BUSHkids Annual Report 2019-20

85 years of free services to children and families across rural, remote and regional Queensland

ANNUA L R E PORT 2 0 1 9 – 2 0 2 0

ANNUAL REPORT 2019–2020

Location

Street address

Postal address

Phone

Email

BRISBANE

16 Morley Street, Toowong, Q 4066 PO Box, 1017 Milton Q 4064

07 3870 7288

info@bushkids.org.au

CAHS - CHILDREN’S ALLIED HEALTH SERVICES (Department of Education)

EMERALD

5 Clermont Street, Emerald Q 4720 PO Box 53, Emerald Q 4720

07 4982 0905

emerald@bushkids.org.au

MOUNT ISA

84 Marian Street, Mount Isa Q 4825 PO Box 262, Mount Isa Q 4825

07 4743 2575

mtisa@bushkids.org.au

CAHS service locations (Department of Education)

• Agnes Water • Anakie • Biloela • Blackwater • Capella • Clermont • Comet • Dingo • Duaringa • Dysart • Gindie • Middlemount • Rolleston • Springsure

CAHS - CHILDREN’S ALLIED HEALTH SERVICES (Queensland Health)

BUNDABERG

110 Targo Street, Bundaberg Q 4670 PO Box 1328, Bundaberg Q 4670 07 4152 3799

bundaberg@bushkids.org.au

DALBY

33B Archibald Street, Dalby Q 4405 PO Box 293, Dalby Q 4405

07 4662 2729

dalby@bushkids.org.au

WARWICK

191 Wood Street, Warwick Q 4370

PO Box 1229, Warwick Q 4370

07 4667 1200

warwick@bushkids.org.au

CAHS service locations (Queensland Health) • Allora • Applethorpe • Cambooya • Cecil Plains • Childers • Chinchilla • Cordalba • Gin Gin • Jandowae • Maclagan • Maryvale • Millmerran • Mount Perry • Sharon • Tara CPSS – Children and Parenting Support Services (Department of Social Services)

1 Donohue Drive, Agnes Water Q 4677

AGNES WATER

0427 848 239

agneswater@bushkids.org.au

Community Health Centre, Cnr Cunningham Hwy & Princess Street, Inglewood Q 4387

INGLEWOOD

PO Box 6, Inglewood Q 4387

0407 384 714

inglewood@bushkids.org.au

KINGAROY

9A Toomey Street, Kingaroy Q 4610

0428 202 609

kingaroy@bushkids.org.au

Shop 10, 17 Railway Street, Stanthorpe Q 4380

STANTHORPE

0428 504 392

stanthorpe@bushkids.org.au

WARWICK

191 Wood Street, Warwick Q 4370

PO Box 1229, Warwick Q 4370

07 4667 1200

warwick@bushkids.org.au

CPSS service locations (Department of Social Services)

• Bororen • Blackbutt • Captain Creek • Durong • Karara • Lowmead • Miriam Vale • Nanango • Proston • Rosedale • Texas • Wallangarra • Wartburg

eKindy PODS (Department of Education) • Anakie • Bauple • Bell • Bloomfield • Bororen • Brooweena • Bymont East • Daintree • Forrest Beach Goovigen • Gumlu • Kenilworth • Keppel Sands • Leyburn • Mount Garnet • Proston • Seaforth • Stanwell • Talwood • Thallon • Tiaro • Wartburg • Wowan • Yarwun • Yelarbon ECEI EarlyStart – Early Childhood Early Intervention Services (NDIS)

BILOELA

C ontact Gladstone

BUNDABERG

110 Targo Street, Bundaberg Q 4670 PO Box 1328, Bundaberg Q 4670

07 4111 1655

bundabergecei@bushkids.org.au

EMERALD

5 Clermont Street, Emerald Q 4720 PO Box 53, Emerald Q 4720

07 4913 1090

emeraldecei@bushkids.org.au

65–67 Goondoon Street, Gladstone Q 4680

GLADSTONE

PO Box 38, Gladstone Q 4680

07 4904 5335

gladstoneecei@bushkids.org.au

GYMPIE

16 Red Hill Road, Gympie Q 4570

0439 913 143

gympieecei@bushkids.org.au

HERVEY BAY

6 Tavistock Street, Torquay Q 4655 PO Box 5144, Torquay Q 4655

07 4183 8920

herveybayecei@bushkids.org.au

KINGAROY

9A Toomey Street, Kingaroy, Q 4610

0438 862 871

kingaroyecei@bushkids.org.au

MAROOCHYDORE 55 Kingsford Smith Parade, Maroochydore Q 4558

PO Box 601, Cotton Tree Q 4558

07 5406 0708

maroochydoreecei@bushkids.org.au

Shop 1, 171 Bolsover Street, Rockhampton Q 4700

ROCKHAMPTON

PO Box 326, Rockhampton Q 4700 07 4994 2120

rockhamptonecei@bushkids.org.au

ECEI EarlyStart service locations (NDIS) • Biggenden • Bullyard • Cherbourg • Gayndah • Givelda • Goodwood • Munduberra • Murgon • North Isis • Rosedale • Wallaville • Yandaran • Yarraman • plus additional locations integrated with CAHS services

