14 th of April 2006 Department of Communities Towards an Early Years Strategy GPO Box 806 Brisbane Qld 4001 Dear Sir / Madam Submission to the Discussion Paper Towards an Early Years Strategy - A Multicultural Focus This response is a collaborative effort from a range of services that are listed at the end of this submission. The paper itself was prepared by Queensland Council of Social Services (QCOSS) and Immigrant Women s Support Service (IWSS). We appreciate the opportunity to comment on the discussion paper on Towards an Early Years Strategy in relation to the needs and concerns of culturally and linguistically diverse communities (CALD) in Queensland. This response attempts to bring the voices of CALD communities often silenced by the lack of recognition of the strength and wisdom they bring to this society to the foreground. This submission represents the views of a number of people and services, some of them have participated in a consultation meeting held on the 28 of March, 2006. A draft was circulated among various representatives with a specific interest in working with families of CALD backgrounds and feedback has been included in this final document. A number of recommendations have been highlighted that underpin a best practice model towards an Early Years Strategy involving CALD families. Responding to the proposed vision - 1 -
I like the communal life whereby we share things among the whole extended family, so if I do not have something today, I do not have to worry much because I know I will share with others which make our life less stressful than here... (2) The 3 points listed under 2-Vision is very encouraging, however these points do not acknowledge that all children are not equal in their circumstances. The Queensland Government promoting a positive vision for all children and their families is commendable as it reflects a similar view to the quote above. Although this Vision underpins the Discussion Paper the omission of CALD communities with its myriad of diversity represents a significant gap. This vision also includes that we as members of the community will work together to achieve aims such as, stronger families capable of ensuring the safety and wellbeing of their children. This submission strongly supports the aims for the development of inclusive and supportive environments for the safety and well being of children. In relation to CALD families this is emphasised by words like: The Queensland Government will promote equal rights, responsibilities and opportunities for all Queenslanders, regardless of their cultural, ethnic, religious background or gender. It will continue to foster an inclusive, cohesive and open society (6) Although the Towards an Early Years Strategy discussion paper does refer to all families and children, it fails to properly address issues and strategies regarding families and children of CALD backgrounds and the diversity within diversity. This is very important when considering for instance that in Brisbane alone there are over 30.000 residents from a refugee background (4). Also when taking into account that more than 250.000 Queenslanders were born in non-english Speaking background families representing approximately the 17.2% of Queensland population (3). - 2 -
Recommendations 1. It is essential for services to develop and implement an integrated family approach with an understanding that includes intergenerational issues, gender sensitivity and acculturation in a new country. An important exception is domestic and family violence. 2. Access to information in other languages and appropriate use of professional accredited interpreters. 3. Provision of a continuum settlement service to migrant and refugee families who are vulnerable. 4. Developing and strengthening working relationships with CALD communities for planning, implementation and evaluation of service provision to ensure CALD communities views in these processes. 5. Broad understanding and sensitivity to refugee experiences and its impact on families and children. 6. Adequately resourcing services to ensure service delivery meets the needs of the community with all its diversity. 7. Utilization of models proven to be successful such as bilingual / bicultural consultants. 8. Improve, monitor and evaluate access and equity for CALD communities in line with the Multicultural Policy and Multicultural Action Plan. 9. Appropriate and sustained cross-cultural sensitivity and training of service providers including health professionals. 10. Recognition that racism and discrimination is experienced by people from CALD in accessing services. This point needs redressing from government and nongovernment organisations. A current example is the project being undertaken by the Multicultural Pastoral Care Confronting Racism. 11. Implementation of affirmative action policies throughout government and nongovernment services that values, respects and ensures support in the employment of staff from CALD backgrounds in Queensland. 12. Improving CALD data collection and reporting mechanisms in government and nongovernment organisations throughout Queensland. 13. A holistic service and perspective for the Pacific Islander Communities state-wide run by Pacific cultural and corporate competent people. For further information refer to Multilink Pacific Island Community Liaison Worker. - 3 -
