Leading child protection organisation Act for Kids, in partnership with the Queensland Government, launched an Australian first pilot program in Townsville to support vulnerable families in the community.
Minister for Child Safety, Youth and Women Di Farmer announced the launch of the new evidence-based program, Functional Family Therapy (FFT).
FFT aims to keep families safe and together by addressing their immediate and real time needs. This includes working through daily family issues, increasing positive and supportive communication, and encouraging supervision and effective discipline by parents with children aged 0 to 18 years.
Act for Kids CEO Dr Neil Carrington said the organisation is progressing with the Australian first initiative to boost the capacity of their Intensive Family Support Service.
“Our program supports at risk children by assisting families, who are struggling with problems such as drug use and abuse, with systemic and sustainable change,” Dr Carrington said.
Ms Farmer said she is proud to support the new initiative to help hundreds of local families stay together.
“The Palaszczuk Government is proud to be funding this trial through our $2.8 million package supporting Act for Kids to provide intensive family support in the region.”
“Functional Family Therapy is a fantastic support service for families in the local community and I look forward to seeing it implemented in Townsvillle,” she said.
Over the last few decades, Functional Family Therapy has been implemented in over 300 communities helping over 40,000 families in the United States and in Europe annually.
The model is successful in treating problems affecting families who are unable to cope, in a wide range of multi-ethnic, multicultural, and geographic contexts.