org - BUSHkids€¦ · Patricia Delamont Accountant (from September 2013) Kathryn Healey Service Delivery Coordinator (to October 2013) ... Gordon K & June S Harris Foundation 1,000.00

.org.au

Royal Queensland Bush Children’s Health SchemeA nonprofit organisation supporting regional children and famil ies for over 75 years

2012 – 2013 ANNUAL REPORT

ABN 43 824 927 762

Loaves & Fishes 2013 compere

Andrew Lofthouse with Chairman

Dr Neil Bartels at the signature event

of the year: see full report inside centrespread.

(Image: Mark Buckley Photography)

2013 TEAM MEMBERS

BRISBANE Carlton Meyn General Manager Tiffany Bannier-King Administration Manager Susan Harrison Clinical Services Manager Kaylene Hoffman Accountant (to September 2013) Patricia Delamont Accountant (from September 2013) Kathryn Healey Service Delivery Coordinator (to October 2013) Ingrid Lazarus Administration Officer Brett Wall Maintenance & Safety Coordinator

BUNDABERG Heather Moyle Psychologist (to July 2013) Laura Back Speech Pathologist Claire Portener Occupational Therapist Janie Stupart Family Health Support Worker / Admin Officer

DALBY Eleanor Glover Psychologist Joshua Dodd Speech Pathologist Chelsea O’Brien Clinical Services Manager (to May 2013) Jane Harling Occupational Therapist Julie Rathmell Family Health Support Worker / Admin Officer

EMERALD Lucy Waldby Occupational Therapist Taylor Funk Speech Pathologist Rhianna Hogan Family Health Support Worker / Admin Officer

MOUNT ISA Caitlin Howe Occupational Therapist Emily Hetherington Speech Pathologist Caitlin Gibson Psychologist Lana Lehmann Family Health Support Worker / Admin Officer (to September 2013)

WARWICK Rebecca Wright Psychologist Helen O’Connell Occupational Therapist Alison Dowdle Speech Pathologist Linda Cholawinskyj Family Health Support Worker / Admin Officer

INGLEWOOD Sue Clarke Family Health Support Worker

MENTORS / SUPERVISORS Karlee Wiles Occupational Therapists Annalisa Bishop Speech Pathologists Jane Morgan Psychologist / Family Health Support Worker

PATRON

The Governor of Queensland Her Excellency Ms Penelope Wensley ac

COUNCIL MEMBERSDr Neil Bartels Chairman

Mr Ian Robinson Deputy Chairman

Ms Allison McLean Treasurer

Mr Julian Martin Member

Ms Gloria Ryan Member

Ms Karolyn Harcourt Member

Ms Carolyn Searle Member

Mr David Ham Member

Mrs Gail Huggins Member

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BUSINESS

CENTRES

CONTENTS

NOTICE OF MEETINGThe seventy-seventh Annual General Meeting of the Royal Queensland bush Children’s Health Scheme – BUSHkids – will be held on Friday 6th December 2013 at 5.30pm, at Bush Children’s Place, 16 Morley Street, Toowong Q 4066

• Receive and adopt the Report and Financial Statement for the 12 month period 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2013;

• Election of Chairman, Treasurer and Council Members;

• Appoint auditors for the ensuing year;• Transact any special business for which due notice

has been given. By order of the Council Dr N J Bartels

Chairman

Councillors and staff Inside cover

Estates 2 Acknowledgements 2 Donations and bequests 2

Chairman’s report 3

Volunteers & long service recognition 4

General Manager’s report 5

Council members 13

Supervisors’ reports 14

Centre reports

Dalby 16Inglewood 17Bundaberg 20Emerald 23 Mount Isa 24Warwick 25

Insights & programs guide 28

Treasurer’s report 29

Financial statements 30

New and existing partnerships 37

Service statistics Back cover

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BRISBANE HEAD OFFICE16 Morley Street, Toowong Q 4066 PO Box 1017, Milton Q 4064 Phone: (07) 3870 7288 Fax: (07) 3870 7723 Email: [email protected]

BUNDABERG

57 Maryborough Street, Bundaberg Q 4670 PO Box 1328, Bundaberg Q 4670

Phone: (07) 4152 3799 Fax: (07) 4152 7022 Email: [email protected]

DALBY

33B Archibald Street, Dalby Q 4405 PO Box 293, Dalby Q 4405


EMERALD

5 Clermont Street, Emerald Q 4720 PO Box 53, Emerald Q 4720


INGLEWOOD

Community Health Centre Cnr Cunningham Hwy & Princess Street Inglewood Q 4387 PO Box 6, Inglewood Q 4387


MOUNT ISA

84 Marian Street, Mount Isa Q 4825 PO Box 262, Mount Isa Q 4825


WARWICK

47 Guy Street, Warwick Q 4370 PO Box 1229, Warwick Q 4370


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HOW YOU CAN HELPDONATEPhone: 07 3870 7288 Fax: 07 3870 7723 Post: Royal Queensland Bush Children’s Health Scheme (BUSHkids) PO Box 1017, Milton Q 4064Online: Visit our website for options: www.bushkids.org.au/support/helpEmail: [email protected] to BUSHkids help us to:• provide services at each of our Centres for children and their families• provide staff with the resources required to provide those services• provide programs and groups to assist children, families and carers be the best they can be

BEQUESTA gift in your Will is an investment in the future of BUSHkids and the futures of all the children we help.

Remembering our Queensland children in your Will is a very special way to pledge your continuing support for BUSHkids’ service and will remain a living legacy of your love and compassion for children. The following wording may be used:

“I bequeath free of all duties and charges the sum of $ ........... to the Royal Queensland Bush Children’s Health Scheme for the general charitable purpose thereof and I declare that the receipt of the Secretary or the Honorary Treasurer of the said Scheme shall be sufficient discharge to my executors.”

Your Solicitor or Trustee Company will alter the form of wording when the bequest is for a share or residue of your estate.

SPONSORSHIPCorporate, club or individual sponsorship of specific projects or equipment and resources is an excellent way to ensure a continuity of service for country children. Please contact our Brisbane office or your nearest Centre (details on page 1) for more information on current projects.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSESTATES, LEGACIES AND TRUSTS YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2013

$

Estate Nellie Muriel Ivers 51,563.78

William Wyper Charitable Trust 28,500.00

John W & Herries A McIntyre 21,500.00

Mavis Douglas Winter Fund - QCF 14,947.00

Russell McKimmin Charitable Trust 13,104.00

Estate Marjorie Geeves-Trust Foundation 8,188.31

Estate CH Boden 7,987.32

N & M Hurll Charitable Trust 4,464.41

The Hart Family Perpetual Trust 3,757.54

Est ONS White (Qld) 3,392.99

William Angliss (Queensland) 1,000.00

Gordon K & June S Harris Foundation 1,000.00

QFC Distribution 2012 683.00

F & I Clewett Memorial Trust 114.53

The Renouf Family Fund (QCF) 250.00

Estate Jill Bain McAdam 100.74

The J R & L A French Bequest 92.22

The Royal Queensland Bush Children’s Health Scheme gratefully acknowledges the kindnesses of everyone who has supported the works of BUSHkids in the past year. In consideration of the Privacy Amendment (Private Sector) Act 2000, the full list of donations has not been pub-lished.

Our heartfelt thanks and great admiration go out to all those who, in whatever way, have supported our region-al and rural children and families this year. We would be pleased to receive your written advice at the time you send your next gift if you wish that it be acknowledged in the 2013–2014 Annual Report.

BUSHkids sincerely expresses the appreciation of our clients and staff for the assistance and encouragement given by our fellow Queenslanders, community groups, service clubs, media, health, welfare and education personnel throughout the state.

The financial assistance given by the Queensland Government through the departments of Health and Education is gratefully acknowledged, as is the valuable support of our many corporate partners, sponsors and suppliers (please see page 36).

Perpetual has granted funding for the development of a multidisciplinary assessment and intervention program for isolated children with complex support needs in the Warwick area and we are very grateful for their support.

Once more, I open my report by recording my appreciation – and that of Council – for the remarkable diligence, enthusiasm and thoroughly professional dedication of our staff and volunteers across Queensland. There can be no greater accolade for our work than the smiles on the faces of the kids and their parents, often after painstaking therapeutic and clinical work on all sides, and just as often with a big dose of “fun” there in the mix too.

I am pleased to record that all the initiatives on which I reported last year are either complete, or well underway in their execution. These include changes in our governance structure and operational models of service delivery – of which, more below – adjusted and enhanced accountability and reporting standards, increased community and industry collaboration, and the successful installation of new ICT systems across the organisation.

My report will be brief this year, for I want to let the words of our diligent General Manager and our wonderful frontline staff do most of the talking. That is as it should be, in a tightly-knit organisation such as BUSHkids, where each individual is the ‘face’ of our organisation, often going beyond the ‘call of duty’ – and the specifics of their role descriptions – in delivering the combination of services unique to BUSHkids.

