Kuranda Interagency Network Meeting Minutes

Date: April 1st 2014

Venue: Kuranda District State College

Chairperson: Marg Yandell

Minutes: Marg Yandell

In attendance:

Tileah Drahm-Butler (FNQML), Sheila Brim (Ngoonbi ICL), Perry Woods (Kuranda Police), Jenny Ferguson (KDSC Guidance Officer), Beatrice Sam and Fred Anau (Community Health), Judi Enoch (Ngoonbi PACE), Gary Hutchinson (KDSC Acting Principal), Deborah Wigmore (IFYS Foster Care),Danni and Jay Gabadi (RAATSIC), Peter Ferguson (Victims of Crime),Margaret Yandell (Kuranda Neighbourhood Centre).

Apologies:

Jenny Jensen (Mareeba Shire Council), Persia Westroppe-Hill (Kuranda Justice Group), Beverley Budden (Dept of Communities), (Mandy Kliszewski (Standby Response Service), Gail Wason (Mulungu), Lindsay Adams (ORRS)

Minutes reviewed previous meeting.

Business Arising from previous minutes:

  • Pathways to Care suicide bereavement workshop is to be held on the 20th of June at the HACC respite centre from 8:30am until 3:30pm. A flyer will go out and there was a request to let Marg know who might be attending to manage the numbers.
  • The Women's Craft Group is looking at doing sewing at the school with the support of Robyn (teacher), just not sure of which day as yet. The weaving is still happening on Thursdays at KNC. The women are discussing different plans for the rest of the year with a review of the grant budget and a questionnaire to gauge ideas and plan a schedule for the rest of the year. This wil help with grant submissions also.
  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service (ATSILS) who visit once a month at KNC is coming this Thursday. Clients can refer straight to ATSILS or any agency or service can refer a client. A range of legal issues can be presented not just family law issues. Let Ceri know if there is anyone interested in attending.
  • National Empowerment Program is getting ready for the first of three courses to be run over the year. It will be a 6 week course running 2 days per week (Tuesday and Wednesday) with 2 teachers and 2 mentors. Barbara and Biri have been engaging with the community and to encourage interest in attendance. The program will focus on core themes of Self, Family, Community and parenting within a cultural framework. Jobfind will be allocating some of their clients as it also has some job readiness components and referrals will also come from PACE. There will be child care available for participants and referrals are invited from all other agencies. Tileah will working alongside the project.
  • Gary H said that they have the dataset on attendance from the PACE program and they will be conducting an evaluation of the reading program for the end of term. The program will continue through the year. Judy said that there is a focus on medical support in the area of early years development and the homework support sessions will be continuing next term starting on Monday the 28th April.
  • Beatrice introduced Fred Anauwho is part of a Chronic Disease Management Team that also includes a dietician, physiotherapist, psychologist and rehabilitation program. Following a restructure including redundancies within QLD Health they have reduced from 3 workers 5 days per week in Kuranda to 2 workers 2 days per week on Mondays and Wednesdays. This means they will be have a reduced presence. They are based at the Cairns North community health site but will work out of the Kuranda medical centre on the 2 days they are in Kuranda. Referrals will come through the medical centre and some through the hospital avoidance team.
  • Danni and Jay from RAATSIC said they were the 2 workers that covered Kuranda. They work on a early intervention and prevention model in child protection matters for ATSI clients, however they also have statutory cases where a child is already in care. They work also with low, medium and high need clients. They said they did not have any Kuranda referrals at the moment.
  • Tania Davis has moved on from her position as Indigenous Health worker at the medical centre. The Medical centre is trying to secure funding past July and are trying to recruit a worker for 2 months until July in the interim.
  • The young women’s support group at the school is still going well and a younger group is also starting up with years 7 – 9.

School Service Expo

The school is having an expo for students and parents on Wednesday 2nd April 2-4. Services will have an opportunity to display information and engage with parents about what they do. Youthlink will be there to deliver information to raise the profile of their service and hopefully generate more attendance at their new service under the Cyber Café. They are having growing attendance especially on Friday nights.

Indigenous Licensing

This will be happening on the 8th April from 10am for Indigenous people to get their Learners and Provisional licenses at the Ngoonbi office where Job Find and HACC are located.

Foster Carers Needed

Deborah Wigmore informed the meeting that there were approximately 1000 children in care in the Cairns region. They have about 90 carers and so many more are required. She is willing to do info sessions and provide information and resources to any agency or person interested.

Police Update

Perry Woods for the Kuranda Police station attended and reported that they had run a ‘Drink Right’ program at the Bottom Pub and are looking at doing on a quarterly basis rotating across the licensed venues. He said they were a bit of fun aimed at reducing drink driving through education about how many drinks puts you over the limit and how long it takes after drinking before levels reduce to safe limits. They have not set a date for the next one as yet.

Jai and Robert will be introduced as the ‘adopt a cop’ at the Kuranda School.

For the school holidays, they have organized a police disco for the 9th of April at the CWA Hall.

They are wanting to start a dialogue with agencies about running education programs around domestic violence to be directed at both genders.

There is a SupportLink referral system via the police computer system where, with client consent, a person’s details can be entered into the system and appropriate and relevant referrals are made to available services via a data base of agencies and organisations. Peter Ferguson will send the SupportLink list to Marg to forward to the network. There is a process for being included on the list – Marg to follow up. The system was developed in recognition of the growing demand on police officers to deliver counseling services to people when they attended incidents or events.

The police would also like to work with community groups on the issue of alcohol abuse and homelessness. They feel their need to attend and respond to incidents of public drinking, public nuisance and violence in on the rise. Marg said that it was widely recognized as a problem and without resources for a diversionary or dry out shelter the only thing that is happening is harm minimization through Sheila Brim’s food project delivered through Ngoonbi and Medicare Local and the soup program at the Neighbourhood Centre. Sheila also said that she had applied for and received 30 street swags that she will get to the local homeless.

FNQ Volunteer Tutors

There is free tutoring available on Thursdays between 9-3 at the Neighbourhood Centre for numeracy, literacy and computer skills. Referrals can be made through the Centre or directly to Bryony Stockwell – 0420806388 or email at .

Learning Workshops

Are being held at the Red House – referrals are through Jobfind only.

Counseling Options in Kuranda

The availability of free counseling in Kuranda is diminishing with funding cuts and changes to service agreements. If workers servicing Kuranda feel this is impacting their client base they could consider writing to Medicare Local to let them know.

Seedlings - $1 seedlings starting back at the Neighbourhood Centre.

The next Family Fun Day will be on the 15th of April so it is asked that all services put on their thinking caps and start preparing. Could everyone ring or email Ceri Hughes at the Neighbourhood Centre with their plans for activities so that there are no overlaps (eg we don’t want 10 face painters!, but we want at least 1). Ph 40938933 or

Meeting closed 3:10pm.Next Meeting 6th of May – venue to be advised.