Vision in brief It is important to acknowledge and act according to the diversity of family types, values, cultural, social, linguistic and spiritual backgrounds. And to acknowledge the socio-cultural and political context in which these families live. This is particularly relevant as for instance, within newly arrived refugee families coming under the Humanitarian Program there is an increasing number of sole mothers with children. An example is the case of woman with several children under their care that in order to address housing needs the family is separated into two houses. It is vital to consider and provide opportunities and mechanisms for the contribution and meaningful participation of CALD families in the Early Years Strategy. These mechanisms should be in line with the whole of government approach established by the Multicultural Policy Making a World of Difference and the Department of Communities Multicultural Action Plan. For instance, within CALD communities there are some communities that in a relatively short period of time have been able to organise themselves in such a manner, that are able to provide significant support to newly arrived families. It is essential to consider the socio- political context experienced by migrant and refugee families as in many cases it has a direct impact in their wellbeing and in their accessibility to services. For instance, community based asylum seeker families are restricted to access basic services such as income support, Medicare, education amongst others. Temporary Protection Visa Holders (TPV), have been disadvantaged in numerous ways including the type of protection visa been granted impacts in their mental health and the likelihood of family reunion. Another issue impacting on many migrants, asylum seekers and refugees is the resurgence of public racist behaviours. It is important to also acknowledge that CALD children are an important part of the statistics that state that 860,000 children growing up in families where no one has a paid job (5). It is also relevant to mention that many CALD family members are employed in low paid jobs or under-employed due to the lack of recognition of prior qualifications and work experience. Working together to realise this vision Within a multicultural context and in terms of governments working together, the existing structures and Policies at a state level are: The Multicultural and Language Services Policy and the Whole of Government approach implemented through the Multicultural Action Plans. At the Commonwealth level The Commonwealth Charter of Access and Equity in a Multicultural Society. From a multicultural service provider perspective although these initiatives are welcomed, these are also viewed with caution in as much as previous experience indicate the existence of significant gaps between policy and practice. This is mainly due to the limited, if at all, allocation of resources for policy implementation. A case example is the Immigrant Women s Support Service (IWSS) that in spite of the following language policy statement: - 4 -
We will plan for language services in this agency, incorporating interpreting and multilingual information needs into agency budgeting, human resource and client service program management. (6). Prior to October 2005, community-based support services funded though the Commonwealth/State Supported Accommodation Assistance Program (SAAP) were able to access, at no cost, telephone interpreting services to assist their clients. This free access to the Translating and Interpreting Services (TIS) is no longer available. IWSS has received from the Department of Communities a non-recurrent grant. The result of this decision is that the service faces numerous limitations such as: Ongoing awareness raising of the issues with key stakeholders thus meaning the service resources are further stretched; Ongoing uncertainty of meeting optimum service delivery. In order to achieve a shared responsibility it is crucial to firstly think about practical strategies necessary to include CALD families and children. The Department of Communities needs to recognise and acknowledge the complexity for services. Some of the aspects for considerations are: From a settlement perspective it is important to provide a continuum of settlement service as migrant and particularly refugee families are vulnerable. This stems from multilayered experiences in pre-migration, the journey to safety and post migration. The later includes the difficulties to access housing, health services, education, employment, child care services to mention a few. If families are not adequately supported by services this has the potential to exacerbate problems such as addictions (drug, gambling and alcohol), domestic violence and child safety leading to possible community fragmentation and intergenerational conflict. There is documented evidence that highlights the importance of long-term planning and allocation of resources for appropriate settlement processes. Adequately resourcing services to ensure service delivery meets the needs of the community with all its diversity. Access to information in other languages or appropriate access to professional interpreters continues to be an entrenched systemic barrier. Multicultural NGO s continually advocate government and non-government services for change of practices that involve the consistent use of professional interpreters rather than the use of nonprofessional interpreters or reliance on children, friends and community members. The inconsistent or lack of use of professional interpreters exacerbates the fears of people from CALD of being understood when they access mainstream services particularly if they have had experiences of racism and discrimination in the past. - 5 -
Appropriate information delivery as departments often translate information that may be left on the shelf or posted on the web. However anecdotally we know that some CALD individuals may not have access to current technology or cultural differences impact in their ability to understand the information. It has been successfully proven that the use of bilingual / bicultural consultants to deliver information to CALD communities is effective. Access and equity issues remain challenging aspects that add to the systemic barriers people from CALD experience. Engaging in consultations, discussions and the development of protocols consultation with CALD families. This is a major step in ensuring issues of access and equity are addressed in the community. Consideration to gender issues must be given by government and NGO s when developing family and early childhood strategies. Anecdotal experiences and documented evidence suggest that CALD women are particularly vulnerable through isolation and male dominance in the community (eg. most identified community leaders at this point of time are men). A specific approach to reach women should be developed. The lack of cross-cultural sensitivity and training of service providers including health professionals is another fact that begs consideration. Limited cross-cultural understandings, lack of awareness of one s own culture and reliance on assumptions have the potential for disastrous outcomes. Racism and discrimination is experienced by people from CALD in accessing services. It is experienced through the attitude of individuals (not always intentionally) who lack sensitivity, patience and perhaps experience of working with people from diverse backgrounds. We may want to believe that this happens infrequently, but the consequences of discriminatory behaviours have profound impact on those at the receiving end. Implementation of affirmative action policies throughout the Department of Communities which values, respects and ensures support in the employment of staff from CALD backgrounds in Queensland. Improving CALD data reporting mechanism in government and non-government organisations throughout Queensland. Funding bodies traditionally allocate funding based in data provided. However it is well known that very few service both government and NGO s accurately collect data regarding CALD communities. This leads to highlight issues such as: o o o Continued under-resourcing of both government and NGO s to adequately respond to the needs of CALD communities; Ongoing lack of recognition of issues impacting on CALD communities; Lack of acknowledgement of anecdotal evidence regarding issues affecting CALD communities; - 6 -
o An anecdotal example is that of Pacific Islanders who may be arriving from New Zealand and therefore name the country of origin New Zealand resulting in misleading information and interpretation of statistic that suggests this population is smaller than it actually is. Some of the existing networks and organisations providing resources and support to the multicultural sector include: The Community Advocacy in the Multicultural Sector (CAMS); Multicultural Development Association (MDA); Brisbane City Council - The Local Area Multicultural Partnership program (LAMP); The Local Area Multicultural Partnership (LAMPS); Immigrant Women s Support Service (IWSS); The Queensland Program of Assistance to Survivors of Torture and Trauma (QPASTT); Multicultural Centre for Mental Health and Well Being Inc. (Harmony place); Romero Centre; Red Cross Refugee and Migrant Services; Amparo; Inala Community House; Children Access and Equity Resource Support Unit (CAERSU); Mercy Family Services The role of multicultural NGOs is central especially considering that they are examples of best practice regarding increased accessibility and cultural competency towards CALD families and children. Nevertheless, this is achieved under significant constraints as these services operate with limited resources and under enormous funding pressures given by the underlying One size fits all assumption (1). For instance limited consideration of the need of funding for outreach programs as it is well known that CALD families experience significant isolation not only geographically but also in social, cultural and linguistic ways. In addition, there is a general assumption both at funding and service delivery levels that CALD families are used to the terminology, cultural and social protocols of services. Consequently individuals from CALD backgrounds are expected to reach services if necessary, rather than services attempting to reach them. Numerous reports state the CALD families eagerness to be active participants and economic contributors within the Australian society. Consistently CALD families are viewed under the umbrella of deficiency and disadvantaged. Unfortunately, this view leads to limited or lack of listening and learning from CALD families as expressed in the following citation: These agencies do not take the time to learn about culture. They understand refugees as refugees wherever they come from. (7). There is a need to address the lack of listening to CALD families and develop culturally relevant mechanisms to reach the diverse CALD families. This needs to be done with the allocation of proper resources and as part of a comprehensive multicultural strategy. - 7 -
REFERENCES 1. Allimant Holas A.M., L. Marin, S. Conroy, 2004, P:7, Child Care Issues Paper, Fair Play Fair Go, One Size Does Not Fit All, Brisbane, Queensland. 2. Australian Red Cross, 2000 The Greater Horn of Africa Communities in Brisbane A Report of the Action Research with Newly Arrived Refugees from the Greater Horn of Africa, Brisbane, Queensland. 3. Local Government Association of Queensland Inc., 2003 Embracing Cultural Diversity Action Guide To Community Relations for Queensland Local Governments, Brisbane, Queensland. 4. Mann 5. Neville, Ann, 2001, State of the Family 2001, Anglicare Australia 6. Queensland Government, 2005, Multicultural Queensland- Making a world of difference Queensland Government Multicultural Policy 2004. 7. Westoby Peter, 2004, Narratives of Distress within and about the Sudanese community of Brisbane and Logan, The Queensland Program of Assistance to Survivors of Torture and Trauma (QPASTT) and University of Queensland. - 8 -
Attachment 1 Contributors to this Response Brisbane City Council CARM Forum Lilly Matich Multicultural Partnerships Program Officer Access and Equity Team Brisbane City Council (07) 3407 2815 Lilly.Matich@brisbane.qld.gov.au Jane Teague (07) tinkin@aapt.net.au Ethnic Communities Council of Queensland (ECCQ) The peak body for ethnic communities in Qld, undertakes statewide systemic advocacy, health & community development programs & is a lead agency in aged & frail care through Diversicare, its in-home care service & residential aged care at Berlasco Court Caring Centre. Ian Muir Executive Manager (07) 3844 9166 manager@eccq.com.au Immigrant Women s Support Service (IWSS) IWSS provides culturally and linguistically sensitive services to women and their children who have experienced and survived domestic and/or sexual violence. IWSS is the only service in the state for women only from NESB and their children. Annabelle Allimant Coordinator (07) 3846 3490 Annabelle@iwss.org.au Inala Community House Community Settlement Service Strategy - Provides settlement support services to newly arrived migrants with the settlement knowledge that will allow them to access appropriate services and improve their capacity to effectively settle within Australia. Service areas covered are the Inala Ipswich corridor. Lesley Kraemer Community Settlement Service (07) 3372 1711 css@ich.org.au - 9 -
Multicultural Development Association (MDA) MDA is a lead specialist multicultural agency for Qld. working towards a society that value and promotes and celebrates cultural diversity. MDA delivers quality of service to migrants and refugees including advocacy, settlement and community development. Lorella Piazzetta Multicultural Advocate (07) 3394 9300 lorellap@mdabne.org.au MultiLink Community Services Inc. MultiLink provides assistance to individuals, families and communities from diverse backgrounds to link them to government and community services which assist their successful settlement in Australia. Dulcinea Hernandez Manager - Migrant and Refugee Settlement Services (07) 3808 4463 dulcinea@multilink.org.au MultiLink Community Services Inc. Vic Tamati Pacific Island Communities Liaison Worker (07) 3808 4463 vic@multilink.org.au Queensland Council of Social Service (QCOSS) Is the peak body of non-government organisation with more than 750 members in Queensland working towards the termination of poverty and the achievement of social justice. Ana Maria Allimant Holas Multicultural Policy & Project Worker (07) 3832 1266 anah@qcoss.org.au Qld Transcultural Mental Health Centre Works in partnership with mental health services, ethnic communities and other agencies to improve the quality, accessibility and appropriateness of services and promote the mental health and wellbeing of CALD communities in Qld. Rita Prasad-Ildes Manager (07) 3240 2833 Elvia_Ramirez@health.qld.gov.au - 10 -