On that note, I record my appreciation of the efforts of your Council members who have also stepped-up their efforts behind the scenes to support our frontline teams. Council members possess a wide range of skills needed to support the important decisions considered at a committee level. We will continue to evaluate our structure as a council to ensure the appropriate balance. Skills audits and procedural changes mean BUSHkids is better utilising the diverse skillsets of specialist expertise each contributes. Our financial and legal oversight is now even stronger, and Council papers are even more thoroughly researched and presented, to better guide our strategic direction and decision-making.

We are all being held to higher account, in times of financial constraint and increased legislative oversight, and I am pleased all at BUSHkids are meeting these challenges. I would be remiss if I did not record one concern: the end of our current funding contract, on 30 June 2014, with Education Queensland and Queensland Health. We continue to work closely with the state government to secure funding agreements to buttress the vital work of BUSHkids beyond that date, and our structural changes make us even better placed to demonstrate evidence-based service-delivery.

With the Council I would like to record our heartfelt thanks to all the donors who have supported our work. With your ongoing generosity we will continue to provide our essential services to the rural and remote Queensland children.

Last year, I referred to ‘investigating improvements’ at our Warwick centre. This year, I can note advanced arrangements which should lead instead to bigger and even more suitable premises. I regret that timings do not, for this report, allow me to yet make a formal announcement but we are confident of success.

Work with our reference groups on our new Model of Care has been fruitful. The development process is now complete, and we intend to begin rolling-out our new operational approach from early 2014. I thank all involved, particularly our tireless staff who have engaged with this exciting new methodology.

Elsewhere, you will read of our ‘Friends of BUSHkids’ initiative which we intend launching next year. This has been driven, in part, by the wonderful success of the 20th annual ‘Loaves & Fishes’ event in 2013, at which BUSHkids was the financial beneficiary of the fundraising event at St John’s Cathedral in Brisbane. The increased public awareness of our work, here in our state capital, underscored remarks I made that day about the inequities of geography. Specialist services available in urban centres should also be available out west, where no child or family should be disadvantaged simply because of the postcode in which they were born or live.

As always, we are indebted to Her Excellency Ms Penelope Wensley ac, the Governor of Queensland, for her patronage of and commitment to BUSHkids and our work. I record my sincere appreciation, also, for the warm interest and support which we continue to receive from the Premier, Campbell Newman MP, and ministers John- Paul Langbroek MP (Education) and Lawrence Springborg MP (Health). As readers well know, BUSHkids matches dollar-for-dollar all government funding received, and we are confident this partnership remains strong into the future.

Dr Neil J Bartels MBBS LL.M Grad.Cert.Leg.Med. FACRRM Chairman

From the Chairman

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Volunteers

Meet Jane Edwards and Liz Ryan from Dalby, two of our amazing volunteers! Both ladies have been supporters of BUSHkids for a number of years, mainly assisting with the annual Race Day.

Jane, from Black Toyota, has donated the use of their marquee for the event, provided a kids’ bouncy slide, and donated the amazing table decorations that were auctioned off on the day.

In 2013, Liz Ryan put together a committee to help organise the day. They collected sponsors’ donations and raffle prizes, then organised the erecting of the marquee, setting of tables and chairs and decorations, as well organising the entertain-ment – a singer for adults and face-painting for the kids.

In August Jane organised for Dalby to be on the Melbourne Cup Tour, with a cocktail evening and auction, and proceeds going to BUSHkids.

It is timely that we also mention some of our other volunteers, and acknowledge the wonderful contributions which they make:

Veronica Webb has assisted with writing grant applications, looking into the vast history of BUSHkids and working on the proposed ‘Friends of BUSHkids’ project;

Gabby Copp is a journalism student who gained some practical experience with media releases for the Loaves & Fishes event;

Michael Whitlock has been doing great work helping in the area of Work Health & Safety, and updating many of our Policies and Procedures where needed;

Rob Gluch has assisted with our mail-outs, collated a list of corporate sponsors and donators for Loaves & Fishes, and created a database for our resources;

Rotary Sunrise Warwick helped with our Golf Day in a terrific display of team spirit.

Volunteers bring enthusiasm, experience, and much-needed extra skills and fresh ideas, as well as their labour, time and energy.

They are another link with the community, and another way of attracting support: another way of ‘spreading the message’.

Volunteers can provide invaluable support to the paid staff by working at reception, maintaining gardens and grounds, providing clerical support or simply being ‘Jack (or Jill!) of all trades’.

During busier times, when major events or fundraising drives are being organised, committees of volunteers can prove to be great assets.

Last but definitely not least, the Boards and Councils that assume responsibility for the operation of the thousands of Australia’s charitable organisations are largely made up of volunteers.

BUSHkids appreciates the great potential value of building a team of volunteers to help us extend the capabilities of each centre and to assist our overall administration.

Meet our long-service heroes! With almost half a century of BUSHkids experience

between them, our Brisbane-based Maintenance and Safety

Coordinator Brett Wall (24 years) and Inglewood Family Health Support Worker Sue Clarke (23 years 5 months) reflect the commitment and

service ethos which has made BUSHkids special to so many

Queenslanders over the years. Thank-you, to Sue and Brett for

your amazing dedication!

Want to volunteer?As a first step, please send an email to [email protected] with details of which area you live, any special skills or interests, and how you think you can help, along with your contact details.

It has been my privilege to lead the operations of BUSHkids and I feel incredibly fortunate and proud to report to you our achievements and plans here at BUSHkids over the past twelve months and for the year ahead.

Our mission is to ensure that Allied Health services are appropriate, timely and accessible. For, to have a child with significant speech,

psychological pathology or occupational therapy needs in an already impoverished environment can mean a missed opportunity for early intervention. A missed opportunity at early intervention often means the loss of a chance for the most precious of Australian resources, a human resource: our children.

Following is an overview of the past year.

CSWRG AND NEW MOC

Our current priority is the implementation of the new Model of Care (MoC), which has been developed over the past year. This is the result of the hard work of the Clinical Services Working Review Group (CSWRG) led by Jane Morgan, with support from the Clinical Staff, Supervisors, Brisbane office staff, members of the Council and input from the regional teams.

This work has been built upon workshops facilitated by Dr Doug Shelton at the 2012 Annual Conference. The shift to the new MoC signals a move to more efficient delivery of services based on the best available evidence and reflects the needs of regional Queensland.

The new MoC comprises a range of care pathways, and the first three streams to be developed include: • the Early Intervention and Prevention

Pathway (EIPP);• the Multidisciplinary Assessment and

Intervention Pathway (MAIP) for children presenting with more complex needs; and

• the Social Emotional and Behavioural Program (SEBP).

These pathways were launched at the 2013 Annual Conference, with follow-up at regional workshops in each service centre facilitated by the Clinical Services Manager.

The MoC will continue to be reviewed and evolve over time to further reflect local priorities through community consultation and engagement, identifying unmet needs which can be delivered by BUSHkids.

Several themes are emerging for our clinical direction over the next year. These include:

• reviewing our practices to identify areas where we can become increasingly family-centred;

• linking with universities in the development of new, efficient and effective methods of clinical service provision, in particular exploring the use of technology; investigating our capacity to develop service models to support families living in remote Indigenous communities;

• development of consistent clinical outcome measurement; and

• liaising with government to identify further opportunities for BUSHkids to provide high quality services for children, families and communities in rural and remote areas.

In practical terms, this could mean working with city hospitals to facilitate earlier discharge for children who require further rehabilitation or support in their local community; supporting children to achieve educational aims (e.g. language and literacy) in the early years; providing local intervention for children with disabilities; and working with families and children who have had involvement with, or are at risk of becoming involved in, the child safety or juvenile justice systems.

ICT UPGRADE

The need for BUSHkids to upgrade our Information Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure had become acute, and I flagged a comprehensive review of our systems in last year’s report. Among the issues identified in 2012 were: network speed/latency, and manageability and disaster recovery. Moreover, the existing video conferencing set-up was ageing and overdue for replacement.

That change was needed was not in question; the challenge was to find an efficient, contemporary solution within our financial means. This we achieved, but the next challenge is to provide a brief overview in language which readers can understand! I will do my best here.

The solution implemented was, to use its correct terminology, a ‘Private & Hybrid Cloud Infrastructure’ design. This permitted a reduction in both network complexity and infrastructure costs.

The first step in the process was to establish a Private Wide Area Network (WAN). This provided high speed, synchronous connectivity enabling all BUSHkids offices to share applications and programs.

From the General Manager

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In turn, the WAN further reduced costs, allowing centralised updating of the operating software and standardised applications, in what is known as a ‘hub-and-spoke’ approach.

Utilising a private, Cloud-hosted email set-up now avoids the complexities, costs and performance drain of a local, wire-connected email system. Under the project name ‘LYNC 2013’ BUSHkids teams now also have the ability to communicate right across the organisation from their desktop workstations.

