Advance your skills in community engagement
The design and delivery of services for children and families can be enhanced by greater levels of community engagement.
In recent decades, there have been major changes in the sorts of conditions under which families are raising young children. Supporting the service system to work effectively with all children and families, particularly those who generally make little use of services, is a challenge. The end result is that our traditional service system is stretched to breaking point trying to offer all families the support they need.
Community engagement could offer a way for services to be more responsive their community’s needs.
Report
Community engagement: A key strategy for improving outcomes for Australian families.
This paper unpacks the evidence for the efficacy of a community engagement process that sees service providers seek out community values, concerns and aspirations, and incorporate them into their decision-making processes. The ongoing partnership that service providers create out of this process can ensure that community priorities and values continue to shape each community’s services and service system.