Berry Street and Yooralla have merged! These are two of Australia’s longest-serving and most respected social service providers. 

So many people living with disability are also experiencing the effects of trauma. So the union is historic and necessary when you consider just two of the many statistics that ring alarm bells. 

• At least 50% of young people coming into out-of-home care have a visible or unseen disability

• Women with a disability are more likely to be impacted by family violence, typically experience more severe forms of violence and face greater barriers to accessing support.

Host Richelle Hunt is talking to the newly named CEO of Berry Street Yooralla, Terry Symonds, and Deputy CEO Jenny McNaughton, who we spoke to in episode one.

This really is a full circle episode because it demonstrates Berry’s Street’s hard work, innovation and commitment to openly discussing the needs of children and families facing harm and family violence, but also taking steps to make change, and being willing to make significant change. 

It’s an obvious union when you consider that at least 50% of young people coming into out-of-home care have a visible or unseen disability. Women with a disability are more likely to be impacted by family violence, experience more severe forms of violence and face greater barriers to accessing support to better meet a range of intersecting needs. 

 

KEY STATISTICS

• At least 50% of young people coming into out-of-home care have a visible or unseen disability

• Children in out of home care with a disability are amongst the most vulnerable populations in Australia. As at 30 June 2023 45,300 children were in out-of-home care in Australia. Disability status was known for 72% (32,500) of children in care, of whom 21% (9,700) had a disability. Many more have undiagnosed disability. 

• 26% of adults with a disability are victims of intimate partner violence.

• Women with a disability are more likely to be impacted by family violence, typically experience more severe forms of violence and face greater barriers to accessing support.

 

Stories from Berry Street is produced for Berry Street by:

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Thousands of children and young people across Australia can’t live safely at home. They need to be removed and placed into out-of-home care. The best models are typically kinship care and foster care.  However, there are serious pressures on these models.

We’re seeing a large decrease in the number of people willing to become foster carers. And the children and young people needing out-of-home care, presenting with ever more complex needs and behaviours.

And with a decrease in the number of people becoming foster carers, the pressure on residential care is increasing. 

So, Berry Street has found a program that cares for traumatised young people, and maximises their recovery, it’s called PIC - Professional Individualised Care.

Implementing PIC in Victoria, however, is not a simple exercise.

In this episode of Stories from Berry Street, Richelle Hunt speaks to James Stubbs, Director of Berry Street’s Northern Region, about what PIC could mean for Berry Street and the people in need of extra special care right now. She also talks to Jarrod Wheatley, CEO of PIC in NSW, who explains the success he’s had with the program and the challenges around rolling it out. 

 

IMPORTANT STATISTICS

• Nationally, approximately 46,200 children were in out-of-home care at 30 June 2021 – a rate of 8 per 1,000 children, of these nearly 3,500 were in residential care. (https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/child-protection/child-protection-australia-2020-21/contents/out-of-home-care/how-many-children-were-in-out-of-home-care) 

• According to the FCAV, there was a 26% drop in interested carers going through the accreditation process in 2023. This is coupled with more carers exiting the system (https://www.fcav.org.au/assets/docs/fcav-annual-report-2023.pdf) 

• The total cost of protective intervention and OOHC services for children living in OOHC was $709 million in FY17-18 (https://www.berrystreet.org.au/uploads/main/Files/SVA-ResearchPaper-TheEconomicCaseForEarlyIntervention-2019.pdf)

 

 

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The Child Protection system is overburdened with more children being removed from their homes than ever. Vulnerable families and carers are struggling with the cost of living, housing instability and mental health issues. Early intervention is an area that if funded and resourced correctly, can help ease this burden and support families before they spiral out of control. 

To explore the real-world benefits of early intervention programs, Richelle Hunt is talking to Tim Pedlow, Berry Street’s Regional Director in South East Victoria. Tim also oversees the Multisystemic Therapy program or (MST). Richelle also speaks to Laura Vainikka, Clinical Supervisor for MST.