As well as sharing resources, applications, workshop materials and presentations, our teams can now conduct video and voice calling, conferencing and group meetings, all from their desktop computers or ‘smart’ phones, tablets and other portable devices.

Evolution of larger, organisation-wide collaborative projects is assisted by the archived saving of all these interactions, enabling material to be efficienctly reviewed and compiled and minimising waste and duplication of effort.

New laptop and desktop computers in all centres and head office maximise the full potential of the new ICT infrastructure, greatly improving teams’ productivity and efficiency, and providing local redundancy with backup resources in each site’s hardware.

Safety and integrity of our new ICT systems includes a dedicated ‘Managed Disaster Recovery’ solution and hardware replacement guarantee, to protect data and reduce downtime in the event of a failure from days to just hours. Data backup processes are now fully automated, relieving individuals of the need to manage these key tasks in addition to their core roles.

To complete this technological ‘revolution’ new photocopiers, phone system and iPads have also been arranged for all our Centre teams. Two additional benefits of our ICT upgrade include the capability to create our own comprehensive database, another area identified in last year’s report.

The WAN also allows BUSHkids to have our own ‘extranet’ (in effect, a ‘private internet’) which hosts our Policy and Procedures documents and other forms and shared resources online in our own network. Cost savings in moving to such shared electronic resources, in lieu of duplicated paper documents, are readily apparent.

This massive project has been delivered without any major disruption to our operations, and I would like to record my sincere appreciation to Council member Julian Martin, and the teams at Freshmethod IT and Bootstrap IT, in achieving this outcome.

GOVERNMENT SUPPORT

Our current funding comes principally from Queensland Health and Education Queensland. Against a difficult financial backdrop in 2012-13, we have managed to retain most of this.

Of course, the funding which we receive goes towards the cost of our much needed front-line services, in particular to the salaries for our therapists in regional and rural areas. At current levels this funding does not cover the full cost of these services.

We have worked hard to match our government funding dollar-for-dollar through direct donations, fundraising events, bequests, corporate support and self-funding, but we continue to rely heavily on the financial support of the Queensland Government.

We have long enjoyed the strong support of the Queensland Government and for that we are very appreciative. We have urged the Government to consider thoughtfully the benefits we provide to rural Queensland children and the strong and beneficial relationships we have built in rural communities.

Government funding enables us to continue to deliver a vital, highly-valued and highly-utilised FREE service – through our Centres and outreach visits across Queensland.

Furthermore, we offer an important supplement to, and collaborative networked expansion of, the services of other health and education providers in regional communities.

We will be entering unchartered waters in 2014 with the introduction of the concept of contestability within government-provided services. For the first time we will be without a long-term contract.

We are confident BUSHkids is in a good position to demonstrate effective value-for-money service provision for children and families living in rural and regional Queensland.

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PARTNERSHIPS

We are also fortunate to maintain, and continue to evolve, meaningful partnerships with a wide range of private, public and community organisations, and they are highlighted throughout this report.

I would like to showcase one such partnership which has developed in 2013 in particular, THIESS and its involvement with our Dalby Centre.

THIESS

THIESS has supported BUSHkids, through the efforts of Mr Kyle Roggenkamp, Community & Relations Stakeholder Manager for the QLNGC project, by arranging the following events:• A Christmas raffle and sporting memorabilia

auction was held within their camps at their staff Christmas parties in 2012, and raised a wonderful $2,550 for BUSHkids.

• Kyle organised a ‘THIESS BUSHkids Charity Golf Day’ in Dalby on Saturday 16 March, with all proceeds being donated to BUSHkids. A 4 Ball Ambrose included a morning for golfers from the Dalby community and an afternoon for players from THIESS. A raffle and auction was held with prizes provided by THIESS, which also provided trophies and prizes for the winning players. In all, the day raised an amazing $14,000 for our Dalby Centre.

• A supplier for THIESS’ own ICT department also donated an iPad to the Dalby Centre!

• THIESS has also organised renovations to the large therapy room, including the replacing of shelving round the walls to be more usable for therapists to store equipment (and less accessible to young fingers!). A local supplier was also arranged and paid to build a kitchen unit to replace the old sink, now giving the therapists a more practical space to clean up after activity sessions with the children.

In what is a ‘win-win’ situation all round, more than $30,000 worth of support which the Dalby Centre received from THIESS was invested back in the local community for our work there. Thank you to Kyle and the THIESS QLNGC project!

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Donor appeals 2012-13

Pre-Christmas letters mailed out 1,246

Number of donations received 378

Pre-Tax letters mailed out 1,192

Number of donations received 422

MARKETING

Early in 2013, a number of key tools were developed with the expert assistance of BUSHkids supplier and supporter Masthead Design & Creative. Greatly extending BUSHkids’ marketing and fundraising reach, these items included a new organisation brochure and an innovative donations envelope, complemented by an economical bookmark.

We benefited from both Masthead’s long, specialist experience in the nonprofit sector and from a happy coincidence in timing: Masthead’s principal Matt Tesch was developing the donation envelope and bookmark for another nonprofit client, and shrewdly proposed a combined print run of the different designs, realising cost savings for all concerned.

BUSHkids extended our print partnerships with the expert support of Fergies in producing the donation envelopes.

This complex (from a printing viewpoint) but very clever design features our core marketing messages and imagery, and a detachable donation coupon which can be placed inside the self-sealing, security-printed Reply Paid envelope.

Our primary print supplier, PurePrint, delivered the ‘DL+’ brochure, so-called because, instead of a usual three-panel ‘DL’ design, an additional perforated panel allowed for a donation coupon to be included. This can be detached without rendering the brochure incomplete.

The brochure content reflects BUSHkids’ current operations as we move into our new Model of Care delivery, and was designed to reflect the look and structure of our website, all elements of our marketing mix thereby reinforcing one another for greater message consistency and recognition.

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EVENTS

Here is a selection of highlights from 2013. All funds raised at the local events are used at the regional Centres to enable the teams to continue their vital work in their local communities.

Tuesday 30 April : Loaves & Fishes Luncheon Brisbane

The 20th annual Loaves and Fishes charity lunch hoped to be a big catch and was, with those attending raising over $63,740 for BUSHkids. The amazing venue was St John’s Cathedral in central Brisbane, making a quirky contrast for a fish & chips lunch eaten with your fingers from a basket!

(The usual remarkable effort by Loaves & Fishes Catering to scale, fillet and fry 600 fillets of fish, and peel and deep-fry 200kg of chips, to feed the near-600 hungry paying guests – in less than 20 minutes!)

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The Somerset College Choir sang beautifully as guests entered the cathedral and set the tone for the lunch. Channel 9’s Andrew Lofthouse was our MC for the lunch, Andrew kindly giving his time to BUSHkids to introduce the guest speakers and rally the crowds to dig deep in their pockets and donate.

The distinguished guest speaker for this year was Police Commissioner Ian Stewart. Kylie Davie, one of the mums from Warwick who has used our services, gave a heartfelt speech, speaking very sincerely and passionately about the BUSHkids services her family has received, and winning the hearts of the audience.

Saturday 8 June : Queensland Day Open Day Government House, Brisbane

Her Excellency Ms Penelope Wensley ac, Governor of Queensland and Patron of BUSHkids, opened her official residence to the public from 10am to 3pm. Stalls featured Queensland volunteer and community organisations, with displays and activities. Naturally BUSHkids was there, with Administration Manager Tiffany Bannier-King on hand to greet our Patron.

Her Excellency visited all the stalls on the day and talked with everyone about their work (even though she was losing her voice!); her partner, Mr Stuart McCosker, well remembered visiting our Mount Isa Centre. Thanks to Chairman Dr Bartels and Treasurer Allison McLean for their assistance during the day.

In an astonishing coincidence, one of those present was Mr Leigh Sheffield, who worked for ‘Bushies’ in the days of homes at the coast, and who actually employed our maintenance man Brett in his first job with the organisation at Redcliffe!

Wednesday 14 August : Melbourne Cup tour Dalby

The Melbourne Cup cocktail evening at Dalby raised $13,000, with over 170 people attending the event.

Auction of a holiday package to Hamilton Island – two nights’ accommodation for eight adults with private return air transfers from Dalby, thanks to Argyle Air Charter and Oatley Wines – raised $11,100. Auctioning the white glove that was used to hold the Melbourne Cup raised another $300.

Thanks to Jane Edwards from Black Toyota, Liz Ryan from the Dalby Chamber of Commerce, the Dalby community and our Dalby Centre team.

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Friday 16 August : TROHPIQ Charity Ball Brisbane

TROHPIQ (Towards Rural and Outback Health Professionals in Queensland) is an organisation run by students, primarily through the University of Queensland School Of Medicine, aiming to improve health care in rural and remote Queensland.

