Maurer B, Director of the visual develop and laboratory at the Mc Master University in Hamilton, Orlando

(podcast available)

3. http://developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/inbrief-the-foundations-of-lifelong-health

4. http://www.scseec.edu.au/site/DefaultSite/filesystem/documents/Reports%20and%20publications/Publications/

Early%20childhood%20education/Engaging%20Families%20in%20the%20ECD%20Story-Neuroscience%20

and%20ECD.pdf

5. http://www.himh.org.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/2767/2-Attachment.pdf

6. http://www.zerotothree.org/public-policy/federal-policy/childwelfareweb.pdf

7. https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/publications/effects-child-abuse-and-neglect-children-and-adolescents (National Scientific

Council on the Developing Child [NSCDC], 2007; Perry, 2001; Streeck-Fischer & van der Kolk, 2000).

8. https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/family_reunification.pdf

9. http://www.safenetwork.org.uk/training_and_awareness/Pages/benefits-of-multi-agency-working.aspx http://

www.casey.org/media/prioritizing-early-childhood.pdf p.9

10. https://www.police.vic.gov.au/content.asp?a=internetBridgingPage&Media_ID=72311

11. http://www.wavetrust.org/our-work/the-evidence/6-messages-about-violence/it-can-be-prevented

12. http://www.rch.org.au/uploadedFiles/Main/Content/ccch/TM_ISEIConf07_Nature_role_rships.pdf

13. Keys to CareGiving, Study Guide 2003

14. Australian Childhood Foundation, 2010, Discussion Paper 12, Trauma in Early Years

Refe

renc

es

15

53 Adelaide Street Footscray Victoria 3011 Australia Tel + 61 3 9689 1577

Fax + 61 3 9689 1922Web www.tweddle.org.au