HoPES - Home Parenting Education Support Service

The HoPES Program

HoPES is a home based parenting program with a focus on family reunification and family preservation for families involved with DFFH and family service agencies.

We understand that parenting can be difficult. The HoPES program helps to build on parenting strengths and to develop new knowledge and skills to help mums and dads parent according to their culture, values and beliefs.

Working alongside families

Over 8 weeks, an Early Parenting Practitioner (EPP) visits the family twice a week for 2 hours and offers parenting education and support. The worker gets to know the parent and child by listening to their needs and learning about future goals, hopes and dreams. We work alongside families to set achievable goals. We do this by tailoring education to individual learning styles and offer a range of educational resources such as:

• Educational parenting video clips
• Hands on demonstration
• Role modelling
• Visual aids
• Informative leaflets

Supporting Connection and Strengths

If a child is not in parental care, we support families to stay connected to their child. We do this by learning about the child together to understand their likes and dislikes and to learn about how they are growing and developing. We know that a child’s main job is to play, this is how they learn. Though more importantly, this is how children develop relationships with their family and friends.

Families are allocated an Early Parenting Practitioner for the 8 week period who will support them in many aspects of parenting. This can include:

• Child development
• Infant feeding, diet and nutrition
• Support with maintaining a safe home
• Environment
• Understanding how your baby/child communicates with you
• Parent/child relationships
• Getting to know your baby/child’s likes and dislikes
• Learning about your community and the services that are on offer such as mother and baby groups
• Bonding and attachment
• Behaviour
• Play
• Sleep and settling

Every visit, the Early Parenting Practitioner enjoys facilitating a variety of attachment strengthening activities and games that help parents bond with their children.

The HoPES team are passionate about working alongside families and they look forward to getting to know each family.

HoPES program contact information

For more information please contact the HoPES Program Manager on 0451 932 651