ABORIGINAL FAMILY PLANNING CIRCLE – EXECUTIVE SUMMARY – 2015

In 2015, WESTIR Ltd was asked to undertake an evaluation of the Aboriginal Family Planning Circle, a community-based program that has been running in Blacktown LGA since 2006. The program aims to assist local Aboriginal individuals and families in addressing their complex service needs and reduce the risk of having their children assumed into out-of-home care.

In carrying out the research, researchers from WESTIR Ltd were assisted by a number of people:

•   The Aboriginal Family Workers Support Group, active in the Blacktown/Mount Druitt area since 2006; 

•   Staff at Waru Mudyin AIFBS (Aboriginal Intensive Family Based Services), who organised the focus groups and interviews with both service workers and clients; provided a space in which to conduct the research; and answered many questions along the way; 

•   The Aboriginal workers and community members who began the Aboriginal Family Planning Circle, for their great work and energy; 

•   The service workers who took time out of their busy schedules to answer questions; 

•   The clients who generously shared their stories; and 

Former WESTIR Ltd staff members Niro Kandasamy and Dr. Kristine Aquino, who prepared the research proposal and laid the groundwork for the evaluation. 
WESTIR Ltd is making the executive summary of the Evaluation Report available online, however the full report will not be released publicly, except by special request. Individuals and organisations interested in reading the full report are advised to contact Waru Mudyin AIFBS on (02) 8887 7531.