Here too, are some sobering statistics that put the need for early intervention into stark focus:

- Investing approximately $150 million annually over 10 years, will deliver cumulative net savings of $1.6 billion to the Victorian child protection and out-of-home care system alone. 

- Approximately 1,200 children would be prevented from entering out-of-home care or progressing to residential care every year.

SVA Report Summary, the Economic Case for Early Intervention 2019.pdf

• The cost of late intervention in Australia is modelled to cost $15.2 billion each year 

Teager et al, 2019: How Australia can invest early and return more: A new look at the 15b cost and opportunity

 

 

Stories from Berry Street is produced for Berry Street by:

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Family violence and abuse take shape in our minds, they’re tangible and we can understand these kinds of harm. However, when it comes to neglect, there are many contributing actions or inactions, that we may not have even considered. 

Host, Richelle Hunt explores the breadth of what constitutes neglect, with Annette Jackson, Executive Director of Statewide Services at Berry Street. She is responsible for many of the organisation’s big, innovative programs, including Take Two therapeutic services, the Berry Street School and the Berry Street Education Model. 

Annette also recently completed a PhD looking at the worldwide prevalence of, and response to childhood neglect.

In 2023, the Australian Child Maltreatment Study (ACMS)* team published the primary outcomes of a study that sought to identify for the first time how many Australians in the general population experienced any of the five types of child abuse and neglect. It found that a large percentage of Australians (aged 16-65+) have experienced some form of child maltreatment: 

32% have experienced physical abuse, 28.5% have experienced sexual abuse, 30.9% emotional abuse, 8.9% neglect and 39.6% have had exposure to domestic and family violence.

Note: Emotional neglect data was included under emotional abuse, so neglect is under-represented in these figures.

 

*2023 the Australian Child Maltreatment Study (ACMS) https://www.acms.au/findings/ 

 

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• At 30 June 2022, 45,400 children were in out-of-home care in Australia* 
• In Victoria in 2021-22 there were 11,828 children placed in at least one out-of-home care placement during the year.^
• Across Australia in 2021-22, there were 61,900 substantiated cases of child maltreatment impacting 45,500 children where an investigation concluded that a child had been, was being, or was at risk or significant risk of being maltreated.~

For children who cannot live safely at home, we need to make sure the child protection system is meeting their needs, and that they have a therapeutic response to help them recover from the trauma they’ve experienced.

Berry Street is doing just that with The Teaching-Family Model or TFM, a program that enables carers to meet the increasingly complex needs of children and young people in their care. 

The Teaching Family Model, an evidence-based form of residential care, should inform the approach to residential care, Australia-wide.  

In this episode, host Richelle Hunt is talking to Tom Bowerman, Director of Innovation and Acting Executive Director of Services, overseeing the running of TFM.

Richelle then speaks to Anthony Cupic, a TFM Practitioner who lives with and manages  three to four young people in need of a safe home and support to develop their confidence, trust and life skills in a way that doesn’t perpetuate the harm they’ve come from. 

 

Sources

• *https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/child-protection/child-protection-australia-2021-22/contents/insights/how-are-children-supported#OOHC 
• ^https://www.dffh.vic.gov.au/child-protection-additional-service-delivery-data-2021-22 (Download link) 
• ~ https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/child-protection/child-protection-system-in-australia  
• Child Maltreatment Study: https://www.acms.au/findings/

 

 

Stories from Berry Street is produced for Berry Street by:

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One woman is murdered every 4 days on average in Australia, with countless women and children experiencing trauma from the impacts of current and past violence.*

This, along with a litany of other disturbing statistics, is what Berry Street is fighting to stamp out.

So, how is Berry Street addressing the escalating crisis? To find out, host Richelle Hunt talks to Mandy Gambino, Senior Manager for Family Violence Services in Berry Street’s Western Region of Victoria and Jac Dwyer, Project Lead for Family Violence in Berry Street’s Northern Region of Victoria.

