Children in out-of-home care across the Mallee district will receive better health support due to a La Trobe University project aimed at stopping them from falling through the cracks.
The Integrated Health Systems for Children in Out-Of-Home Care project this week received the prestigious Robin Clark 'Making a Difference Award' from the Victorian Department of Families, Fairness and Housing.
Robin Clark was a role model in the field of child, youth and family welfare. The award - presented during National Child Protection Week - recognises projects that embody the vision of a well-connected community contributing to better outcomes for children, young people and their families or carers.
The project, funded by Sunraysia Community Health Services, paired 56 children in kinship care in the Mildura area with a registered nurse "health navigator" to develop and maintain critical medical links to support their health needs.
The success of these initiatives led to the creation of the Pathways to Good Health program by Sunraysia Community Health Services, which will extend to every child entering out-of-home care in the Mallee region.
Four-year-old Michael* was living with his grandmother when his genetic condition was first diagnosed.
He was born interstate, had lived in five different places and his medical history had never been documented before he entered out-of-home care.
Lead researcher and Deputy Director of the Violet Vines Centre of Rural Health Research Dr Corina Modderman said La Trobe University researchers found a lack of information sharing between medical and child protection services often prevented children in care from getting the treatment they needed.
"Many times, an absence of parental supervision meant health records were not documented correctly or simply lost," Dr Modderman said.
Child protection workers told researchers children were "coming in with significant health issues" after a lifetime of slipping through the cracks.
Dr Modderman said the issue was particularly challenging in rural areas, where limited availability of health services and clinicians led to longer wait times or long-distance travel for kinship carers.
"We observed frontline child protection workers, who are trained to protect children from immediate safety risks, may not be as focus on health issues.
"We learned health literacy for child protection staff needs improving.
Children in out-of-home care are more likely to have experienced abuse and neglect, which can lead to long-term developmental delay and chronic physical and mental health issues.
Key to the project's success has been the co-location of the health navigator within both the Maternal and Child Health Service and the child protection program.
Infrastructure improvements prompted by the project have included the establishment of a specialist paediatric out-of-home care clinic at the Mildura Base Public Hospital and ensuring that children in out-of-home care are clearly identified in referral documents at Sunraysia Community Health Services.
Dr Modderman said the project highlighted the importance of leveraging local service partnerships and responses.
"By collaborating through a locally driven partnership approach, improvements in health outcomes for children in out-of-home care have been realised, demonstrating the value of community-centred initiatives."
La Trobe Mildura Head of Campus Sandra Connor said the university was excited to see the work being recognised statewide as making a difference.
"It is wonderful to see that Sunraysia Community Health Services, which is a key partner of La Trobe Mildura, has not only participated in the project but will now be delivering the Pathways to Good Health program, an important outcome of the work."
The project involves agencies including Mildura Base Hospital, Mallee District Aboriginal Services and the Sunraysia Community Health Service. It is managed by the Victorian Government's Department of Families, Fairness and Housing Community Partnerships team.
*Michael cannot be named due to privacy reasons.
