berry street victoria annual report 2006 page 3
the year’s
Although it is customary for our Annual Report to present key
achievements, the real highlight is the critical work that our staff
do every day to help children and young people recover from the
devastating impact of family violence, child abuse and neglect. The
value of this work, and the challenges, cannot be underestimated.
Key achievements are summarised
under our 5 Strategic Goals
Services – BSV delivers the highest quality services
Quality Improvement Initiatives
We commenced the accreditation process for the Australian
Business Excellence Framework with a self-assessment
process in which all Board members and 313 staff participated
with 626 surveys completed. This information is the basis for our
organisational Improvement Plan.
Innovation
Our determination to develop new options for our clients was
evidenced by a number of new initiatives. These included:
The development of a Living Independently Manual for young
people leaving care;
The expansion of our group work program, First Steps, which
helps vulnerable young people learn how to care for young children;
A mentoring program for young people in Gippsland;
The expansion of our family violence work with women and
children in the northern suburbs;
The growth in our community programs in Seymour;
The strengthening of our links with the Aboriginal community and
the innovative work of our Aboriginal team in Take Two; and
A partnership with Windana in the Southern region where we
support the children of parents with substance use issues.
People – BSV has the best staff and carers
Exceptional People
Board members, Janine Kirk, AM and Bill Noonan, OAM, were
recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for their
exceptional service to the community.
Sandra Conrow, a residential worker in Gippsland, received
the Lifelong Learner Award from the Community Services and
Health Industry Training Board.
Pat Clinton, Manager of our Accommodation Services in the
South, was recognised for her outstanding work at the annual
Department of Human Services Robin Clark Memorial Awards.
Strengthening our Learning Culture
We developed our own 41/2 day supervision training for all staff
in supervisory roles to ensure that our staff are properly supported
to provide high quality services.
We also developed a six day orientation package for residential
care staff “You Can Make a Difference” – a first for Australia.
Supporting our Staff and their Families
We launched our Employee Assistance Program in
National Families Week in May.
Resources – BSV has the resources to sustain
and enhance our work
Sale of East Melbourne Site
With the growth of our services across Victoria, we had long
outgrown our administrative base in Berry Street, East Melbourne.
Although a difficult decision, the Board resolved to sell the East
Melbourne site. The property was sold in December 2005 and
we expect to move in November 2006.
Good Financial Management
We achieved an excellent financial result for the year, which
included significant savings in our WorkCover premium.
Stronger Administrative Support
With our increased range and spread of services, we needed to
strengthen our administrative infrastructure. The creation of new
senior roles and administrative teams across the organisation
has reinforced the valuable role played by our support staff.
highlights
Community – BSV enhances connectedness
to community
Community Relations Review
Recognising the need for a more strategic approach to fundraising,
partnerships and promotion, external consultants helped us
review our Community Relations area and develop a plan.
Stronger Partnerships
We strengthened relationships with a number of our corporate
partners. In particular, ANZ significantly increased its investment
in financial inclusion programs and the RACV generously supported
our Road-2-Safety program for young people who do not have
parental support to help them learn to drive.
Knowledge – BSV uses its knowledge for
improvement and innovation
ENQIRY Unit (Excellence kNowledge, Quality, Innovation,
Research advocacY)
Our newly established ENQIRY Unit finished its first year and
strengthened our capacity for research, capturing our considerable
practice wisdom and encouraging reflective practice.
Our Youth Empowerment Project saw a young person, who
has herself been in care, work with our young people on how
we can be more responsive to their needs.
We became a Registered Training Organisation.
Sharing our Knoweldge
Annette Jackson, our Research Manager with our Take Two
program, was awarded a Creswick Fellowship to travel to the
United States for three months to share our learnings from
Take Two and also bring back knowledge about how to better
help children and young people recover from the trauma of
child abuse and neglect. Annette was subsequently made a
Fellow of the ChildTrauma Academy in the United States of
America, the only person in Australia to be offered this honour.
Following a request from the Premier’s Department, Raeleen
McKenzie from Take Two was seconded for three months to
help develop a policy response to disengaged young people
in Victoria as part of “A Fairer Victoria”. It has been rewarding
for Raeleen and BSV to see the tangible outcomes of this
Project, with the Government’s recent announcement of
funding for Youth Transition workers.