ANNUAL REPORT 2019–2020

Notice

Contents

OUR PATRON The Governor of Queensland His Excellency the Honourable Paul de Jersey ac

OVERVIEW Council

2 3 4 7

Chair

Connections

Chief Executive Officer WHS : Work Health and Safety

10

PROFILES

CAHS : Children’s Allied Health Services CPSS : Children and Parenting Support Services

13 19 25 26 29

eKindy

BUSHkids teleHealth

ICT: Information & Communications Technology 33 NDIS : Early Childhood Early Intervention Services 35 Futures 41 Training 43 Adapting magic

NOTICE OF MEETING The 84th Annual General Meeting of the Royal Queensland Bush Children’s Health Scheme – BUSHkids – will be held on Friday 27 November 2020 at 5.30pm at 16 Morley Street, Toowong Q 4066. Business • Confirmation of Minutes of the 83rd Annual General Meeting held on 6 December 2019; • Receive and adopt the 84th Annual Report for the 12-month period 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020; • Presentation of Annual Financial Report for the 12-month period 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020; • Nomination and election of four Council Members: • G Ryan • J Martin • G Huggins • J Peters; • Appoint auditors for the ensuing year; • Transact any special business for which due notice has been given. By order of the Council Dr N J Bartels oam Chair

CONTENTS NOTICE OF MEETING 1

FEATURES

Birdie’s back!

15 16

Programs old and new The first five years of CPSS

20 23 28 30 31 36

Book Packs

teleHealth case studies : Warwick Virtuality : Playgroups • Storytime

Wellbeing

ECEI by BUSHkids teleHealth

DETAILS

Directory

Inside front cover

Programs glossary Data snapshot Arrangements

44 46 76

Services map

Inside back cover

LOCATIONS

Agnes Water • Bundaberg Dalby • Emerald Gladstone • Gympie Hervey Bay • Mount Isa

47 49 51 52 53 54 55 56

Kingaroy

Maroochydore

Rockhampton • Stanthorpe

Warwick

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Estates, legacies, donations and bequests

59

FINANCIALS

Treasurer’s Report

60 62 63 64 65 73 74

Statement of Profit or Loss Statement of Financial Position Notes to the Financial Statements Declaration by Council Independent Auditor’s Report Changes in Equity • Statement of Cash flows

All client names* have been changed throughout this document.

ANNUAL REPORT 2019–2020

Council member Meeting attendance 1 13 Feb 2 19 Mar 3 30 Apr 4 11 Jun 5 23 Jul 6 3 Sep 7 22 Oct AGM* 27 Nov

Dr Neil Bartels oam (Chair) A medical practitioner with a keen interest in children’s health issues, Neil holds a Master’s degree in Law with a great interest in the equity of access to health services for more remote or disadvantaged children, particularly those with behavioural, learning or social disadvantage. He provides valuable medical and legal experience and intense support in the direction of the organisation, and was recognised in the Australia Day 2018 honours for his lengthy service. Yes Apol Gloria Ryan (Deputy Chair) Gloria is legally trained and is a very enthusiastic contributor to all aspects of our contracting matters and supporting BUSHkids with legal advice as well as comprehensively advising on our Policies and Procedures. Through the changes to the organisation’s branding she assisted greatly with the registration of the BUSHkids trademark. Since being elected as Deputy Chair in December 2014, Gloria has brought her skills to support a number of key strategic areas. Allison McLean (Honorary Treasurer) Allison brings her vast accounting knowledge with many years in the areas of business advice, accounting and taxation to support the BUSHkids finance team. Growing up on a farm which was worked by generations of her family she feels an affinity with families in rural and remote areas. Allison was originally involved with the Redcliffe Centre through community groups, organising games nights, activities, and outings for children brought in for treatment. Julian Martin After growing up in the Bush, Julian has a high regard for what BUSHkids is contributing to the children of rural and regional Queensland. He has had more than 25 years of experience in the information systems industry and a background of providing business-enabling solutions to organisations. Julian supports us greatly in all areas of our ICT needs and has been a valued adviser for the transformation of our ICT systems across the organisation. Yes Apol Gail Huggins A Council member since 2012, with a degree in Speech Pathology from The University of Queensland, Gail has a wealth of experience gained from roles in government and non-government health and education organisations around Australia, including as Queensland Health’s Gold Coast Director of Speech Pathology, Paediatric Services before her retirement. Still committed to the Speech Pathology profession and cognisant of current research guiding paediatric practice and service delivery models, Gail’s expert clinical knowledge provides invaluable advice to BUSHkids’ service provision. Carolyn Searle Having grown up in Regional Queensland, Carolyn understands the importance of an organisation like BUSHkids for children and families in regional and remote areas. Carolyn worked in accounting and law before founding a Queensland-based recruitment agency. It is through her experience in these fields that she is able to provide diversified advice for our organisation. Most recently, Carolyn has been a passionate advocate for the utilisation of telehealth to bring BUSHkids services to children and families most in need. Yes Apol

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Int*

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Int*

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Int*

PROFILES AND MEETING ATTENDANCES COUNCIL MEMBERS 2

Yes Yes Yes Yes

Int*

Apol

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Int*

Yes Yes Yes

Int*

Apol

Apol

Judy Peters Judy’s background in local government, business and community sectors adds to her regional and rural knowledge. As a Friend of BUSHkids she embraces the ethos of understanding, quality support and service to all families and knows first-hand the impact that BUSHkids services have. Providing community connectiveness is an important part of the BUSHkids story and Judy is an advocate for access to quality services so that circumstance or distance should not be a disadvantage. Yes Apol Apol Yes Apol Yes Apol Int*

Deborah Theodoros Deborah is a Speech Pathologist with 45 years of clinical and research experience. She grew up in Mackay before completing her Bachelor’s degree and PhD at The University of Queensland. Deborah was Head of Speech Pathology for 11 years at UQ and is now an Emeritus Professor at the University. She has previously chaired the Board of Speech Pathology Australia and brings a wealth of experience in the Allied Health sector. Deborah has a special interest in new models of service delivery.

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Int*

*Note: November and December meetings scheduled after the production deadline for this report; attendance notes are declared intentions based on prior advice received from Council members.

ANNUAL REPORT 2019–2020

Chair

This year, I preface my much shorter report by recording Council’s appreciation of the resilience, enthusiasm and professionalism of all BUSHkids teams in adapting to the demands of our ‘new normal’ world in 2020. Our frontline staff, especially, have stepped up to ensure children and families continue to be firmly supported and warmly connected: well done!

Chief among the reasons for my writing less this year is that, as you will see throughout the following pages, our operational and leadership teams have had so much to contribute. It is a source of much pride that, under the leadership of CEO Carlton Meyn over the past nine years, BUSHkids staff have largely written the core of each Annual Report themselves. Their new experiences in 2020 have not only triggered innovative ways of working and maintaining connections across our vast state, they have also prompted many heartwarming stories to be told in these pages. And their work has been strongly supported by Council members, who have mobilised the enormous expertise of their respective specialities to help underpin the efforts of our leadership teams in steering BUSHkids through these dynamic changes – special thanks to my volunteer Council colleagues, old and new, for everything you have done. With the necessary focus on COVID-induced constraints and life adjustments, the dire drought continuing to grip much of Queensland has, unfortunately, fallen ‘below the radar’ for much of this year. That is not the experience for BUSHkids, embedded as we are in so many small rural towns and regional communities which were already facing social dislocation and futures of doubtful viability before the onset of the pandemic. For many families, BUSHkids has been an even more vital connection during this time.

It is a truism, however, that in adversity there is always opportunity, and there seem brighter prospects in the demographic trends of many younger families relocating to the more open spaces and affordable lifestyles of- fered by life in the regions. This augurs well for our organisation’s future growth in attracting and retaining staff to help meet the needs for our services and always- increasing waitlists. Our service capacities have nevertheless been greatly extended this year, thanks to BUSHkids’ pioneering role in developing and deploying our teleHealth services across Queensland. Already in widespread use in many of our Centres, as I reported last year, teleHealth has really become a powerful ‘force multiplier’ at just the right moment, helping us to maximise our stretched resources and remotely extend the reach of our talented teams to many more socially-isolated children and families. Our timely partnership in teleHealth research with The University of Queensland in recent years unexpectedly placed BUSHkids in an enviable position as 2020 unfolded, and we are happy that Emeritus Professor Deborah Theodoros had volunteered her expertise in this area to join our Council at last year’s AGM: welcome, Deb and many thanks. The need to refocus on the implications of the pandemic in Q1 and Q2 delayed the rollout of our new 2021–26 Strategic Plan but, again, with unforeseen benefits as we amended it to reflect the ‘new normal’ realities ahead.

In evolving the new Strategic Plan, it was gratifying to note the durability of its 2015-18 predecessor; the review and reflection workshops – in which Council members participated (physically and virtually) with staff – clearly showing the fundamentals of BUSHkids’ values, goals and specific strategies remain sound and targeted. Incorporating the demands of living with COVID into new, remote, and modified, in-Centre, work policies and procedures has required the extra attention and legal oversight of Deputy Chair Gloria Ryan, who has also been instrumental in our actions and responses in addressing the National Redress Scheme . The safety of children in our care is our highest priority. We will not tolerate abuse of any kind. Our commitment to the safety and wellbeing of children is why BUSHkids is joining the Scheme. Council members, as with all our volunteers and staff – both frontline and behind the scenes – are required to hold Blue Cards so the culture of responsibility and duty of care is inherent in our behaviours as much as it is in our comprehensive policies and procedures. Acknowledging the ongoing Patronage and support of the Governor of Queensland, the Hon. Paul de Jersey ac , and Mrs Kaye de Jersey, it is a regret (far from unique to BUSHkids!) that we were unable to come together to celebrate our 85th birthday this year. More importantly, though, BUSHkids is well placed for 2021 and beyond. Dr Neil J Bartels oam MBBS LL.M Grad.Cert.Leg.Med. FACRRM

DR NEIL BARTELS COUNCIL CHAIR 3

ANNUAL REPORT 2019–2020

TOPIC SECTION 4 CONNECTIONS G VERNMENT, CORPORATE AND COMMUNITY

Rotary Club of Warwick Sunrise

ANNUAL REPORT 2019–2020

TOPIC SECTION 5 EDU ATION, CHILDCARE AND MEDIA CONNECTIONS

MASTHEAD DE S IGN CREATIVE

ANNUAL REPORT 2019–2020

SECTION TOPIC

6

ANNUAL REPORT 2019–2020

CEO

As I reflect on this unusual year and prepare my 10th annual report, I am at once both humbled by and proud of the organisation BUSHkids has become. We now support many, many more children and families with a far greater reach across Queensland. In my first report in 2010-11, we supported approximately 600 children by providing over 3,000 sessions. This year we have supported nearly 5,000 children by providing more than 22,000 sessions from 32 locations across Queensland.

COVID-19 has overshadowed 2020, impacting our lives, our families, our work, and our personal freedoms. However, out of the darkness cast by the pandemic, a strong theme began to shine through as we collated the stories for this year’s Annual Report – the theme of connection . Through the challenges, disruptions, the isolation and the innovation, the resilience of BUSHkids communities was strong. Connection was the common thread driving our combined response through unprecedented adversity. Creativity, technology and the innate human need for connection enabled BUSHkids to respond to the challenges and to continue to provide support to our children, families and communities. As Queenslanders worked together to flatten the curve, our teams reluctantly closed the doors to our Centres and moved our services online. BUSHkids teams were well placed to transition our face-to-face (F2F) services to teleHealth as a result of our three-year research project with The University of Queensland . Existing training modules were supplemented by a ‘Lunchbox Learning’ (LBL) session for all service delivery staff, existing technology was redeployed, and task cards developed to support staff to implement and troubleshoot technological solutions. With a much-appreciated grant from the Queensland Government , we were able to top-up our IT resources to facilitate this transition. We knew it would be a challenge, but continuing to deliver our services was essential at a time when so many families were experiencing increased vulnerability due to economic hardship, isolation, and a myriad of other challenges. We connected with our families online – by videoconferencing and by telephone. Shortly after our successful transition to online-only services, we moved our workforce to remote Working from Home (WFH) arrangements. This decision was not taken lightly but was considered necessary for the health of our teams, families, and communities.

To do this safely and successfully required a combined effort between our teams, our leaders and our business support staff. We worked together to develop comprehensive resources, guidelines and processes. We built new ways for our teams to virtually connect in this new WFH environment – check-ins, coffee catch-ups, online celebrations and modified, more frequent all-of-staff meetings. At an online meeting, one of our Early Intervention Facilitators recounted a story about two little daycare friends connecting online through a children’s group she was conducting – Playing And Learning to Socialise (PALS). They spotted each other online and the first little boy started shouting his friend’s name with delight – “Zac, Zac is that you? I can’t believe it’s you!” – as he stood right up close, his hands pressed flat to the computer screen. They caught up with what had been happening in their lives before the group activities could begin. The determination and creativity of our teams came to the fore as they shared and implemented ideas to maintain connection and support for our BUSHkids families. Virtual storytimes based on the evidence-informed Read and Grow Program were implemented across the state – with children and parents attending not only for the shared stories themselves but also learning about other supports we could offer during this time. Our playgroups went virtual, with our staff connecting and sharing ideas and successes so that we could provide the best virtual experience for the families and children. Prior to the pandemic our clinicians were utilising teleHealth to support geographically-isolated families – about 5% of our services were already being delivered using this modality. The surge in teleHealth services resulted in huge practice changes and our teams were certainly up for this challenge.

TOPIC SECTION 7 CARLTON MEYN CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

COVID-19 • BUSHKIDS ACTIONS TIMELINE BUSHkids creates a dedicated COVID-19 website page to keep families and the public up-to-date on where to find the most accurate information as well as what BUSHkids is doing to keep staff and families safe. Traffic light poster goes up on every Service Centre door. BUSHkids puts in place additional precautions in response to the spread of COVID-19 to keep our staff and the public safe. BUSHkids introduces graphic ‘badging’ to help people identify and distinguish between online COVID-19 News and COVID-19 Tips. BUSHkids launches its first TIPSheet (TS) to help parents through the pandemic: Supporting children’s understanding of COVID-19. CEO sends out a message to families, children and friends advising them of the changes to BUSHkids service delivery from 24 March. Service Centres close their doors to the public; until further notice all services will be delivered via teleHealth and telephone. BUSHkids releases first INFOSheet (IS) to help familiarise parents and carers with teleHealth services, setting out step-by-step guidance. Location-specific “BUSHkids is here for you” videos published to social media and website. TS 2 released to help parents/carers support children at home during the pandemic. The sheet includes links to resources for parents/carers as well as children. CEO emails all staff the “Working from Home ICT” guidelines to help support the transition as teams move home. CEO sends out to all staff “Delivering BUSHkids Services from Home” guidelines, developed to help deliver services remotely and maintain a high standard of service. As restrictions across the state escalate, all BUSHkids staff are relocated to work remotely from their homes. A s staff head home, Service Centres put up door signage advising visitors of a local contact number and email to ensure connectedness. Updated post reminding the public that BUSHkids continues to work from home, with contact information and the service locations of each BUSHkids Centre. CEO sends out to all staff “Working from Home Operational Processes” with guidelines to follow when working from home along with checklists to ensure no items have been overlooked. Post to advise the public of new TIPSheets being released the following week. Three new TS published to help families navigate their way through COVID-19. TS6 released - transitioning back to school in our new COVID-19 world - as parents/carers prepare to send their children in kindy, Prep and Year 1 back to school on Monday 11 May. I mportant government website links re-shared: Queensland Department of Education and NDIS dedicated COVID-19 pages. Families now invited to attend virtual playgroup and virtual storytime. Parents/carers are invited to reach out to their local Centre for details. T hree new Wellbeing (WB) TIPSheets released. G etting everyone back to school as children in Years 2 to 10 return on Monday 25 May. WB4 released - Anxiety in Children, practical tips, links, books, videos to help kids understand that anxiety is part of life. Quick-reference interactive guide to BUSHkids’ growing library of resources uploaded to website. Notice to advise the public BUSHkids is mapping out the return to face-to-face service provision. Hand sanitiser and BUSHkids traffic light stickers are sent out to all Centres. C EO emails all staff “BUSHkids Return to Service Centres - Our New Normal” updated Organisational Processes guidelines to return to work safely. Message posted on BUSHkids COVID page to let families know staff would be returning to Centres for prearranged face-to-face (F2F) sessions. A dministration, Office Support staff and Team Leaders began returning to Centres, preparing for ‘new normal’ at BUSHkids - putting up posters (handwashing, hand sanitising, social distancing and room capacity) as well as setting up sign-in and sanitiser stations in Centres. B USHkids Facebook video post announcing “The new normal for face-to-face support”

