Infants, children, young people and families
Overview
Facts and figures
In 2018, an estimated 5,129 children and young people in Brisbane North are expected to experience severe mental illness and to require treatment for this.
An estimated 30,007 children and young people in Brisbane North are expected to experience moderate or mild mental illness in 2018.
80% of children and young people experiencing moderate mental illness and 50% experiencing mild mental illness will require treatment.
In 2016/17, 1 in 13 students aged between 12 and 17 who participated in the Young Minds Matter survey reported seriously considering suicide, with a third of those attempting suicide.
The 2010 Australian National Infant Feeding Survey showed that 20% of mothers of children aged 24 months or less had been diagnosed with depression, with more than half of these mothers reporting being diagnosed during the perinatal period.
Objectives and actions
Action
Planned completion
Status
9.1.1
Develop a common language and understanding of key system concepts across the child and youth mental health sector
Planned completion
Status
On track
Updated
9.1.2
Identify service and workforce gaps and develop responses to them
Planned completion
Status
On track
Updated
9.1.3
Use combined resources more flexibly and collaboratively so that we bridge the gap between services, in particular between state and federally funded services
Planned completion
Status
On track
Updated
9.1.4
Advocate for improvement of systemic conditions that contribute to the ‘missing middle’
Planned completion
Status
On track
Updated
Action
Planned completion
Status
9.2.1
Develop a shared common language of crisis and suicide risk across the child and youth sector
Planned completion
Status
On track
Updated
9.2.2
Support and build the capacity of community-based organisations to respond to suicide risk
Planned completion
Ongoing
Status
On track
Updated
9.2.3
Improve GP assessment and response to children and young people at risk of suicide.
Planned completion
Ongoing
Status
On track
Updated
9.2.4
Improve children, young people and families’ experience when in crisis
Planned completion
Ongoing
Status
On track
Updated
Action
Planned completion
Status
9.3.1
Improve the capacity of the service system to engage and build relationships with children, young people and families
Planned completion
Status
On track
Updated
9.3.2
Support the development of enduring relationships between mental health services and with other relevant sectors
Planned completion
Status
On track
Updated
Action
Planned completion
Status
9.4.1
Improve mental health services and supports for priority groups of infants, children and young people at higher risk of mental health issues
Planned completion
Status
On track
Updated
9.4.2
Create better lived experience engagement strategies at the service and systems level
Planned completion
Status
On track
Updated
9.4.3
Implement service models that better respond to families with complex health needs, including better integration of adult and infant/child services
Planned completion
Ongoing
Status
On track
Updated
Action
Planned completion
Status
9.5.1
Trial and evaluate innovative service delivery modalities that increase equitable access for children, young people and families, including telehealth and outreach
Planned completion
Status
On track
Updated
9.5.2
Improve transitions for children and young people between children’s and adults services
Planned completion
Status
On track
Updated
9.5.3
Improve consumer and service provider navigation of services and between service systems
Planned completion
Status
On track
Updated
9.5.4
Implement integrated and coordinated service delivery models that place children, young people and their carers at the center of their care
Planned completion
Status
On track
Updated
9.5.5
Support GPs' central role in the child and young person's care
Planned completion
Status
On track
Updated
Action
Planned completion
Status
9.6.1
Advocate for specialised acute mental health treatment programs that promote the attachment between mother and baby (ie Mother Baby Unit) and have consumer co-design input
Planned completion
Status
On track
Updated
9.6.2
Support evidence-informed antenatal education programs across Brisbane North
Planned completion
Status
On track
Updated
9.6.3
Work with consumers, service providers, and other stakeholders to identify current perinatal and infant mental health system needs and future responses
Planned completion
Status
On track
Updated
9.6.4
Identify opportunities to advocate for updated and innovative ways to support screening, assessment and pathways to evidence based care of perinatal and infant mental health
Planned completion
Status
On track
Updated
9.6.5
Identify workforce development initiatives (including Lived Experience workforce), to promote best practice approaches to perinatal and infant mental health
Planned completion
Status
On track
Updated
Action
Planned completion
Status
9.7.1
Equip initial touchpoints with the increased ability to identify, connect and respond to children and young people with mental health difficulties, including schools, peers and parents and carers
Planned completion
Status
On track
9.7.2
Implement strategies that increase protective factors against mental ill-health for children and young people
Planned completion
Status
On track
9.7.3
Support and implement services that identify vulnerable children and intervene early
Planned completion
Status
On track
Governance
The Infant, Child and Youth Mental Health Partnership Group was originally established to support development of the Infant, Child and Youth section of Planning for Wellbeing. Since the launch of Planning for Wellbing, the Group’s focus has shifted to the provision of guidance and oversight. The Group is comprised of stakeholders and community members with a vested interest in improving outcomes for infants, children and young people in the Brisbane North community. The Infant, Child and Youth Mental Health Partnership Group has direct oversight over implementation of Chapter Nine – Infants, Children, Young People and Families within Planning for Wellbeing.