A fundraising charity ball themed ‘Bow-ties and Beauties in the Bush’ with BUSHkids as the chosen beneficiary delivered a cheque for $2,500. This also marked the start of a partnership at various levels for both organisations. The evening included speeches from BUSHkids chairman Dr Neil Bartels and Dr John Hall, the Rural Doctors Association of Queensland 2013 ‘Legend of the Bush’ winner.

17–20 September : ‘Army in Concert’ School workshops / concerts – Bundaberg

The Band of the 1st Regiment, Royal Australian Army, held its ‘School Workshops and Concerts’ tour in Bundaberg this year, and we had a great response from a number of the local schools for their school bands to be involved, with Bandmaster Steve Hooper organising the schedule with the music teachers. Thank you to Steve and all the band members (and support crew!) for your amazing efforts, in getting the children so involved in the musical workshops and for the brilliantly entertaining Friday night concert.

The community concert on Friday 20th at the Moncrieff Entertainment Centre, raised $1,408 for BUSHkids through gold coin donations at the door.

Sunday 20 October : Annual Golf Day Warwick

Our annual fundraising Warwick Golf Day was a 4-Ball Ambrose with donated prizes for the winning teams, making it the traditional fun day out.

Again, Domino’s sponsored the event – thanks to manager Jeremy Winlaw! – offering a year’s free supply of product for a hole in one on Hole 13, while Pepperoni Pete provided pizza for hungry players on the day.

Music was provided by wonderful singer Emma Bell, who kindly donated her time and talents.

Warwick Rotary Sunrise gave its full support to us this year, by collecting prizes and donations from local businesses during the run-up and helping out on the day with the golf cart ‘bar’ and selling raffle tickets.

Thank you to you all for your time and effort, and a special thank you to our Warwick team for all your commitment before and on the day.

ON THE ROAD IN 2013

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DISTANCES TRAVELLED 2013CENTRE kmBUNDABERG 5,589

DALBY 6,852

EMERALD 4,721

INGLEWOOD 4,215

MOUNT ISA 2,226

WARWICK 3,448

BRISBANE - GM 19,670

BRISBANE - Maintenance 28,179

WORK HEALTH AND SAFETY

BUSHkids acknowledges that Work Health and Safety (WH&S) is a key responsibility, and appropriate time and resources are devoted to ensure our workplaces are healthy and safe for both staff members and clients.

Council is well aware of its responsibilities in this regard. At each meeting it receives written reports on WH&S matters and any incidents that may have occurred. It regularly examines all the requirements connected to BUSHkids’ activities to ensure that any risks are identified and managed. In accordance with the Work Health and Safety Act (2011), all staff are kept advised of their legislated responsibilities and their views are canvassed at annual consultation sessions.

Our Maintenance & Safety Coordinator is in constant contact with staff members in our Centres to remind them of the necessity for such regular activities as evacuation practices and reporting. He also keeps a watch on any physical or structural issues with our properties which may pose risks, and any problems are immediately addressed.

David Ham and Michael Whitlock volunteer their time to lead this team, which is monitored by Brett Wall, our Maintenance & Safety Coordinator.

THE YEAR AHEAD

Secure state and federal funding for services

With the introduction of the concept of contestability in government-provided and funded services, BUSHkids is well-placed to demonstrate effective value for money service provision, for children and families living in rural and regional Queensland.

‘Blueprint for better health care in Queensland’

This document focuses on four principal themes:1. Health services focused on patients and people;2. Empowering the community and our health

workforce;3. Providing Queenslanders with value in health

services; and4. Investing, innovating and planning for the future.

There is a strong emphasis on providing quality services close to where people live, and plans to significantly increase the use of remote ‘Telehealth’ consultations. A ‘Children’s Health Services Board’ has been established, to maximise the effectiveness of the new paediatric service strategy.

The new standalone board will be reconfigured to include representatives across the state to ensure the needs of all children are considered.

Explore how BUSHkids can work with The National Disability Insurance Scheme

NDIS (formerly Disability Care Australia) provides support for people with permanent and significant disabilities, their families and carers.

This is a new way of funding individualised supports and will result in greater choice for people with a disability.

Current schemes which children and families are accessing – such as the ‘Better start for children with disability initiative’ and ‘Helping children with autism package’ currently funded through FaHCSIA – will transition to the NDIS.

Queensland will be rolling out NDIS from 2016, with full implementation of the scheme by 2019.

Establish a ‘think-tank’ to explore potential BUSHkids service provision in remote Indigenous communities

Across the health, education, child protection, juvenile justice and disability sectors, the need to develop effective services for Indigenous children living in remote communities has been highlighted.

Provision of effective services has not been achieved through traditional service models.

BUSHkids will establish a think-tank comprising people with relevant expertise and interest in this area to identify how best to provide services for these families and children.

Research

We will explore potential research links with Uni-versities and other organisations: for example, one institution has undertaken research into therapy provision in western New South Wales.

Of particular interest is a project undertaken where local aboriginal women were trained as family support workers to provide support in playschools, preschools and schools to prepare children for school.

The workers were supported to develop new skills in partnership with regional specialists. This is a model for consideration by BUSHkids, which already incorporates Family Health Support Workers in our Model of Care.

Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder has also been identified as an area of increased risk for these communities and children.

BUSHkids’ Family Health Support Workers, drawn from and based in local communities, could play a preventative, identification and supportive role in this area.

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GM

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‘Friends of BUSHkids’ – 2014 and beyond

Just as, historically, BUSHkids benefited from the skills and goodwill of members of the community to support our work in meaningful and practical ways, we propose to once more develop a support network to help strengthen BUSHkids and enhance the quality and effectiveness of our services.

Harnessing community support across a range of levels (from individual families who use our services to medical and other professionals, government, businesses, community groups, philanthropists and philanthropic funds and the media) can potentially provide significant benefits and opportunities for BUSHkids. This network could:

1. increase our profile in the communities we serve by fostering a more open, consistent engagement strategy. This would increase our stake in those communities and encourage them to support our centres, both financially and with volunteers where appropriate;

2. help our staff build and enhance their skills by promoting a greater flow of information between the community, health professionals and other stakeholders concerned for the health and wellbeing of children in regional Queensland;

3. facilitate BUSHkids being more responsive to the concerns, ideas and issues raised by our network, allowing us to be aware of emerging health issues and to be at the forefront of advocating for rural child health and welfare; and

4. foster and build our partnerships with our corporate sponsors as well as governments and the media with flow on benefits in relation to fundraising initiatives. An increasingly more rec-ognisable brand should have the effect of helping us arrest the decline in the number of our donors as well as potentially making us a more attrac-tive sponsorship option for larger companies and philanthropic individuals and trusts

This extensive network of historical support was crucial when our initial Model of Care revolved around the transportation of children to coastal homes. As that methodology changed over time, however, the level of active community engagement in the organisation declined.

As we moved away from transporting children out of their communities for treatment, we began to limit our reliance on external support in the delivery of our services to a narrower range of referrers, relying more heavily on local medical professionals, teachers and the like.

The resultant steady decline in our direct engagement with a broad section of rural communities has also led to a decline over time in the broad recognition of our role and function in these communities.

In 2015-16 BUSHkids will celebrate its 80th anniversary. This milestone provides us with a significant opportunity to not only celebrate the history and achievements of BUSHkids in its first 80 years, but also a catalyst to plan for the future.

The new program will potentially play a key role in helping the organisation build on these 80 years of goodwill and achievement to create a stronger organisation, and one which remains firmly embedded in the fabric of regional Queensland.

The measure of success for the Friends of BUSHkids would need to be measured by the number of new partnerships created; relationship and engagement with the community, schools and government representatives; funds raised; re-engagement with individuals and families who were connected with or benefited from our services previously; additional donors; opportunities to promote bequests and create a legacy with current families using our services – to mention just a few of the measures of accountability.

This is an exciting prospect indeed for BUSHkids.

Acknowledgements

I thank every one of the amazing people involved with BUSHkids. Without all of your dedication, commitment, donations, funding and ability to believe in something bigger, we would not be able to offer the services and support that we do.

To the BUSHkids Council Members, thank for your openness, creativity and innovation. I am energised to work with each of you. Special thanks to Dr Neil Bartels, who has chaired the BUSHkids Council.

I especially thank the Clinical staff and Supervisors, and the Admin team. I also thank Kaylene Hoffman, Chelsea O’Brien, and Kathryn Healey for their contribution to BUSHkids, and welcome our new Clinical Services Manager, Susan Harrison, and Accountant Tricia Delamont to the Brisbane team.

Administration Manager Tiffany Bannier-King has done a superb job co-ordinating the preparation of this year’s annual report: thank-you for this work.

Our good wishes to our Dalby Speech-Language Pathologist Joshua Dodd, for his contribution over the past six-plus years, as he takes a leave of absence.

