Children’s Contact Service
This year, our Children’s Contact Service assisted 1985 clients. The Children’s Contact Service provides
supervised contact for children who need a safe, controlled setting in which to spend time with a parent or
other significant family member. Separated parents in high conflict situations can also use the service as a safe
place to coordinate the pick-up and drop-off of their children without having to speak to the other parent or
meet face-to-face.
Case Study: Caringbah
(As told by the Children’s Contact Service Worker)
Working together in a case management model has seen the Caringbah team support parent
and child relationships with great outcomes.
What happened?
A mother and father began their involvement with Interrelate by way of both parents working
through Family Dispute Resolution at the Family Relationship Centre to organise a cooperative
parenting plan which included using the Children’s Contact Service (CCS). Dad worked on a post
separation parenting program called Parents not Partners and made enormous milestones in how
he felt about ensuring both parents were actively involved in his child’s life. Mum was supported
through ongoing counselling with some focus on attachment work. The CCS has supported the
mother in ensuring she felt she could leave her young child in a safe, secure consistent environment
where the father and child could build a positive relationship and develop rapport with each other.
The CCS service has worked to support the father in developing his parenting skills by modelling
interactions with his child and encouraging the father to learn through observation and then by
practicing independently from staff. The father has developed skills such as, interactive play by
following the lead of his child, non-verbal communication, positive attention, nappy changing,
soothing and settling and listening to signs and indications in order to meet his young child’s needs.
The CCS workers have focused on providing the father with constructive feedback before and after
contacts, this debriefing is important in commending the father for his efforts and highlighting
suggestions for improvement. The CCS has facilitated a relationship which has allowed this young
child to have a healthy positive attachment to their father.
Why do you think there was a significant change?
The change was assisted due to a case management model that involved many Interrelate services.
The parents were supported in a variety of ways through Family Dispute Resolution, counselling,
group work, and the CCS enabling them to focus on their child and the importance of a cooperative
parenting relationship for the future.
78