ANNUAL REPORT 2019–2020

16 March

19 March

Although technology was key to maintaining services during this unique period, not all solutions could be so delivered – creative ‘low-tech’ solutions were also used to maintain connections. With supplies low across Australia, additional document cameras were initially unable to be purchased. Information was rapidly shared by our clinicians about how to use LEGO ® and a mobile phone to fashion an alternative! One of the many, unanticipated but positive, consequences of a temporary wholescale move to teleHealth service was the increased competency and focus of our clinicians in delivering family-centred intervention – building the capacity of parents to support their own children’s development. The rapid upscaling of our teleHealth services has given us the opportunity to review our teleHealth framework, which arose from our multi-year research partnership with The University of Queensland’s Centre for Research Excellence in Telehealth (UQ CRE) which, as reported last year, moved from study to operational status. I am pleased to announce that, in October 2020, BUSHkids was granted approval by Brisbane City Council for our plans for a new, dedicated teleHealth centre at our Toowong precinct. Planning for this vision had begun in tandem with the positive results of the research period and BUSHkids has therefore found itself unexpectedly well-prepared for the appearance and impacts of COVID-19. A dedicated teleHealth centre will allow BUSHkids to recruit more staff, including experienced Allied Health professionals to support generalist practitioners based in rural, regional and remote Queensland. Using the teleHealth model will also build the capacity of the local workforce by providing the ability to link in and learn from specialist clinicians, both in Brisbane and across our growing statewide network.

BUSHkids Council has continually supported the organisation’s growth into teleHealth and, through Council members’ connections, we are linked with architects and builders to manage the construction of the teleHealth centre. We look forward to reporting on the building progress and the new centre’s future potential in next year’s report. On 13 July our team members enthusiastically returned to our Centres and started to re-introduce some face-to-face services. Once again, our teams, leaders and business support staff worked together to develop and implement resources, processes, and guidelines to execute a COVID-SAFE return to business. While many had enjoyed the flexibility of WFH, being able to reconnect with colleagues and children and families in person back in the Centres was overwhelmingly appreciated by our workforce. As we all adapted to the changes required to keep each other safe during the pandemic, our focus also turned to the social-emotional impact of COVID-19 for children, families and communities. Our Psychologists and Social Workers created resources to support families with the challenges of this time and we started to plan for the impact of an increased demand for our services. BUSHkids services during 2019-2020 included our Allied Health services (CAHS) in five locations, Children and Parenting Support Services (CPSS) across three sites, Early Childhood Early Intervention (ECEI) services across four contract areas and 34 eKindy Pods. Throughout the past year, BUSHkids services have been delivered across all of our locations and all funded service streams. BUSHkids teams delivered 22,210 sessions for nearly 5,000 children across Queensland, from Mount Isa to Stanthorpe and many places in between. This was an increase in both the number of sessions provided and number of children supported compared to the previous year.

23 March

2 4 March

28 March

29 March

1 April

5 April

6 ApriL

7 April

SECTION TOPIC 8 CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER CARLTON MEYN

22 April

24 April

1 May

6 May

8 May

15 May

2 2 May

3 June

22 June

1 July

8 July

10 July

13 July

21 J uly

ANNUAL REPORT 2019–2020

This was quite an achievement – especially with the potential for service disruption by the pandemic. Our teams worked hard to maintain connection and support for children and families across Queensland. Many service developments were impacted by the pandemic; however one exciting initiative which was realised during this time was the commencement of our ‘Bounce’ pilot project in Emerald. Thanks to our hardworking Friends of BUSHkids Emerald volunteer committee, funds were raised to employ a part-time Allied Health Assistant (AHA) for three years from September 2020. Our new AHA will supplement the work of the core team – particularly in the area of social-emotional development – and is a timely addition to our organisational capabilities. During this past year, we have built and strengthened many connections including the Queensland Children’s Health Collaborative , Reimagine (the former Early Childhood Intervention Australia) , Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY) , Health and Wellbeing Queensland , Western Queensland Primary Health Network (WQPHN) , Cunnamulla Aboriginal Corporation for Health (CACH) , Central Queensland University (CQU) and the Every Child Campaign . We also had the opportunity, in late 2019, to visit Parliament House in Canberra, hosted by the Hon. David Littleproud MP. We were able to discuss regional, rural, and remote services and opportunities with the Hon. Stuart Robert (Minister for Government Services and Minister for NDIS) and the Hon. Anne Ruston (Minister for Families and Social Services). The chance to discuss the work of BUSHkids and the needs of regional, rural and remote children and families with Queensland Government MPs Brittany Lauga (Deputy Minister for Education and Member for Keppel), Barry O’Rourke (Rockhampton) and Lachlan Millar (Gregory) was also much appreciated.

