·         Early intervention and early years development;

·         Child care;

·         Education and schools;

·         Disability;

·         Mental illness;

·         Learning difficulties;

·         Behavioural issues;

·         Youth support;

·         Alcohol and drug issues;

·         Chronic and acute illness; and

·         Senior years

Rationale:         Service providers, professional interests, and research entities are well-established and well-resourced in these areas and provide the bulk of policy advice to governments. Because they tend to operate within a government silo mentality and professional discipline mindsets, they tend not to generate integrated whole-of-life perspectives. Our interest is in leading the development of integrated whole-of-life thinking which encompasses all of these sector areas and crosses the boundaries between them.
                       
Comment here:
 

KEY POINT 5 

Public Policy Principles

Proposal:          1. Person-centred and family-centred arrangements should become the norm in all forms of social support, service delivery and social investment – service systems and institutions should be tailored to meet the personalised needs of individuals and their families. The ‘one size fits all’ model should be assigned to the dustbin of history in practice as well as in rhetoric.

2. Integrated whole-of-life arrangements should be extended to encompass all forms of social support and service delivery – individualised pooling of funding from different programs, funding streams and jurisdictions should be introduced to enable these arrangements. 

3. Empowerment of parents, families and carers to exercise enhanced choice and self-determination should be established as a guiding ethic in public policy. 

Rationale:          The crowding out of parents, families and carers by providers, professional interests and research entities followed the emergence of provider-centred service systems. Recovery of the voices of families will require development of family-centred systems. One can’t be done without the other.

                        Comment here:
 

KEY POINT 6

Participation

Proposal:          We want to develop innovative forms of participation by parents, families and carers in making our voices heard and exercising the maximum influence possible over our own lives. Streamlined structures, consolidated support resources, good use of online technology, and clarity of purpose are needed to make participation effective.

Rationale:          The ‘committee of management’ model of participation (in which parents and carers sit on committees with primarily administrative functions) and the ‘consultative committee’ model (in which family members are solicited to act as sources of advice to service providers) have both had their day. Over the past 30 years, these models have burnt out many active parents, families and carers and left too many exhausted and embittered.

                        Comment here:
 

KEY POINT 7

Structure (1) 

Proposal:          From thirteen sector areas, we will appoint a National Council comprising 26 people, two from each area. These two will comprise one representative of a support, advocacy or self-help group in that sector area, and one parent, family member or carer as an individual drawn from that sector area. This National Council will be the key policy-making body.  

The thirteen sector areas are: 

·         Early intervention and early years development;

·         Child care;

·         Education and schools;

·         Disability;

·         Mental illness;

·         Learning difficulties;

·         Behavioural issues;

·         Youth support;

·         Alcohol and drug issues;

·         Sole and separated parents;

·         Blended and step families;

·         Chronic and acute illness; and

·         Senior years 
 

                        From the National Council, we will appoint four people to constitute a National Executive along with three appointed office-bearers, making an executive committee of seven. 

We will also appoint an Advisory Council, comprising figures of national standing and expertise in selected fields relevant to our work. 

Rationale:          This structure should ensure a National Council that is drawn fairly from all of our key sector areas, with a balanced weighting of sector area issues.  

An Advisory Council also allows for the appointment of outside experts to complement the work of the National Council.

Comment here:
 

KEY POINT 8

Structure (2) 

Proposal:          We will gather parents, families and carers by organising by federal electorate. In each of the 150 federal electorates around Australia, we will appoint a convenor and conduct local events and campaigns, and lobby local MPs.  

Rationale:          Organising by federal electorate provides a localised focus for developing the voice of parents, families and carers. it also allows for a high impact presence in local communities, and a high impact on the consciousness of MPs in their constituencies. We want to create a permanent influence on MPs which originates in their electorates, rather than ineffective one-off campaigns. 

                        The federal electorate structure will also provide a focus for participation by parents, families and carers. Without such a focus, many advocacy groups and specific campaigns have struggled to know where to start, what to do, or how to do it.

                        Comment here:
 

KEY POINT 9 

Corporate 

Proposal:          We propose an initial twelve to eighteen month period of operation from August 2007 to trial and assess the structure and functions outlined here. In this initial period, we anticipate the entity (its governance, finance, website and communications) will be hosted by an existing organisation prior to determination of an appropriate independent corporate structure. 

                        In this initial period, we propose a no-fee membership for parents, families and carers, and a fee for membership of groups and organisations. 

Rationale:          The first four months of the trial period (August to November 2007) will coincide with the lead up to this year’s federal election. We will use the approach of the federal poll (in which every other interest group in the country will be in the ears of politicians) to advance the case for a national voice for parents, families and carers.

                        Comment here: