Berry Street Web Docs Annual Report 2006 | Page 2

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.