Whilst these unprecedented times undoubtedly stalled many of our plans, we were able to see some other important strategies through to fruition. In March 2020, BUSHkids achieved certification to the Human Services Quality Framework Scheme and Standards for our Service Centres funded by Queensland Health (Bundaberg, Dalby and Warwick) and our ‘Central Office Operations’ in Toowong. This represented a significant milestone, achieved through collaboration and hard work. And, although slightly delayed, our Strategic Plan 2021-26 has now been endorsed and we are looking forward to implementing this plan over the next five years. This document has been brought to life in an engaging visual style and has been included in the centrespread of this Annual Report. As we look to the next 12 months ahead, we expect challenges and we anticipate opportunities. BUSHkids will continue to improve the lives of Queensland children as the long shadow of the pandemic continues to impact our lives. We are implementing a leadership restructure in our clinical services to support our teams as we implement our new Strategic Plan. Due to our commitment to the safety and wellbeing of children, BUSHkids is in the process of joining the National Redress Scheme . We are currently working with the Commonwealth Department of Social Services in regard to the administrative processes required to be formally declared as a ‘participating institution.’ We are excited to be contributing to the reset of the NDIS Early Childhood Early Intervention Services and look forward to redesigning our services in line with expectations of an increased focus on the provision of early intervention for children from 2021. We are also looking forward to growing our AHA workforce – as we further develop this pilot role in Emerald – and to building upon our existing and newly emerging partnerships in the coming year.

I cannot express strongly enough my gratitude for, as well as my pride in, our volunteers, our Friends of BUSHkids , our BUSHkids Council members, operational management team, our contractors and our dedicated BUSHkids staff, who have worked so diligently and creatively to maintain services and connections for children across Queensland during these extraordinary times. I also thank our donors, funders, supporters and community partners for working with us to help bring Queensland children the opportunity to thrive. I invite you to take the time to read through the stories in this report as a celebration of triumph over adversity as we connected with and supported children and families across Queensland during this pandemic. Carlton Meyn Chief Executive Officer

TOPIC SECTION 9 CARLTON MEYN CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

ANNUAL REPORT 2019–2020

WHS

Before COVID-19, there was ‘Black Summer’ and its disastrous bushfires, which threatened many BUSHkids communities as well as our staff members’ own homes. Outreach services and home visits were restricted, with travel either cancelled or approved only if a safe alternative route could be taken; little did we know that this heightened state of alert across our organisation was just a taste of what was to come!

Staff were encouraged to complete thorough Risk Assessments for all offsite activities, with a strong emphasis placed on the potential risks the fires presented at the time. Then, with the unfolding pandemic, we had to quickly adapt and change the way we conducted business, to keep our volunteers, staff and clients safe, all while continuing to support families across the state, as BUSHkids was considered an essential service. At first we closed the doors of our Centres to all visitors, ceased all non-essential travel, offices were reconfigured to allow for physical distancing, and cleaning frequency was increased with the introduction of nightly ‘mini-cleans’ where all often-touched surfaces where wiped with disinfectant. Hand sanitiser stock was ordered and signage installed around the offices with instructions on hygiene, social distancing reminders and maximum room capacity.

But with more and more COVID-19 restrictions being brought in, and for the safety of our teams, BUSHkids arranged for staff to work from home and to close several of our Centres. This brought potential risks in not having control over the environment in which our staff would be working. To minimise the risk we created a ‘Working from Home Self-Assessment Checklist’ which formed part of the ‘Working from Home Agreement’ – comprehensive documents which would be approved by only the CEO.

SECTION TOPIC 10 C VID-19 MEASURES WORK HEALTH AN D SAFETY

LET’S ALL BE

COVID-WISE

AND HAND

The checklist outlined the provisions needed to create a safe working environment at home. Once staff completed the checklist and signed- off to confirm these were in place, and after thorough review by Team Leaders and Line Managers, they were considered as Working from Home (WFH) candidates for CEO approval.

SANITISE!

ANNUAL REPORT 2019–2020

Note: corresponding documents in the evolving COVID-19 suite of guidelines also covered overlapping procedures such as ICT security requirements for the installation and use of ZOOM on BUSHkids equipment, as well as a comprehensive clinical/procedural guide on delivering BUSHkids services from home; these packages were both carefully and quickly integrated. Numbers of Risk Assessments were down from last year, mainly due to COVID-19 with staff unable to attend offsite Outreach, visit schools or run playgroups, etc. Together with the temporary closures of Centres and staff WFH during the height of the pandemic, numbers of Incidents were also fewer than the previous year.