Carlton Meyn General Manager

GM

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CouncilThe BUSHkids Council is an equal partner in and contributor to the growth and change in our organisation. Over the past year Council members have not only had strategic input but have also provided hands-on involvement across many aspects of the organisation. Here is a brief profile of each Council member, and a summary in the table below of their attendance at Council meetings. The red dots adjacent to each name below indicate the number of projects worked on or events attended in addition to the regular Council meetings.

Dr Neil Bartels (Chairman)

A medical practitioner with a keen interest in children’s health issues, Dr Bartels holds a Master’s degree in Law which has given him further interest in the equity of access to health services for more remote or disadvantaged children, particularly those with behavioural, learning or social disadvantage. Dr Bartels provides valuable medical and legal experience and intense support in the direction of the organisation.

Mr Ian Robinson (Deputy Chairman)

Growing up in a rural area and practising as an Agricultural Economist, and a consultant with the Queensland Department of Primary Industries, has given Ian the background for understanding the need for access to decent services for families in rural and remote areas; identifying them is a vital issue. Ian is playing a key role in our Indigenous programs, making sure our organisation reaches out to Indigenous families, and ensuring that their children benefit from BUSHkids.

Ms Allison McLean (Treasurer)

Allison brings her vast accounting knowledge with many years in the areas of business adviser, accounting and taxation to support the role of our Accountant. Growing up on a farm which was worked by generations of her family she feels an affinity for families in rural and remote areas. Allison was originally involved with the Redcliffe Centre on its first site at Scarborough through community groups, organising games nights and activities, and outings for children who had been brought from remote areas for treatment. She continues to support our events in the regions.

Mr Julian Martin (Member)

Growing up in the bush, Julian has a high regard for what BUSHkids is contributing to the children of rural and regional Queensland. He has over 20 years of experience in the information systems industry and a background of providing business-enabling solutions to organisations. Julian supports us greatly in all areas of our ICT needs and has been a valued adviser for the current transformation of our ICT systems across the organisation.

Ms Gloria Ryan (Member)

Gloria is legally trained and enthusiastically contributes to all aspects of our contracting matters, supporting BUSHkids with legal advice and comprehensively advising on our Policies and Procedures. Throughout the past two years’ changes to the organisation’s branding Gloria has given endless advice and assisted with the registration of the BUSHkids trademark.

Mrs Karolyn Harcourt (Member)

Karolyn grew up and attended school in Toowoomba on the Darling Downs. Her background is in speech pathology so she is keen to use her clinical knowledge to assist in the management of BUSHkids. She has worked primarily with children, both in Education Queensland and Queensland Health and her own private speech pathology practice, for many years. She has a strong belief in good quality health service for country children and is keen to ensure that BUSHkids staff are well supported to not only service their clients but to also develop professionally.

Ms Carolyn Searle (Member)

Growing up in Mackay, Carolyn understands how the needs of children and families in regional areas are often overlooked and how in many areas BUSHkids provides the only health service of its type. Carolyn has worked in both the accounting and legal professions before founding Career Path, a recruitment agency, and has provided appreciated valuable recruitment advice for our organisation. Carolyn has helped increase the profile of BUSHkids amongst the business community, ensuring our valuable services offered reach the children most in need.

Mr David Ham (Member)

David worked for Education Queensland all his adult life, first as a staff teacher, then principal and inspector, and finally as the Director of Human Resources. As a young teacher and principal in outback Queensland he was very impressed by the care given to bush children by our organisation. David has given invaluable voluntary assistance with the creation of our Policies & Procedures in the areas of Governance, Human Resources and Finance, Admin and Health & Safety and continues to volunteer his time on further projects. In retirement, David settled in Wynnum on Brisbane’s Bayside with his wife Frances. They have three married daughters and six grandchildren, ensuring that they are never at a loose end with nothing to do.

Mrs Gail Huggins (Member)

Gail is a Speech Pathologist who has extensive clinical and administrative experience gained from working in government and non-government organisations throughout Australia. Her commitment, based on the knowledge that early intervention for children at developmental risk is vital insurance against long-term disadvantage, has always been to provide equity of access to well-resourced evidence based services. She brings both clinical knowledge and service planning experience to support BUSHkids at this pivotal point in our history.

31 Jan 14 Mar 2 May 13 Jun 25 Jul 5 Sep 17 Oct 6 Dec AGM

Dr N Bartels Attended Attended Attended Attended Attended Attended Attended Attending

Mr I Robinson Apology Attended Attended Attended Attended Attended Attended Apology

Ms A McLean Attended Attended Attended Attended Attended Attended Attended Attending

Ms G Ryan Apology Attended Attended Attended Apology Attended Attended Attending

Mr J Martin Attended Apology Attended Apology Attended Attended Apology Attending

Mrs K Harcourt Attended Apology Attended Apology Attended Attended Attended Attending

Mr D Ham Attended Attended Attended Attended Attended Attended Attended Attending

Ms C Searle Attended Apology Attended Attended Apology Attended Attended Attending

Mrs G Huggins Attended Attended Attended Apology Attended Attended Attended Apology

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In 2013 we moved away from the title ‘Mentors’ to the title of Supervisors. This cements our view that Supervisors have a dual responsibility: both to the clinicians they support on an operational basis and to BUSHkids management at a strategic level.

This allows for additional involvement, day-to-day support when clinical management is required and, in line with the new Model of Care, a single message to clinical staff and accountability.

Gail Huggins, a member of BUSHkids Council, also volunteers her time as our Clinical Mentor, enabling Gail to follow her passion and support the growth of BUSHkids, providing the General Manager with required advice.

This also allows our clinical teams and Supervisors to tap into her wisdom and experience and seek advice as needed. BUSHkids is grateful to Gail for this additional commitment.

Thank you also to Helen Dimond, our Speech Pathologist Mentor who left us in January 2013: we are grateful for your support and words of wisdom to our ‘Speechies’ in your time with BUSHkids.

SPEECH PATHOLOGISTS Annalisa Bishop

I commenced working as the Speech Pathology Supervisor with BUSHkids in May. I have really enjoyed being part of the BUSHkids family.

Since starting, I have been busy supporting the speech pathologists in Bundaberg, Emerald, Mount Isa and Warwick. This involved regular supervision sessions where the speech pathologists are able to discuss clinical cases, identify professional development opportunities, raise issues and meet established learning goals to help support their clinical practice.

The discussions in supervision have often been quite interesting and provided many opportunities for learning for all. The use of LYNC has also made the supervision sessions very personal and has broken down the issue of distance; this has also made the facilitation of the monthly speech pathology meeting so much easier.

It has been encouraging to watch the development of the Speech Pathologists over the last six months. They are all doing a fantastic job!

With Carlton’s support this year has seen a shift in the organisation from Mentor to Supervisor which has meant there has been some revision of our roles.

This has provided supervisors with an opportunity to have greater involvement in providing support and direction to the organisation.

There have been many meetings this year between Supervisors and the Clinical Services Redevelopment Working Group (CSRWG) which has achieved:• finalisation of the Model of Care (MoC) and the

core documents to support its implementation• review of discipline specific position descriptions• review of the supervisor role and position

description • review of the supervision guidelines and

supervision documents• development of the Clinical Services Manager

role description

Conference week is almost upon us [as I write this] and I am looking forward to helping to support the final implementation of the MoC and providing the speech pathologists with some professional development during this week. I am looking forward to finally meeting everyone face to face!

It has been a pleasure working with everyone at BUSHkids over the past six months and I am looking forward to what the future will bring for the organisation, as we all work together to support the development of children in rural and remote areas.

PSYCHOLOGISTS and FAMILY HEALTH SUPPORT WORKERS Jane Morgan

The FHSWs have had a very busy year, attending a range of professional development events, including 123 Magic, The Secret Agent Society (SAS) and Circle of Security, among others.

These programs will add greatly to the existing range of programs offered to BUSHkids clients and their families.

These programs play a significant role in the new MoC as health education sessions within the EIPP, MAIP and SEBP pathways, and as health promotion activities under the PEACH pathway.

We have also worked on redefining the FHSW role to ensure the title and position description accurately reflect the vital and varied work that they do.

Supervisors

Supervision (Mentoring) 2013 HoursSpeech Pathologists 76

Occupational Therapists 89

Family Health Support Workers 85

Psychologists 57

TOTAL hours 297

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Professional development 2013 TotalsNumber of staff who applied for professional development 22

Days 109.0

We welcomed a new FHSW in Emerald, Rhianna, and re-welcomed, then farewelled, Lana in Mount Isa.

BUSHkids psychologists have worked hard since the 2012 Conference to meet the needs of older children who are outside the age range of the new MoC, and to begin working with children aged 0 to 10 within the new clinical pathways, particularly EIPP and SEBP.

Fortnightly supervision sessions and professional development activities – and, for many of our psychologists, continuing post-graduate study – continue to ensure that psychological assessment and treatments offered by BUSHkids are effective and evidence-based.

Two psychology staff members have moved on to other organisations, and we look forward to filling positions in our Emerald and Bundaberg centres.

