Tararua Strengthening FamiliesStrengthening Families is a cross-sectoral, whole of government, initiative which uses a structured process of government agencies and community organisations working together to improve outcomes for families. Both government and non-government/community organisations participate in Strengthening Families.

How does Strengthening Families work in Tararua?

Tararua Strengthening Families holds an agency Network Meeting on the first Thursday of each month from February to December. This interagency meeting has a database of over one hundred agencies and generally has an attendance of twenty to thirty agencies per month. This meeting is held at Tararua REAP, Gordon Street, Dannevirke, from 9.30 a.m. to 11.30 a.m. and always includes a guest speaker. All agency staff are welcome to attend.

The Tararua Strengthening Families Coordinator undertakes the day to day coordination of Case Management work and the promotion of Strengthening Families through inter-agency initiatives. Each Strengthening Families area is overseen by a Local Management Group.

How do families access Strengthening Families?

A family participates in a Strengthening Families Initiative on a voluntary basis. The family may ask an agency that they are working with to initiate Strengthening Families, or the agency may discuss the Strengthening Families process with the family.

Goals of Strengthening Families

The goal of a Strengthening Families Team Initiative supporting a family is to improve the social, emotional and physical wellbeing of children and young people within families that could benefit from the service.

The key objectives are:

• Increase awareness about the importance of child and youth wellbeing
• Increase the capacity of families to work together with agencies to solve problems and help improve the wellbeing of their children
• Increase the capacity of agencies to collaborate through using the Strengthening Families mode