BUSHkids Annual Report 21 | 22

Collaboration between a UQ post-doctoral Research Fellow and BUSHkids Speech Pathologists resulted in a presentation for Speech Pathology Australia titled “Practical tips for rural and remote practice” which includes a telepractice checklist available for those newly starting telepractice. As a key provider of services for children and families across regional, rural, and remote Queensland, BUSHkids is a strong contributing member of a range of groups. These include the Thriving Queensland Kids Partnership and the Thrive By Five , and Thrive by Five Rural and Remote , initiatives. More recently, BUSHkids has become part of the Australian Government Department of Health ’s Under-5s COVID Vaccine Strategy working group. BUSHkids also contributes to two national NDIS working groups: the Community Engagement Advisory Group and the Change and Learning Community of Practice Group. Through our partnership with Health and Wellbeing Queensland , BUSHkids participates in the Paediatric Health Transformers Committee and the Boost Your Family Advisory Group which has focused on the development of a health promotion online app for children and their families. As part of the DSS-funded CPSS, a community of practices led by the Australian Institute of Family Studies was established to learn from peers regarding outcome measures, project logics and impact statements in service provision. Our Friends of BUSHkids (FoBk) volunteer community groups continue to thrive and support our work through representing

Our FoBk-funded Allied Health Assistant is thriving in the role in Emerald and has served as a model for this approach in other locations. Our business support team works tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure that these services can be delivered effectively, efficiently, and safely.

BUSHkids continues to receive funding from Queensland Health to support the delivery of Children’s Allied Health Services (CAHS) from our service centres in Dalby, Warwick, and Bundaberg. This year has seen stronger ties with local Hospital and Health Services reflected in our funding contract. This aims to ensure enhanced collaboration around children’s services in these communities. Our Non Schools Organisation funding from the Department of Education partially funds our Emerald and Mount Isa services, focusing on supporting young children’s educational attainment in those locations. This year, the BUSHkids eKindy role with the Department of Education has further developed, with BUSHkids employing a Lead Early Years Educator to plan age-appropriate play opportunities for children attending our eKindy Pods with our BUSHkids eKindy Facilitators across Queensland. Our joint working groups with The University of Queensland (UQ) resulted in increased student placements across BUSHkids, and staff development which has increased our capacity for better understanding mental health. Through these working groups, our Lead Occupational Therapist is collaborating with a PhD candidate on a child-led goal- setting project. This is called ‘I can set MyGOALs’ and supports therapists to help children and families become more involved in this important process. BUSHkids also contributes to Speech Pathology Course Reference Groups and meetings at both Central Queensland University (CQU) and Australian Catholic University (ACU) .

Case study - FaCE Program in

the local community, supporting, and showcasing our teams and fundraising for their local service.