POST PLACEMENT SUPPORT SERVICE – STRATEGIC PLAN 2012-2015

Vision:
Strong families in permanent care and adoption.
Mission:
Providing education and support services to ensure better outcomes for children and families in permanent care and adoption.
Extended statement: PPSS will work for better outcomes for children in permanent care and adoption through delivering education, training and support services to: parents, carers and children in families formed through permanent care and adoption (whether formed through foster care, kinship care or other pathways); young people and adults with an experience of permanent care or adoption but no longer in the family home; families awaiting placement of a child; and, the systems, services and professionals that they are engaged with.
Programs and services will be rooted in PPSS’s niche expertise in the lived experience and needs of children and families in permanent care and adoption.
PPSS’s spheres of operation can be shown as:
PPSS’s work is informed by the following values and principles:
  • A commitment to the best interests of the child.
  • Empathic, peer-informed and strengths-based approaches that incorporate learning from the lived experience.
  • Empowerment for children and families and support for their voices to be heard.
  • Achieving greatest impact for children and families from the resources available, through sustainable operations and rigorous business practices.
  • Building products, programs and services of ongoing value to the organisation and to children and families in permanent care and adoption.
  • Understanding and valuing the distinct and vital roles played by volunteers and paid staff.
  • Becoming a learning organisation, characterised by: embedded learning; systems thinking; open inquiry; shared vision; and, continuous improvement.
  • Social justice, equity of access and ethical practice.

Objective 1:
Supporting parents and carers in permanent care and adoption to be confident and skilled in their role.
Goal 1:A
Supported peer networks that assist parents to understand and inform their role and practice. / Strategies:
  • Continuation of Journal Club and investigation of the potential to expand this unique support group model to other geographical locations through volunteer engagement.
  • Delivery of training, information and other forms of support to parents and carers through existing support networks, including fee-for-service work to agencies.
  • Provision of information and advice for individuals on matters specifically relating to permanent care and adoption.
  • Fostering parent networks and groups to connect and deliver peer-based support for families formed through permanent care and adoption.

Goal 1:B
Delivery of information, training and education that empowers and skills parents in their role. / Strategies:
  • Carer Information Support Service, delivered in partnership with the Foster Care Association of Victoria, and additional telephone assistance through callers direct to PPSS to provide information, support and referral to parents and carers.
  • Development and dissemination of fact sheets, newsletters and other written resources on topics relevant permanent care and adoption for online publication and access to parents.
  • Development and promotion of a high-quality therapist referral service to provide individuals and families with information on relevant therapists with appropriate knowledge and professional competence in matters relating to permanent care and adoption.
  • Delivery of training and education direct to parents to inform practice and support improved outcomes for their child and family on a cost-recovery model.

Goal 1:C
Stable and happy placements. / Strategies:
  • Promotion and delivery of early-intervention placement support through information, advice and training.

Objective 2:
Helping individual practitioners and the systems within which they operate to better meet the needs of children and families in permanent care and adoption.
Goal 2:A
Educated and informed practitioners and agencies working in areas of high impact on children and families in permanent care and adoption. / Strategies:
  • Development and delivery of fee-for-service training for diverse professional groups to improve their practice in working with children and families.
  • Development of resources, tools and programs to support diverse professional groups in catering to the needs of children and families.
  • Engagement with universities and other institutions educating professionals working in areas of high impact to influence their practice pre-service.
  • Collaboration with other training organisations through fee-for-service and joint-funded activities to complement their existing expertise through augmentation with PPSS’s area of niche expertise.

Goal 2:B
Collaboration with agencies that work directly with parents to improve supports and outcomes for children and families in permanent care and adoption. / Strategies:
  • Engagement with and information-sharing through existing programs and support structures for parents and carers in permanent care and adoption.
  • Networking with the sector to ensure a high level of understanding regarding the needs and experiences of children and families.

Goal 2:C
Influence and advocacy to improve systems and conditions impacting on children and families in permanent care and adoption. / Strategies:
  • Work collaboratively with the relevant peak bodies to promote the needs and interests of children and families.
  • Undertake ad hoc research, policy projects and advocacy on matters affecting children and families in permanent care and adoption.
  • Engage with the Minister and key departmental decision-makers on systems and practice issues impacting on children and families in permanent care and adoption.
  • Appoint a patron able to skilfully represent the lived experience of carers and parents in permanent care and adoption to the external community.

Objective 3:
Supporting children in permanent care and adoption through the lifespan of their experience.
Goal 3:A
Increase families’ awareness and understanding of their children’s lived experience. / Strategies:
  • Through collaboration with children, young people and adults with relevant experience develop and deliver training for families on the perspectives and experiences of children.
  • Provide information and resources for families on the perspectives and experiences of children.

Goal 3:B
Provide access to support and education to children and young people to support them in their experience. / Strategies:
  • Through collaboration and partnership with young people and adults with relevant experience, develop and deliver a peer-based mentoring support program targeted to younger children and young people.
  • Informed by past success in the delivery of WISE Up!, develop and deliver a locally-based, culturally-appropriate training program designed to inform and educate children and young people on engagement with others around their lived experience.
  • Provide information to children and young people regarding appropriate support services throughout the state, informed by ongoing liaison with community service and other organisations that deliver these.
  • Promote PPSS and its services direct to young people through the development of social media strategies, and indirectly through engagement with the youth sector.

Goal 3:C
Give voice to the needs and experiences of children in permanent care and adoption across their lifespan. / Strategies:
  • Support the participation of young people in internal and external planning and decision-making through formal and informal means.
  • Appoint a patron able to skilfully represent the lived experience of children and young people in permanent care and adoption to the external community.

Objective 4:
Building organisational knowledge, capacity and sustainability.
Goal 4:A
Secure income from diverse funding streams to support and build upon current operations. / Strategies:
  • Implement a branding and marketing strategy to support a clear and consistent understanding amongst stakeholders of the PPSS mission and how we fulfil it.
  • A formal fundraising and sponsorship strategy, to be led by a dedicated committee incorporating members of the Board and a patron with experience and connections in the area of fundraising.
  • Individual and collaborative applications for new funding opportunities to replace existing funding and build new programs.
  • Fee-for-service in the area of training and education, primarily through services to professionals and agencies.

Goal 4:B
Build an evidence-base from programs and programs from an evidence-base. / Strategies:
  • Staff and volunteers to maintain current knowledge of research and policy in areas relevant to their work.
  • Data collection and evaluation incorporated as a core component of all program design and implementation.
  • Publication and promotion to key stakeholders of findings and organisational learnings from evaluation, including how these have impacted program design and delivery.

Goal 4:C
Deliver quality operations that support quality service delivery. / Strategies:
  • Development and implementation of a comprehensive suite of organisational policies, practices and standards relevant to PPSS’s activities and operations.
  • Application of defined measurements and targets to monitor the organisation’s progress against its strategic objectives and goals.
  • Accreditation against an appropriate quality management system as an external measure of quality operations.

Goal 4:D
Best leverage the skills, abilities and experience of volunteers and paid staff to maximise service outcomes. / Strategies:
  • An audit to identify the skills and abilities held by PPSS relevant to achieving its strategic objectives and goals.
  • Identification and implementation of a formal volunteer staffing plan to recruit, support and manage volunteer delivery into programs and services.
  • Identification and implementation of a new staffing structure required to support achievement of PPSS’s strategic objectives and goals.

Ratified by the PPSS Board, 23 May 2012. Updated 20 March 2013. Effective to 30 June 2015.

Post Placement Support Service – Strategic Plan 2012-151 | Page of 6