SafeCare

SafeCare Educators work with families at home to improve their parenting skills. Educators make weekly home visits lasting from 50-90 minutes each for about 20 weeks, per family.

SafeCare is suitable for most families who have at least one child aged between 0-5 years, where the child is living in the home or is on a reunification foster care plan. The SafeCare program is run in two locations: the Bayside Peninsula and the Shepparton and Goulburn Valley area.

There are three SafeCare modules. Each of the modules begin with observational assessments to determine parents’ strengths and areas for improvement. Educators will then conduct four training sessions until the parents show improvement in skills, concluding with a final observational assessment. Training sessions use principles from well-established social learning theory and practice.

This module focuses on parent-infant interactions (PII) up to 18 months and parent-child interactions (PCI) for older children. Parents learn to increase positive interactions with their child and how to structure engaging and stimulating daily activities. PCI also helps parents to reduce challenging behaviours and to have more confidence in their parenting.

The health module teaches parents to identify and care for childhood illnesses and injuries. Parents learn when and how to care for a child at home, see a doctor, and seek emergency help. Parents are also taught to use health reference materials, including a validated SafeCare health manual.

This module helps parents identify and eliminate common household hazards. Parents learn how to eliminate hazards and they’re also taught the importance of supervision.

Back in August 2018, SafeCare was featured on the ABC’s Four Corners program.

Watch the full episode of Parenting 101 here.