Member organisations of AAPCH provide a broad range of parenting services to meet the diverse needs of families. Most services focus on the early years, acknowledging the importance of this period on the child’s long-term physical, social and emotional health and wellbeing. Services are family centred and include:
- Primary level care can be provided through home and centre-based services, telephone help-lines and online services for advice and support in relation to parenting issues
- Secondary level care provides services for families experiencing more complex parenting difficulties requiring additional intervention. Services can be provided through home and centre-based consultations with members of multidisciplinary teams
- Tertiary levels of care which provide more intensive short-term intervention for complex parenting difficulties often associated with psychosocial issues. Examples include residential programs provided through early parenting centres utilising strengths-based partnership approach.
- Specialist and targeted services for:
- the enhancement of parenting capacity of vulnerable families including those with identified child protection concerns
- families experiencing perinatal mental health difficulties including individual therapy and group interventions
- fathers
- indigenous families
- adolescent parents
- isolated and culturally and linguistically diverse families
- parents within the criminal justice system
- Parent Education Services including groups and resources such as publications and DVDs
- Professional Education Services. These include seminars, conferences and working in partnership with tertiary education facilities to develop and deliver specialist qualifications across a number of disciplines.
- Research to build upon the body of knowledge relating to the early parenting period and the provision of evidence-based services.
Together member agencies provide support to an estimated 300,000 + Australian & New Zealand families a year.
Organisations within the AAPCH are as listed:
Ellen Barron Family Centre (QLD)
Karitane (NSW)
Ngala Family Resource Centre (WA)
O’Connell Family Centre (VIC)
Royal New Zealand Plunket Society Inc (N.Z)
The Queen Elizabeth Centre (VIC)
Torrens House Hospital (SA)
Tresillian Family Care Centres (NSW)
Tweddle Child & Family Health Service (VIC)
Queen Elizabeth II Family Centre (ACT)