Membership
Amy Lee Mayes
Executive Manager
Redcliffe Area Youth Space
Anita Krug
Program Development Officer
Brisbane North PHN
Ash Simpson
Regional Manager - Youth Integrated Services
Aftercare
Belinda Blaik
Manager - Clinical services
Pregnancy counselling link
Brigitte Lewis
Caseworker
Caboolture Youth Justice Centre
Catherine Rawlinson
Service Development Leader
Queensland Centre for Perinatal and Infant Mental Health
Catherine White
Community Services Manager – Youth and Family
Lutheran Services
Chris Pickard
General Manager
Open Doors Youth Service
Debbie Spink
PHN Carer Representative
Queensland Mental Health Commission
Deon Bird
Momentim Facilitator
Moreton Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Community health Service ATSICHS
Dianne O'Malley
Director
Young Minds
Elizabeth Bennett
Team Leader
Perinatal Wellbeing Team - Metro North Mental Health
Glenda Jones-Terare
Chief Executive Officer
Kurbingui Youth Development Association Inc
Gretel Gardner
Senior Program Manager
Mercy Community
Helen Funk
Project Nurse Manager - Women’s and Newborn Services
Royal Brisbane Women's Hospital
Jacqui de la Rue
Coordinator – Dual Diagnosis Program
Brisbane Youth Service Inc
Jamie Thompson
Centre Manager
headspace - Taringa
Jolene Hutchings
Social Worker
Metro North Hospital and Health Service
Judi Krause
Divisional Director
Child and Youth Mental Health Service
Judith Piccone
Director, Child and Youth Team
QLD Government - Department of Health (Mental Health Branch)
Katharine McLean
Team Leader
The Benevolent Society
Kathryn Kenny
Business Manager
Redcliffe Area Youth Space
Kathy Faulkner
Manager – Priority Communities
Brisbane North PHN
Lee-Anne Crossfield
Director
A T Psychology
Lucianne Palmquist
Acting Team Leader
Caboolture Child and Youth Mental Health Service
Mary Anne Collier
Moreton Region Services Manager
yourtown
Michelle Wallbank
Program Coordinator
yourtown
Rachael Donovan
State Coordinator
CREATE Foundation
Rebecca Lloyd-Jones
Acting Manager
QLD Government - Department of Youth Justice
Sam Whybrow
Clinical Team Leader
Aftercare
Sandra Tucker
Manager Strathpine CSSC
QLD Government - Department of Communities, Child Safety & Disability Services
Shane Rebgetz
Team Leader
Caboolture Child and Youth Mental Health Service
Thy Meddick
Principal Policy Officer, Child and Youth Team
QLD Government - Department of Health (Mental Health Branch)
Thomas Docking
Founder CEO
Dads Group Inc
Tom McIntyre
National Education Director
Act for Kids
Vani Naiker
Senior Guidance Officer
QLD Government - Department of Education, Training and Employment
Vicky Jebsen
Director
All About Kids
Vivianne Kissane
Founder CEO
Peach Tree
Achievements
Planning for Wellbeing acknowledges a healthy early childhood is fundamentally linked to wellbeing and positive long-term health outcomes – and this is reflected in the shared objectives, with a strong focus on perinatal, infant and school-based activities.
As co-sponsors of the Regional Plan however, the PHN and HHS acknowledge that the original consultation to develop these objectives and associated actions lacked the breadth of stakeholders necessary to comprehensively develop objectives spanning infants, children, young people and families. To address this, the PHN, guided by the Infant, Child and Youth Mental Health Partnership Group, has undertaken further consultation over the past 12 months, and has revised the objectives and associated actions. For the purpose of this Implementation Report, progress toward the original four objectives is included – however the revised material will be included in the Refreshed Regional Plan – due for release by October 2020.
A summary of the key achievements against the four original shared objectives, as published in Planning for Wellbeing, is included below.
Summary of Achievements (2018-2020)
The PHN HealthPathways team have worked collaboratively with key stakeholders to develop three new Perinatal Pathways focused on the emotional health and wellbeing of mothers pre-pregnancy, during pregnancy and post-pregnancy. Stakeholders included Metro North Perinatal Mental Health Service, the Queensland Centre for Perinatal and Infant Mental Health, Peach Tree Perinatal wellness and the White Cloud Foundation. Alongside the perinatal pathways, a HealthPathway for Infant Mental Health has also been developed – ensuring pathways to care are available for very young children, and their families, who require mental health support. The new Pathways provide health practitioners with clear step-by-step guidance for referring parents, infants and young children to specialised services.
2018 also saw expansion of the State-based perinatal mental health service, resulting in greater reach across the region.
To support achievement of this objective, the PHN and HHS committed to a broader and deeper consultation and co-design process to develop key insights which would determine future areas of work. This process was completed in early 2019, and has informed the revised objectives and actions for this Chapter of the Regional Plan.
Informed by the co-design process, the PHN has procured a specialised psychological therapy service tailored to children and young people, with more flexible funding arrangements to allow for more holistic and connected support. This revised Brisbane MIND service began 1 July 2019.
To date, work to achieve this objective has focused on two key activities:
- Additional funding has been provided to all four headspace[1] centres in the region to support the expansion of services to better support young people with more complex needs, as well as providing outreach support to Bribie Island and Kilcoy regions. The four headspace sites have provided support to more than 7,500 young people.
- asha [2] – a service based in the Moreton Bay North sub-region which combines a clinical model with an existing drop-in youth service, has continued to support young people with high needs, complex problems and suicidal ideation. Early feedback from an external evaluation suggests that asha is filling a recognised need in the region.
[1] https://headspace.org.au/
[2] mental health services for children and young people – www.brisbanenorthphn.org.au
Work to achieve this objective has included the promotion of beyond blue’s Be You [1] resources as appropriate. Be You promotes mental health and wellbeing, from the early years to 18, and offers educators and learning communities evidence-based online professional learning, complemented by a range of tools and resources to turn learning into action.
Work has also begun to explore opportunities for external providers to in-reach into schools – offering much needed specialist support by local providers. This work will continue into 2019/2020.
Success stories
Reviewing the child and youth mental health system
Objective 9.2: Deliver more effective services to infants, children, young people and their families Action 9.2.1:…
Expansion of headspace
Objective 9.3: Improve outcomes for vulnerable young people Action 9.3.2: Enhance delivery of existing youth services…
Improving health assessments for children in out-of-home care
Objective 9.1: Deliver better infant and perinatal support Action 9.1.2: Strengthen assessment of infants and young…
