Our Story
Connecting Community for Kids is a collective impact initiative dedicated to improving the well-being and development of children and families across Cockburn and Kwinana. We work closely with the community, service providers and government to drive change.
Our Vision
To build strong, safe communities where together we can help our children to thrive.
Our Goals
- Children are on optimal development pathways through early intervention child health
- Parents are well supported during the early years of their child’s life
- Families are socially connected to others within the community
- Strong community spirit and cultural inclusion is celebrated
We Believe
We need to work together to achieve change, no single person or organisation can solve social change alone.
What We Do
We understand community issues through community conversations and engagement activities, correlating data and identifying gaps and needs
We empower communities to drive change by providing them with the tools to make positive changes
We act in partnership with service providers, government and families to strengthen local communities
We build strong, safe, inclusive communities with a sense of culture and belonging, through support guidance and education
Our History
Connecting Community for Kids was founded by The Partnership Forum and subsequently The Partnership Forum Early Years Working Group. Comprised of leaders from State Government agencies and the not-for-profit sector, The Partnership Forum identified the early years as one of its four priority areas and formed the Working Group to focus on this area.
In 2014 this working group endorsed an early years place based initiative in the City of Cockburn and City of Kwinana using a collective impact approach. These areas were chosen based on the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) results which showed a high proportion of vulnerable children aged between 0 and 8 years in these areas.
In 2015 financial support was gained through the Woodside Development Fund and Connecting Community for Kids was formed and auspiced by Child Australia. The partnership forum early years group transitioned to the Joint Commissioning Committee (JCC) and the Joint Leadership Team was formed to include service providers directly working in the communities of Cockburn and Kwinana.
In 2016 we started community engagement with the Cities of Cockburn and Kwinana and identified four common themes to address childhood vulnerability – child health, social isolation, financial strain and safety.
Collecting all data provided we conducted research and further community engagement on the possible approaches that would assist in creating social changes based on the four themes identified above. In 2017 five action teams were formed to commence implementing circuit breakers for change. These are 4 Little Checks, Celebrate Culture, Community Mothers Program, Dads Strengthening Dads and Neighbourhoods Connected.
Towards the end of 2020 Woodside announced a further $1.4 million investment in CCK with the additional four years bringing the initiative through to the end of 2024. The full media statement can be read here.
From 1 January 2021 CCK will be auspiced by Kwinana Early Years Services.