Personally, I have been very excited to work more closely with the other supervisors to redefine our roles, and bring more structure and accountability to supervision within BUSHkids.

Our fortnightly supervision sessions are now more structured with the introduction of a formal Supervision Policy and accompanying suite of documents. The addition of Gail Huggins as Clinical Mentor and Susan Harrison as Clinical Services Manager has resulted in greater support for, and consistency of information sharing with, staff as the new MoC is rolled out.

OCCUPATIONAL THERAPISTS Karlee Wiles

First I would like to say that it has been a delight to work with such professional and dedicated staff over the past year. While 2013 has been a busy and challenging year, it has also been a productive and positive one.

One of the main challenges the organisation has faced this year has been the development of a new Model of Care which embraces the importance of early intervention and a family-centred, multidisciplinary approach.

Much discussion has occurred over the new model and it is heartening to see such strong advocacy for the children and their families in the communities we serve, and the strong desire to provide a high quality service.

I want to especially thank the occupational therapists for their patience as the new MoC takes shape and for their valued feedback.

This year, I have had more opportunity to contribute to the service direction of BUSHkids with the support of Carlton and the Council. I have also had the chance to work more closely with my fellow supervisors whose skills, knowledge, insight and dedication are a tremendous asset to BUSHkids.

Over the past year, the organisation has seen a number of changes (and this being my eighth year mentoring/supervising BUSHkids’ occupational therapists I have seen many) but one thing that has remained a constant is the high commitment of the occupational therapists to professional development and upholding high standards of clinical practice.

This is apparent in the active participation of the occupational therapists in supervision sessions and attendance at other professional development activities, such as internal occupational therapy meetings, local paediatric special interest groups and at external workshops and courses.

Goals for professional development this year have included increased knowledge and clinical application in areas such as imaginative play, approaches to feeding/eating issues, clinical observations, sensory processing and handwriting, as well as report-writing skills, and developing, facilitating and evaluating group interventions, caseload management and time management skills.

I continue to be impressed by the warmth and care that Caitlin, Claire, Helen, Jane and Lucy provide to clients and their families, and the dedication to their work they display. They have got on with the job at hand – helping facilitate meaningful occupation, independence and skill development in children in rural communities.

Supervisors

In the reports from the Centres: on the following pages, our staff report on the year that was and, as with the Supervisors’ reports here, speak with either their team’s or their own words. All our staff applied their characteristic care and attention to detail in providing information for this year’s Annual Report, and we believe it is both informative and refreshing to read their words written from the heart.

Thank you to all.

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THE YEAR IN GENERAL

This year saw the beginnings of the new Model of Care roll-out, and we trialled a number of streams. These changes challenged our teamwork and communication skills and helped us be a more flexible and cohesive team. The year also involved an exciting revamp of our back therapy room and a sad farewell to Chelsea, our clinical services manager, who after a number of years of service at BUSHkids has moved on to explore teaching. Our team is looking forward to seeing the finalisation of the new MoC and how it will change the services we provide children and families in the area.

TEAM HGHLIGHTS

We have been working hard to reduce our wait-lists and currently have no waitlists for Psychology and Occupational Therapy, and a much more manageable list for Speech and Language. It has been wonderful to see the relief and excitement of parent’s faces when we tell them they don’t have to wait for services!

Julie, our Family Health Support Worker, has been running PALS, a social skills program for children, at three local kindys as well as a parenting program, PPP, at the centre and in the community. Evening PPP sessions have also been offered for working parents, particularly fathers who are rarely involved in therapy due to work commitments.

Along with individual sessions, Occupational Therapist Jane has also been providing multiple fine motor groups at the centre and in schools. These have been popular with teachers and kids, with more schools requesting the groups, and parents calling to say their children can’t wait for their next ‘BUSHkids day with Miss Jane’. Some kids were quite disappointed when the groups ended; we even had tears! After attending some exceptional professional development courses this year, Jane was also able to implement new skills from the SOS feeding program and from clinical observations courses.

Under the new MoC, Joshua is looking forward to a more focused approach and is already enjoying working with younger children and their families. He also experienced his first therapy session with a real live chicken on his lap after asking the child to bring their favourite toy to the session!

Psychologist Eleanor advertised parenting groups such as Circle of Security and Do as I Do in school newsletters and has had a constant influx of referrals for these groups. She and a local psychologist are helping to build a name for these groups in the community. Eleanor also achieved endorsement in the area of clinical psychology.

Apart from these individual achievements, we really embraced our multidisciplinary capabilities this year: everyone running Talk about Groups in teams of two.

We have also completed transdisciplinary treatment sessions throughout the year.

AROUND OUR AREA

Early in the year Dalby experienced flooding which effected homes, crops and businesses across the town and surrounding areas. The BUSHkids centre was lucky to be unaffected and we were able to continue services.

There is still hot debate over Dalby being labelled a ‘flood town’. The implications of areas in Dalby being re-zoned as flood areas may impact on home owners and businesses.

We have had a mild winter with only a few frosts and are looking forward to a warm summer! All year, roadworks between Dalby and Toowoomba have made the trip to Brisbane a much longer journey.

We are looking forward to smooth-er and safer roads when the job is to be completed around New Year 2014. The number of trucks passing through town is truly phenomenal and seems to increase every day!

ACTIVITY AND OUTPUTS

All team members have received much positive feedback from the community for our work with individual clients and group clients in the wider community which is encouraging.

We can all see the need to get out into the community to build awareness of our service and, most importantly, increase education on and understanding of child development across all areas.

There seem to have been mixed feelings within the team in regards to service provision, with each of us still trying to figure out how our role in the team will change and how the new Model of Care will structure what we do.

DALBY

There is excitement about the focus on early intervention, and we are coming to terms with the lack of services for the older children in our community. We believe that narrowing our scope will help with our role definition, allowing us to become more effective and efficient.

IN OUR COMMUNITY

There have been many community fundraisers and events that were all attended by BUSHkids staff. We were extremely lucky to be the beneficiaries of a number of events this year, including: the Thiess BUSHkids Dalby Golf Day, Black Toyota Melbourne Cup Cocktail Evening and the 1st Regiment Royal Australian Artillery Concert Band performance. The Myall Medical Practice also hosted a meet-and-greet evening at the start of the year which provided us with an opportunity to mix with local health providers. Unfortunately the annual Dalby BUSHkids Race Day was not held this year due to unforeseen circumstances, but our trusted supporters, local business Black Toyota, have managed to find other ways to raise financial support for us. All of this support is greatly appreciated by the team.

IN OUR CENTRE

Our centre received a huge amount of support from the Thiess QLNGC Project this year. Renovating our back therapy room has made it a much more usable and family- friendly environment, equipped with cupboards, drawers and a kitchenette. It looks fantastic and is now being used by all therapists, not just the OT!

Like all BUSHkids centres we received a computer upgrade which has put work on the ‘big screen’ and has sped up both our connections and working pace! After a year of change we look forward with great anticipation to the outcomes of conference 2013.

THE YEAR IN GENERAL

Sue writes: “I returned just in time to attend our yearly conference after extended and unforseen leave. Conference seemed to be a very daunting prospect, with the year bringing forth huge changes and adjustments to our service – at times these have been challenging and confronting, however it can also be inevitable for the service to grow. It also remains challenging as we wait for the new streams to come on line. The fact that staff have had such input into the new Model of Care is most appreciated.

“Inglewood has probably been more fortunate than the other centres as it had no wait list to contend with.

AROUND OUR AREA

“This year the local health service conducted a Rapid Needs Appraisal of the local area, which identified key areas of concern of the community. Follow- up meetings commenced working on prioritising and developing strategies to deal with the areas identified. Parenting, behaviour management and parent skills development were the key areas in which BUSHkids will be able to have a major input.


“Following Circle of Security parenting training, I have commenced offer-ing this course in Inglewood. I have also been working with families doing parenting and support.

“In conjunction with CARE Goondiwindi, we have started a monthly under 5’s fun day, which is seeing the number of attendees growing and having a great time. The picture below shows one such day in Youth Week 2013, under the shady trees in the park.

WISH LIST

“A portable DVD player with cables to link in with a TV would be really beneficial to take to out-of-centre venues when doing COS-P sessions.”

INGLEWOOD

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Distinguished speakers at the 20th anniversary L&F luncheon included Archbishop Phillip Aspinall, BUSHkids chairman Dr Neil Bartels, and guest speaker Police Commissioner Ian Stewart. Warwick mum Kylie Davie gave a moving personal testimonial on how BUSHkids has helped change her family’s lives for the better, and we thank her for her courage in speaking then, and for allowing us to include these extracts in this report.

My name is Kylie and my husband and I have three children. We have lived in Warwick for two years and before that in a small rural town with one school and one daycare centre. My story begins not unlike many other families I have spoken to over the years but thanks to BUSHkids in Warwick I can stand here and tell you how my family has changed for the better.

