RENEW Intensive Family Support (IFS)

About

RENEW Intensive Family Support (IFS) builds the capacity of families to nurture, protect and keep their children safe. IFS provide immediate assistance, practical hands on assistance and link families to other specialists. Alongside the family, the IFS practitioners develop a single case plan which guides the support for all services involved. IFS provides intensive extended support to improve the wellbeing of children and help families be safe, resilient and to thrive.

Eligibility

IFS will support families where:

1. There is a child or young person (unborn to under 18 years); and
2. The family has multiple and/or complex needs; and
3. The family would benefit from access to intensive and specialist support services; and
4. Without support the child, young person and family are at risk of entering or re-entering the statutory child protection system; and
5. The child is not currently in need of protection.

Benefits

The IFS South Burnett model builds on the IFS framework and incorporates some local elements towards successful and sustainable outcomes, including:

• Active engagement utilising people and services with whom the family is comfortable
• Meeting people at a safe place of their choice; focussing on immediate assistance through practical help and utilising a strength based, solution focused model with families.

Initial support will be intensive and will include:

• Developing a single case plan
• Providing supported referrals to specialists including clinical or therapeutic services
• Linking the family to supports such as housing, emergency relief, child care, tutoring
• Providing practical in home support such as developing daily routines,  embedding behaviour strategies for children, budgeting, shopping and cooking
• Ongoing engagement with the family to ensure the strategies from the single case plan are embedded and continue. Families will also be encouraged to be involved in groups around support or involvement of their children.