Introduction to Mobile Children’s Services

13 July 2009
Posted in Knowledge Bank - Mobiles

Mobile Children’s Services provide flexible, responsive and innovative services to children and families experiencing social, geographic, cultural or economic isolation. Focusing on the care and education of children, they aim to ensure that children and families in isolated and disadvantaged communities in rural, urban and remote areas have access to good quality and safe children’s services.

Through their work with children, Mobile Children’s Services also support families and the parenting role.

Mobile Children’s Services operate from a base such as Alexandria, Bourke, Fairfield, Moree, Inverell, Hay, Broken Hill, Penrith, Toronto or Marrickville and outreach into the isolated communities.

There are currently 100 Mobile Children’s Service projects in NSW.

The Mobile Children’s Services Association of NSW Inc. [MCSA] is the peak advocacy and resourcing body for Mobile Children’s Services in NSW. The Association’s Mobiles Resourcing Project [MRP] resources services in NSW by providing information, advice, referral, mentoring, advocacy, networking and training. The Project is funded by the NSW Department of Community Services through the Children’s Services Directorate.

There are several types of Mobile Children’s Service. They work in hundreds of communities with thousands of families and children, in a range of ways, breaking down the barriers of isolation by being responsive to the particular circumstances and needs of the children and families in those communities.

Mobile Children’s Services are a very practical and cost effective means of providing access to services and providing an equitable amount of the resources of society to those in isolated circumstances.

Whilst being cost-effective, Mobile Children’s Services are not cheap: Access, safety and quality do cost.

Most Mobile Children’s Services in NSW are involved in the direct care and education of children. Services aim to support the achievement of a child’s full potential. Recent research on the development of children’s brains and the deleterious effects of under-stimulation, neglect or abuse, underline the crucial role that structured early childhood activities provided by competent services can play in the development of children as well as in supporting parents.

A significant number of children in NSW would not have the opportunity to participate in early childhood activities without the access provided by Mobile Children’s Services.

As well as facilitating the normal developmental processes of children, Mobile Children’s Services have a long history in the ‘intervention support’ of children with additional needs as well as ‘early intervention and time-out support’ of children in ‘at risk’ circumstances or where parents simply need respite.

The day to day operation of many of the services involves the participation of parents. This is particularly so in the play session Mobiles where parents stay at the session and participate in the program. This is a welcome socialising opportunity for parents and also creates the opportunity to learn about and discuss community and parenting issues. The services are important generators/facilitators of social capital in isolated and disadvantaged communities.

Most Mobile Children’s Services in NSW are ‘community managed’ and were set up through a community development process. Again, community managed services are an important generator of social capital and provide a sound base for the development and maintenance of strong and resilient communities.

The ‘mobility’ of these services is about access.

Mobile Children’s Services are an effective strategy where it is not possible or effective for services users to travel to a service, where centre based services are not yet available or would never be available on cost-benefit grounds or where there is a need for flexibility and a quick response.

Within an ‘outreach/mobility’ mindset, the goals of flexibility and responsiveness produce some very innovative services in the varied communities of NSW. From the Community Access Mobile Minder Services [CAMMS] serving the needs of CALD parents and children in inner-west Sydney to ‘play session’ Mobiles serving the needs of families on properties west of Bourke, the themes are ‘children’, ‘families’, ‘child development’, ‘parenting’, ‘isolation’ and ‘access’.

There are several types of Mobile Children’s Services.

The majority of Mobile Children’s Services are funded by the NSW Government through DOCS’s Children’s Services Program. ‘Families First’ also contributes funds to some of the play session services. The Federal Government funds 18 of the services, with 6 of these services being joint State/Federal funded.

Mobile Children’s Services are an essential part of the social fabric and community service and educational infrastructure in many areas of NSW. The hands-on/can do nature of the services and the commitment of the dedicated staff and committees, make them a trusted and valuable part of their many communities.

This embeddedness in their communities makes them an ideal vehicle to provide a range of important services to children and families. They act as a non-stigmatised entry point to the community service system. Their flexibility allows them to respond to the changing needs of their communities as well as allows them to support the initiatives of other community, health or educational agencies.

For further information, please contact MCSA.