96 year old Early Parenting organisation Tweddle has joined a whole-of-family focused consortium supporting some of Victoria’s most vulnerable families in the regions of Brimbank Melton and North East Melbourne.
The recently expanded Victorian Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Cradle to Kinder program in Brimbank Melton and North East Melbourne (Whittlesea, Nillumbik, Banyule, Darebin) is lead by Melbourne City Mission and also includes Kildonan Uniting Care, IPC Health Care, and Early Childhood Management Services [ECMS]). Referrals for families will commence in June 2017.
Cradle to Kinder is an established program funded by DHHS to provide long term support to highly vulnerable young parents and their families who may be involved with Child Protection services.
Tweddle’s Key Worker is an Early Childhood Practitioner specialising in attachment, infant mental health, parenting skills development and knowledge around the impacts of intergenerational trauma and the first 1000 days.
Cradle to Kinder is a service response in the form of pre-birth support, intensive and longer term interventions and casework support until the child reaches five years of age. The service is aimed to support young pregnant mothers (under 25 years) where a report to Child Protection has been received for their unborn child or where there are a number of vulnerabilities and significant concerns about the wellbeing of the unborn child. There is priority access to young mothers who are or have been, in out-of-home care, Aboriginal women and women with a learning difficulty.
“Tweddle is delighted to be bringing decades of specialist early parenting knowledge, skills and experience to Cradle 2 Kinder” said Ms Kirsty Evans, Director of Clinical Services/Nursing “We look forward to working in partnership to build the capacity of young parents to provide sustainable, safe and nurturing care for their children and families”
