Newpin: Supporting restoration of children to their birth parents

Introduction

The Aboriginal Cultural Contact Program has been developed and implemented by Mr Rick Welsh at The Shed  in Mount Druitt, NSW to engage Aboriginal Fathers and their famlies with their children. The program introduces and teaches the children about their Aboriginal culture and heritage. This project is a collaboration between The Shed and Newpin Faciliated Fathers Project implemented the program in a Newpin venue, enabling families to engage with their children in a positive and supportive environment.

Through this program fathers are also able to connect with services relevant to their needs. For instance, services such as: substance abuse, housing, legal support and others. This has led to many positive outcomes where dads have positively engaged with their children, the children have learned about their own culture, and the dads themselves have received the assistance from services necessary to improve not only their own lives, but the lives of their children and families.

About Newpin

Newpin specialises in engaging parents whose children are in the NSW foster care system, where a restoration plan is already in place or may become viable. Parents, children and staff work together towards restoration under the Newpin core values of Support, Equality, Empathy, Respect and Self-determination.

Many parents, known as members, that attend Newpin have experienced significant abuse and trauma in their childhoods. The aim of the program is to provide parents with the opportunity to address their own emotional issues, to improve bonding with their children and to develop positive parenting skills.

Parents attend Newpin for up to nine months prior to restoration and then for a further nine months post restoration. The post restoration period in Newpin is critical to facilitating the smooth transition of children from care. The commitment from families includes regular attendance at the Newpin centre and participation in therapeutic and educational parenting groups. In addition, parents are assisted as they integrate the knowledge and skills developed at Newpin into their home environment.