My son Ayden is 11 years old and 15 months ago was diagnosed on the Austistic Spectrum as well as an earlier diagnosis of ADHD.

When Ayden was nine months he decided he was not going to crawl and got up and walked. At that moment I thought something was different with this little man. By 18 months Ayden showed some developmental delays but nothing significant.

Ayden’s differences were more in the way he socialised, ate, and the terrible ‘meltdowns’ he had. His behaviour was becoming very extreme, to the point where I was getting called away from work to attend the daycare centre so regularly that I had to resign and work at the Centre with him.

Over the next three years we saw GPs, therapists, participated in parenting programs, natropaths, specialists, read books, tried diets – and stood on our heads if it made a difference to his development and our family life!

Loaves & Fishes 2013 feature

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The financial drain, isolation from friends and family, and the stress was taking its toll. We couldn’t understand why Ayden was so different to our first born, and everywhere we turned either said he’d be fine or it was a parenting issue.

Ayden had become an experiment and we as a family were broken.

My husband transfered to Warwick and our new school suggested we contact BUSHkids after spending a term with Ayden. We kept hearing the same thing: your son is kind, gentle but having some social and learning issues … however the boy I was being sent home was like Jekyll and Hyde. He was violent, withdrawn, erratic, and then on the other hand so cuddly, adventously and inquisitive. We were over our heads.

From my very first conversation with Linda, I felt for the first time I was not a number, I was listened to.

I know that sounds simple but to a par-ent who has been fighting the system for years and who loves their child but simply does not know where to turn, this compassion meant the world to me. Due to high demand we were put on the waiting list.

The value of having a service where you have such a variety of services, under one roof and where everyone talks freely with each other, as well as having a great rapport with our school, helped us make the decision to change peadricians and start afresh. It was through this we received a diagnosis of Austism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

Finally everything was making sense: our son’s jigsaw puzzle was coming together. BUSHkids then supported us through a parenting program specialising in special needs children.

Ayden was able to access programs to help him improve his social skills and ability to mainstream, and BUSHkids worked with our school to formulate Ayden’s IEP [Individual Education Plan].

ASD affects the family as a whole and, through BUSHkids, our eldest son has participated in a siblings program to help him to understand why Ayden does some of the things he does. As parents we have always spoken about why we cannot do things, or why we are driving two hours for a 15 minute appointment, but to hear it from some-one else and to see other children in his situation was invaluable.

Learning has always been a huge issue, all his teachers and tutors struggling to understand how he learns. Rebecca has recently unlocked his learning pattern: already we have seen massive changes to his learning. Ayden can now make the most of this school years which has opened up a range of options for his future without him being a burden on society.

This wonderful service has changed our lives. As parents all we wanted was for our son to be happy, have a career, have a family – which he now has the opportunity to have it all. As a mother, BUSHkids has given me back my family.

Thankyou for the opportunity to speak.

Images by Mark Buckley Photography and Masthead Design & Creative

Loaves & Fishes 2013 feature

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Every long table was set with five A4-sized paper placemats, four of them with a short story from our staff across the range of disciplines, giving a snapshot into BUSHkids’ work, and the fifth with a map showing our coverage across Queensland.

In the background, a slowly-scrolling slideshow illustrated the story of both BUSHkids over the years – and that of the recipient of the first 15 of the 20 years of Loaves & Fishes: the massive fundraising project to complete the intended design of St John’s Cathedral.

The ethereal setting of Brisbane’s magnificent St John’s Cathedral was perfectly matched by the soaring vocals of the Somerset College Choir.

BUSHkids team members were certainly getting into the spirit of the day, and their engaging interactions with the guests added to the buzz.

Distinguished guest speaker Police Commissioner Ian

Stewart with Carlton Meyn

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BUNDABERGTHE YEAR IN GENERAL

What a year 2013 has been! With the full team back on board ready to tackle Term 1, we were faced with the Bundaberg floods – the worst in recorded history, with floodwaters from the Burnett River peaking at 9.53 metres and more than 2,000 properties affected by floodwaters.

This inevitably had a large impact on our attendance rates and ability to conduct our planned groups and individual therapy programs.

With a large number of families affected, it was humbling to have their stories shared with us. What was perhaps even more amazing was to see, in the weeks following the floods, the resilience of the community and our clients who had been affected.

In April our waiting lists, which had been closed for six months due to the impending organisation-wide service delivery changes, opened to the early intervention stream (children aged 0 to 5 years, 11 months).

Referrals for this age group have since been coming in steadily, further highlighting the need for early intervention services in the Bundaberg community. Our team is awaiting direction from head office about when additional streams (including a school-aged therapy stream) may be opened to new referrals.

It was with extreme reluctance that, in July, our team bid farewell to our provisional psychologist, Heather, who had been with BUSHkids for 18 months.

Heather moved on to be provided with new opportunities for work that would allow her to meet the extensive criteria required for becoming a registered psychologist. Many of our families and referrers were extremely sad to see her go.

We are awaiting her replacement to continue the valuable and unique work that the psychology position allows in a multidisciplinary team such as ours.

All in all, 2013 has been a year of change as we work within the somewhat difficult period that transitions always are! We look forward to a much clearer direction when our new clinical policies and procedures are in place.

In the meantime, however, we have continued to enjoy the most rewarding aspect of BUSHkids: working closely with children and their families to see them achieve their therapy goals!

AROUND OUR AREA

Bundaberg is a progressive and modern city servicing a district population of 112,000.

It boasts diverse natural resources and facilities, reflected in its coastal, riverine, city and rural environ-ments. The area is most renowned for its pristine beaches, Mon Repos Turtle Rookery, sugar production, Bundaberg Rum and Ginger Beer and famous aviator Bert Hinkler.

Bundaberg City is the provincial hub of this vibrant and unique region and is located on the banks of the picturesque Burnett River at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef.

The growing population of Bundaberg remains largely a lower socio-economic region, and this exemplifies the need for such free services as BUSHkids provides within our community.


FHSW reflections – Janie

This year has been eventful, to say the least. With the many changes that have taken place – both in our organisation and outside in the wider economic sector, it is good to be able to reflect on the core qualities of my role.

While administration and centre requirements add balance to my daily duties, the most rewarding professional experiences are when I am able to make a positive difference in the life of a child and their family.

I am very passionate about the programs I have facilitated and the importance of these in our community. Some of my groups this year include Stop Think Do, PALS social skills, Fine Motor, Handwriting, Fun Friends and Friends For Life.

I have also enjoyed supporting the therapist in groups such as SPOT Prep Readiness. These programs have received positive feedback in the school settings and in the centre.

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BUNDABERGIn June this year I attended the 123 Magic training and expect to advertise for participants in 2014. I found the workshop exciting and easily comprehensible for parents and facilitators alike.

Below are some photos of creations produced in recent fine motor groups. Prior to commencement, each of the children was screened by our OT Claire, so that we could create a goal-specific program. These groups have proven to be very successful and rewarding for the children … and for me too!

Speech-Language Pathologist reflections – Laura

Wow, August 2013 arrives and with it my first year of working for BUSHkids has already flown by!

After my first Christmas in Bun-daberg, coming back to work in January following the devastating flood was a strange feeling. Many families were affected but Bunda-berg is a strong community and everyone has pulled together.

During the initial months following the floods families began to return and, along with individual sessions with children and their families, it was great to run a literacy group and see the children enjoying the group dynamic, working together and helping each other.

I am looking forward to running the prep readiness group again this year with Claire the OT and Janie the FHSW and the opportunities it brings to work together and learn from each other.

In August I was lucky to attend the Picky Eaters Vs Problem Feeders: The SOS Approach to Feeding workshop in Sydney presented by Dr Kay Toomey and Dr Erin Ross.

It was a great, very interesting three days and I am looking forward to having the opportunity to put my learning into practice.

I have enjoyed being able to be a part of the great BUSHkids team here in Bundaberg and further forge relationships within the community and with families to provide the best outcomes for the children.

Thoroughly enjoying providing SLP services over the past year, I look forward to continuing this, the opportunity to see the progress and changes that are made. I am excited to see what the next year will bring!

Occupational Therapist reflections – Claire

It’s quite incredible to think that another year has passed and it’s already time to reflect on the year that has been!

My return to work in January after a refreshing break saw me gearing up for a busy Term 1, with plans for a number of groups as well as individual therapy sessions making for a rather full calendar! Handwriting and fine motor skill development continue to be the most commonly selected goal areas for OT intervention, resulting in the opportunity to provide fun, motivating and hands-on activities during my sessions!

In Februaryin Sydney I attended the Developing Effective Pretend Play Skills workshop.

The workshop, presented by Dr Karen Stagnitti, was very interesting, introducing me to the world of pretend play and its effect on the social, language and cognitive development of children.

Not having any prior experience or teaching in this area before the course, I came away with a new perspective – and a newfound respect for the vital importance imaginative play renders on a child’s development.