Both women, along with their teams provide support to victim-survivors and advocate for equal rights, opportunities and protections for all genders. Jac in particular, also works with perpetrators to try and understand and stem the flow of abuse.

While there are many factors at play, ultimately the root causes of coercive control and abuse in our communities need to be addressed to ensure that family violence, in all forms, is not tolerated.

*Safe+Equal https://safeandequal.org.au/understanding-family-violence/statistics/

If you or someone you know is experiencing violence, contact 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)

 

Stories from Berry Street is produced for Berry Street by:

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Education is key to breaking the cycle of intergenerational disadvantage, and every young person should be able to access education that meets their needs.

Across Australia, we are seeing an increase in school refusal and the number of children disengaged from mainstream education. 

Berry Street isn’t often thought of as an education provider. Still, as one of their core service offerings, they take education incredibly seriously and are always investing in new and innovative programs to meet young people where they’re at. 

In this episode, Podcast Host Richelle Hunt talks to Tom Brunzell, Director of Education at Berry Street. He manages trauma-informed education through the Berry Street School, an independent specialist secondary school, and the Berry Street Education Model. 

Richelle also meets Louise Childs, Lead Teacher at the Berry Street School. She provides great insight into how different the Berry Street School operates compared to mainstream schools, and what they’re learning from this model.

 

Stories from Berry Street is produced for Berry Street by:

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Children exposed to early trauma - such as abuse or family violence -  are 3.6 times more likely to have a mental health or substance use disorder, and are up to 7 times more likely to have both, compared to those without trauma.*

The impact on the formative years and development of these children can be profound, and it takes relationships with safe, predictable carers and ongoing therapy to help them recover. 

Berry Street provides this through Take Two, its therapeutic service for children. To learn about the incredible work being done to help kids heal, join podcast host Richelle Hunt as she talks to the Director of Take Two, Dr  Allison Cox, and Clinical Team Leader at Take Two, Bodhi Priti. 

*University of Sydney, Faculty of Medicine and Health - Revealing the hidden epidemic of child and adolescent trauma in Australia. 

 

Stories from Berry Street is produced for Berry Street by:

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to Stories from Berry Street.

For nearly 150 years Berry Street has dedicated itself to keeping children, young people and families safe, thriving and hopeful. Yet today, in Australia, rates of family violence, abuse and neglect are higher than ever before.

Join Richelle Hunt, ABC radio presenter, host of the Conversation Hour, and now host of the Stories from Berry Street Podcast, to find out why, and to explore the work Berry Street is doing to create real change.

Richelle talks to some of the most dedicated people at Berry Street about how they're addressing issues like childhood trauma, family violence and providing safe homes and schools. 

These problems are hard and they're real, but they're also too easy to ignore. Raising healthy, happy children and keeping families together safely, takes a village. So, what's needed and how can we all play a part?

New episodes released fortnightly. 

 

Stories from Berry Street is produced for Berry Street by:

SoundCartel
+61 3 9882 8333

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When adults caring for children don't follow through with their responsibilities, are abusive or exploit their positions of power, then child protection is empowered to investigate and intervene to protect the child legally when required.

The Victorian Child Protection Service is specifically targeted to support those children and young people at risk of harm or where families are unable to protect them.

But what child protection does, the systems it interacts with and why it is needed in the first place, are hidden from those lucky enough not to need these services.

So, is the ‘system’ as it works today still fit for purpose? 

In this episode, Richelle Hunt finds out, as she talks to Jenny McNaughton, Berry Street's Deputy CEO and Executive Director, and Andrew Lowth, Principal Practitioner at Berry Street.

You'll hear about the current processes of the system, what some of the most vulnerable children and young people in Berry Street’s care are experiencing, and the difference Berry Street is making in the lives of these young people. 

 

Stories from Berry Street is produced for Berry Street by:

SoundCartel
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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.