Mission to thrive in the north

16 December 2022

NALHN’s belief in the power of partnerships and its passion for assisting our young people to reach their full potential are the drivers behind a new alliance to help our young people.

Adelaide’s north is home to 17 per cent of South Australia’s people aged 17 years and younger. About half of the children in SA who are considered developmentally vulnerable live there. Fifty to seventy per cent of dealings with child protection agencies comes from Australia’s most socioeconomic disadvantaged areas, of which Adelaide’s north is one.

We’ve all heard the old adage that prevention is better than the cure. NALHN knows it is very true in public health, but believes it is also applicable to areas of social policy, where well-timed and well-targeted assistance can prevent a lot of trouble down the road.

In March this year, NALHN’s Executive Director of Strategy and Innovation, Sinéad O’Brien, arranged initial discussions with 17 interagency partners. They identified that mapping and connecting services and information and bringing about better collaboration between government agencies were keystones of any new approach. Importantly, Helen Connolly, Commissioner for Children and Young People, agreed to chair a future Alliance.

In June, attendees at a scoping workshop, including the NALHN Governing Board, agreed on a vision that all children, from birth to preschool, living in the North get the support and intervention they need, at the time they need it, so that they can reach their full potential.

To accomplish this, the approach will not be limited to the child and will consider a wider network of family and caregivers to ensure the child can flourish. The focus of the project includes children from birth to preschool age, their families or caregivers.

Mum with baby

The Children in the North Provocation Workshop, held in late October, featured expert speakers and panellists. It was attended by more than a hundred people, with state and local government, non-government and educational agencies committed to improving the health and wellbeing of children and families all represented. It was a morning that challenged everyone to think about new approaches to ensure that we give our most vulnerable people access to the help they need.

“I look forward to working with our government and non-government colleagues so we can really make a difference to how we provide support and services to our children in the North,” says Sinéad.