In preparation for the return to work, the ‘Phase 2 – Back to BUSHkids our new Normal’ document was created. As the opening paragraph by CEO Carlton Meyn stated, ”this important document updates the organisational processes and procedures to be followed by all staff as we begin returning to work at our service centres across Queensland in our new COVID-19 world. This document outlines for staff our organisation’s new service delivery and operational processes to ensure our workplaces and work practises are healthy and safe for everyone.” BUSHkids’ Maintenance and Safety Coordinator worked closely with our admin staff, Line Managers and Team Leaders to ensure all locations had correct posters and signage in place, workstations met the 4m 2 space requirements, and appropriate stocks of PPE and sanitiser made available for staff. New sign-in sheets for visitors were created, with a series of COVID- related questions included, requiring a signed declaration of wellness. The sign-in sheets can also be used to trace who’s been in a Centre, should an active case of the virus come to be identified in the community. Cleaners were contacted and offices given thorough cleans before the staff returned to work, and nightly ‘mini- cleans’ were also reintroduced once Centres were reopened. Mental Health also became a popular topic of conversation during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. We were all encouraged to talk about how we were feeling, and to stay fit and healthy so we could not only support ourselves and our families during the challenging times but also so we could continue to supporting our BUSHkids families. Managers and Team Leaders touched base with their staff every day while they were working from home, and we also had our very first ‘all-staff’ meetings (divided into 3 sessions) beaming live into staff members’ home offices – with the occasional pet pooch making a guest appearance in the background – it was fantastic! BUSHkids is well set up to continue the battle against the pandemic, should it take another turn for the worst, and we continue to strive to keep all staff, volunteers, clients and families we see in our Centres safe.

Questions such as the following were included in the checklist documents:  Do you have a segregated office space: for instance, a dedicated room for office use with closing door for privacy?  Walkways: clear of clutter and trip hazards?  Is there adequate lighting in the work area?  Do you have a comfortable ergonomic chair with 5-star castor base, adjustable height and back rest?  Desk height is at or just below elbow height?  Is a basic first aid kit easily accessible? To ensure clarity and coordination of messaging – both internally to staff and volunteers as well as externally to clients, co-providers and funders – sub-branded graphics were swiftly developed to differentiate between fast-evolving ‘news’ (government advisories and/or BUSHkids’ own operational developments) and ‘tips’ (our own advice to clients, including the resources described later in the ‘Wellbeing’ section of this report). These were used on documents and to identify the purpose of web and social media communications.

TOPIC SECTION 11 WORK HEALTH AND SAFETY C V D-19 AND BEYOND

Risk Assessments 2020

46 85

2019

2018

51

Incident Reports

2020 2019

42 64

2018

27

Staff travel was also affected by the pandemic, reflected by the kilometres travelled across the organisation.

161,740 km in 2018–19

147,807 km in 2019-20

During the Centres’ closures, many BUSHkids vehicles were placed into secure storage. With the vehicles idle for so long this presented a problem on how to keep the batteries charged. With all the vehicles having GPS tracking units installed and these requiring 24/7 battery power, issues did occur. Admin staff were asked to visit Centres to start the vehicles on a regular basis but it just wasn’t enough to charge the batteries and several failed and needed to be replaced. Many WHS policies and procedures needed changing, or new protocols developed to manage COVID-related situations in the workplace.

COVID-19 NEWS

COVID-19 TIPS

ANNUAL REPORT 2019–2020 A NUAL REPORT 2019–2020

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ANNUAL REPORT 2019–2020

CAHS

The year for our Children’s Allied Health Services teams has certainly been full of challenges, successes and new experiences! We began 2020 with the Human Services Quality Standards (HSQS) audit of our Allied Health services; the resulting notification of Accreditation and formal Certification reflects well on our efficient and effective business operations that result in quality outcomes for our clients: a great achievement for the CAHS teams and all of BUSHkids!

Our biggest challenge this year was to rapidly change our service delivery model to comply with the constraints of COVID-19. This necessitated a change from delivering face-to-face (F2F) services from our Centres to telephone and teleHealth services and then to delivering services from home. We therefore rapidly focused on training all our teams in: delivering teleHealth, preparing staff to work from home, developing and adapting resources, and in being flexible and maintaining consistent and regular communication across all the teams. As these changes occurred, we also increased communications with our families and the wider community. One of our goals for 2020 was to recruit a full complement of staff and, once achieved, our new recruits began induction in their respective Service Centres. Although the rapid changes had been unprecedented, the teams embraced these and were committed to providing both quality and effective services to families to support their children’s development. To support the changes in our service delivery to a Working from Home (WFH) model, a suite of documents was produced to guide our teams. These documents covered Operational Processes – detailing processes and procedures to be followed by all staff; Information and Communication Technology (ICT) support – using ZOOM and BUSHkids technology and equipment; and Clinical Service Delivery – identifying risks, challenges and mitigation strategies to ensure continuity of quality and effective service provision. The teams adapted well to teleHealth and they continued to modify and deliver a mix of service types, including group programs, individual unidisciplinary and multidisciplinary supports and educational, capacity- building activities for families and the wider community. Overall the delivery of teleHealth has been very successful for many families with the teams reporting positive outcomes despite the pandemic.

