Putting Children First now available to parents in Australia
We are delighted to be able to announce that the Putting Children First programme, developed by the Centre for Separated Families, will soon be available to parents in Queensland, Australia.
The programme, which helps adults to build cooperative parenting relationships after divorce or separation, will be run at the Bundaberg Family Relationship Centre, one of sixty-five centres that have been established throughout Australia.
Funded by the Australian Government, the Centres are staffed by independent, professionally qualified practitioners offering information and advice for families at all stages in their lives. Where families separate, the Centres provide information, advice and dispute resolution to help people reach agreement on parenting arrangements without going to court.
Putting Children First will be available to parents to help them understand and deal with their, often painful, experiences and learn new ways of managing the difficult transitions that accompany divorce or separation.
The programme looks at the impact of separation on both parents and children, why conflict occurs and how it can be prevented, the emotional and psychological transitions that arise through separation, building new cooperative parenting relationships and taking positive steps to make the right choices for children.
Karen Woodall, Director of the Centre for Separated Families, said:
'We are absolutely thrilled by this partnership. Putting Children First has been running in the UK for a number of years now and we know how successful it is in terms of helping parents to work through so many of the issues that they face and build new, business-like parenting arrangements.
'For many years, the UK has looked to Australia for innovative ideas around providing support to families in crisis. We're very proud that Putting Children First, a programme developed by the Centre for Separated Families over many years here in the UK, will now be available to parents in Australia.'
The Bundaberg Family Relationship Centre opened in July 2008 and offers a range of services for families. Their practitioners come from a variety of backgrounds including social work, social sciences, and counselling, and are able to offer advice on parenting after separation and help parents focus on the needs of their children.
Joanne Trentin, Senior Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner at the Bundaberg Centre, said:
'We're very pleased to be working with the Centre for Separated Families. Separation can be very painful and parents need tools and strategies to help them move forward in ways that help their children to adjust. That's what Putting Children First is all about.'
An Australian Government Initiative
Programme website