Notable was increased child and parent engagement, increased opportunities for parent coaching, valuable insights in supporting children within their own home environments, and greater ability to identify and use the family’s resources in therapy sessions. During the WFH period the teams also engaged in project work overseen by the professional leads, such as developing TIPSheets and adapting group programs, such as Zones of Regulation ® and Fun Friends for use in teleHealth, and participation in BUSHkids initiatives such as Virtual Storytime, wherein Centres delivered a weekly virtual story session to their families and the local community. Roles of our Family Health Support Workers (FHSWs), in particular, changed significantly in 2020 as, previously, most group programs were delivered in the community, in schools and early childhood centres, and this longstanding approach was, of course, severely impacted by COVID-19 protocols. With the reduced number of groups being delivered, the FHSWs focused on providing support for individuals – both children and parents – and these were delivered via teleHealth through single sessions or small group programs. Fortunately, we were able to continue to provide some virtual group programs to a small number of childcare centres and we were also able to support the Multibirth Playgroup via teleHealth. In addition to increased support and supervision from their Professional Leads and Line Manager, the teams also received external tele-mentoring from Griffith University . A contract for this initiative was developed in 2019 to include all team members. Sessions for each Centre were scheduled in 2020 to include all new staff members and to maximise the benefit for the newly formed teams. These sessions were enthusiastically received and all provided positive feedback.

TOPIC SECTION CHILDREN’S ALLIED HEALTH SERVICES CAHS

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ANNUAL REPORT 2019–2020

During this time, we were able to maintain provision of Professional Development (PD) through external online courses from the clinicians’ professional bodies, and webinars provided internally through our own Lunchbox Learning . PD emphasised supporting families during COVID-19 and managing children’s anxieties. Our Speech Pathologists (SPs) also trained in the Read3 Program , a newly- approved literacy intervention for BUSHkids that is evidence-informed and covers all the deficits experienced by children with dyslexia. In early 2020, CAHS teams distributed the Birdie books to early childcare centres and the wider community, to support children’s understanding of the recent drought, fires and floods. With the easing of restrictions, the newly-published Birdie and the Virus book was also distributed and these were gratefully received and enjoyed by children, parents and early childhood educators.

During the WFH period our referral numbers from the community reduced significantly and maintaining our referral pathways with other providers that were closing or reducing services became a challenge. To ensure our communities were aware BUSHkids was still ‘open and delivering’ we used centralised and local multimedia to raise our profile, providing information about our changed service model. This was to emphasise that families and services could still contact us and receive support – just differently! A staff member at each Centre was nominated as ‘the face of BUSHkids’ for their community and this proved a vital and welcome local connection. Despite the reduction in referrals, the demand for parenting sessions increased and our teams delivered support through programs such as Face your Fears – Do as I Do, 1-2-3 Magic ® & Emotion Coaching, Circle of Security © Parenting TM and Triple P Positive Parenting.

Following the return to schools in mid-July and reopening of early childhood centres, we experienced an increase in referrals, in particular directly from families who had identified during the school closure period that their children had been struggling with a variety of concerns such as poor literacy, concentration, fine motor skills and managing anxiety. Although we had great success in the delivery of teleHealth services to most families, we also noted some disengagement with more vulnerable families who were unable to continue or begin support due to inadequate internet services or equipment, the need to juggle priorities with the closure and restrictions of schools and early childhood centres and/or preferring to wait for F2F sessions to resume.

SECTION TOPIC 14 CHILDREN’S ALLIED HEALTH SERVICES AHS

Case study: Navigating the ‘bumps’ with BUSHkids

Parents of children who stutter feel a high level of stress as they watch their child struggle to communicate and get their words out. In Queensland, support for stuttering can be difficult to get as there are few trained therapists. The pandemic-induced rapid upscaling of our teleHealth service offered a timely opportunity to meet such needs – BUSHkids SP Helen began offering virtual support to children with a stutter from all over the state from our Maroochydore Centre, and five-year-old Oliver* was one of these kids. “We were concerned that the longer his stuttering was left, the more apparent it would become to other people and the more he would struggle in school,” said his mum, Kim. “Oliver had become aware of the fact that he talked differently to others. This caused him anxiety and made him question why he needed the extra help and if there was something wrong with him. “I was a bit worried at first about teleHealth appointments but Oliver loves attending his speech sessions, he looks forward to them with great excitement. All the things I was worried about, like him being distracted and it being hard to develop a relationship weren’t issues at all.

“He enjoys the connection he has with his speech therapist and often talks about her outside of his speech sessions. It was a novelty for him to use the computer to do these sessions … but it also allowed Oliver to interact with Helen about familiar things in his home environment. This made the speech work more relevant to Oliver. “Now that he’s doing so much better, Oliver asks me why he doesn’t get to talk to her as often and expressed his disappointment at not being able to speak every week anymore! Oliver feels happy and confident that his speech is improving and will often comment on the difference it makes. BUSHkids has helped me understand which issues of Oliver’s speech we needed to focus on and how to do it. “BUSHkids has worked with Oliver as a whole child, mindful there are other aspects of his life that would impact his condition, ensuring we treat and adjust things as needed.” “I now feel that we can deal with any setbacks and will be supported through them.”