22

BUNDABERGSince attending the course I now ensure I include the assessment of pretend play skills as part of my holistic assessment of the child, and I have had a number of clients who have benefited from intervention focussed specifically on developing pretend play skills.

In acknowledging the fantastic benefits pretend play has on a child’s level of social and cognitive development, I must say I have also been amused at seeing the stories the children create when presented with a ‘free play’ opportunity!

The year has certainly flown by since the somewhat interrupted start following the January floods. I have continued the OT services to children and their families, and love the challenges and rewarding experiences working as a paediatric therapist brings.

I continue to find joy in working closely with children and families, and can’t help but become excited when I see a child develop a new skill, overcome something that they find challenging, or learn to cope with or compensate for a particular difficulty.

IN OUR COMMUNITY

Staff at BUSHkids Bundaberg have continued to actively participate in community networking meetings and forums.

In March we again attended the Early Intervention Forum hosted by the Child Development Service (Queensland Health).

Held twice a year, this forum provides a fantastic opportunity for early intervention providers within the community to share informa-tion on service trends, waiting list figures, and new programs and policies in place.

It also serves as a great opportunity to meet referrers and put a face with a commonly seen name!

Claire continues to attend monthly paediatric OT special interest groups. Well attended by a number of paediatric OTs in the Bundaberg community, it proves a valuable chance to ‘talk shop’ with fellow OTs. With informal in-services scheduled each month, there is always something to learn, with the realisation that the scope of paediatric practice is huge!

Laura is also actively involved in networking opportunities with the speech pathologists in our local community.

Claire and Laura have continued to present on a regular basis at the Community Family Health Parenting Groups (Queensland Health). Being able to provide informal talks on infant motor and speech development to new parents is essentially the core of both a health promotion and early intervention framework, and we

appreciate that we are invited back on a regular basis to share our knowledge and strategies!

Our team has also hosted visits from a number of services and these have once again proven to be a valuable chance for networking and interagency communication. We have appreciated meeting representatives from Medicare Local and from Uniting Care Community: such meetings have enabled us to gain awareness of local services which may be useful to some of our clients.

IN OUR CENTRE

In March we were delighted to receive new computers and a new colour photocopier! Needless to say we have been enjoying the increased speed and extra features, and making far more visually appealing handouts and resources with the colour printer!

23

EMERALDTHE YEAR IN GENERAL

2013 has been an eventful year for the Emerald Team. January saw us welcome our new Family Health Support Worker, Rhianna Hogan, while our new Speech-Language Pathologist,Taylor Funk started in February.

We are however, still keenly awaiting the appointment of a Psychologist to join our team, so that we are once again fully staffed.

In March, our local Pharmacy First kindly donated a DEAP (Diagnostic Evaluation of Articulation and Phonology) assessment. Taylor has found this to be an invaluable asset to her practice, already able to use it to assist many children.

With the change in our Model of Care, outreach services have been postponed, with families currently travelling into Emerald to access our services.

We look forward to recommencing outreach in 2014 and getting back to our surrounding townships.

AROUND OUR AREA

This year has seen a large increase in the availability of speech-language services with four new private practitioners currently servicing the region.

At this stage, the Emerald Medicare Local is the only service providing paediatric psychology services, with the next closest located in either Mackay (5 hours away) or Rockhampton (3 hours away).

At the end of the year, Emerald will have a new GP Super Clinic, which is also hoping to source Allied Health on outreach services for the region.

2014 will also see the opening of St Brigid’s Catholic Primary School – making it the sixth primary school in Emerald!

ACTIVTY AND OUTPUTS

As a team, we have continued to implement the new model of service delivery, with an increased focus on family involvement.

Parents have reported feeling empowered, attending their child’s session; and we commend our parents on their commitment and participation! The group therapy programs this year include:• Fine Motor groups• How Does Your Engine Run –

ALERT Program for Self-regulation

• PAL – Phonological Awareness for Literacy groups

• social skills groups (Secret Agent Society, PALS, Fun Friends & Friends for Life)

These, as well as individual therapy sessions, are often run by multiple therapists. This has allowed us to provide our clients and families with a more holistic approach to care, developing stronger relationships between both the team and our families.

IN OUR COMMUNITY

Through continued liaison with schools in our area, it is apparent that BUSHkids’ focus on early intervention (0-10 years) very much suits the needs of our community. We have been working hard to build relationships with our local day-care and kindergarten centres to ensure children are referred as soon as possible. This was a concern from some of our local schools: that children may miss out on services as by the time they have reached school they may be too old to refer.

We are also looking forward to the implementation of more parent education and screening materials/services to our community.

IN OUR CENTRE

We are loving our new computers and colour printer! Access to this new technology has allowe us to create more attractive therapy materials, and led to more efficient overall services! It has been a great asset to our service!

24

MOUNT ISATHE YEAR IN GENERAL

The BUSHkids Mount Isa office began 2013 with a full complement of new staff – FHSW Lana Lehmann returned after a year away, speech pathologist Emily Hetherington (SP) transferred from the Warwick office, and two Caitlins (!) – OT Howe and psychologist Gibson – both joined the team.

(We are pleased to report that any confusion has now been resolved!)

This year has seen the gradual implementation of BUSHkids’ new Model of Care. It has been challenging at times to make changes to our service delivery model and we are still ironing out some creases.

The Mount Isa community has been waiting patiently for our waitlists for children over the age of six years to reopen – and we are sure to be inundated with new referrals when they do!

AROUND OUR AREA

Mount Isa has experienced a turbulent year in the agricultural and mining industries.

The Central North West has had an unusually dry wet season this year, which has led to poor conditions for livestock and thus poor prices for farmers and the saleyards.

Mining company Xstrata was taken over by Glencore, which meant that job security in the mines has not been good. Glencore is currently undergoing a restructuring of the way the mine is run and this continues to have widespread effects throughout the local community.

The takeover has also meant that the BUSHkids Mount Isa centre has not been guaranteed our traditional annual donation from Xstrata, which contributes greatly to the running of the centre.


All staff at BUSHkids have been very busy in 2013. The Family Health Support Worker has run several in-centre and school-based groups including Fun Friends, PALS and Friends for Life.

Psychologist Caitlin has been familiarising herself with her paediatric caseload and has been collaborating with other team members in multidisciplinary practice.

OT Caitlin sees clients individually for everything from sensory processing issues to gross motor difficulties to toileting.

And Speech pathologist Emily was inundated with new referrals when the BUSHkids waitlist reopened! She is working with children with speech, language, fluency, feeding and literacy difficulties, as well as running two Get Set for Prep groups with the Occupational Therapist.

IN OUR COMMUNITY

In our community clients continue to have difficulty accessing services – both on our waitlist and once they are discharged from BUSHkids. Until recently, their only options have been private services based in Townsville, Brisbane – or even Melbourne – via Telehealth.

A Mount Isa based private Allied Health service has opened in 2013 which offers OT and SP …but, unfortunately, their speech pathologist will be leaving the area before the end of the year.

On a positive note, Allied Health professionals in Mount Isa are very good at networking and supporting each other as rural and remote practitioners.

Regular SP and OT interagency meetings discuss resources, case-loads, professional development, and models of service.

The BUSHkids Mount Isa centre was fortunate to be the recipient of a donation of over $1,600 in August.

The money was donated by a gentleman who competed in the ‘Outback to Stack’ fun run.

IN OUR CENTRE

In 2013, the BUSHkids Mount Isa team has proposed a possible change to the outdoor area.

It is currently covered with gravel, which makes it unsafe to use for outdoor therapy such as gross motor activities and group work.

If the area were covered with a low maintenance outdoor flooring such as poured rubber, it would be a space that could be utilised by all of our clinicians, especially the OT.

Despite this, we are fortunate to have a well-maintained and spacious building.

WARWICK

25

Psychologist reflections – Rebecca Wright

2013 overall has been productive and enjoyable so far, awaiting the full implementation of the changes to our Model of Care so that 2014 can be even more so!

The Southern Downs remains a reasonably stable population. Apart from flooding early in the year, no major disruptions have caused the area any great concerns.

A lot of my year has been based on individual interventions. However, with Speech Pathologist Alison, we have also run a Talkabout group. Generally, the families we are seeing appear to appreciate the support, assistance and guidance we can provide for them.

Community mental health is a keen priority in the Warwick area, but the services do lack in specialist paediatric services for kids between the ages of 6 and 12 for general issues, like behavioural concerns.

I try to attend the Mental Health Network Professional meetings quarterly, which I find useful to network with other mental health professionals in the region. Our fundraisers this year included Golf Day, Trivia night, and Jumpers and Jazz.

Everything in our centre appears to be going well, however, as is currently being looked into, we are short of space for storage, extra clinicians, groups and therapy in general.

Occupational Therapist reflections – Helen O’Connell

2013 saw our team farewell our Speech-Language Pathologist Emily Hetherington (who transferred to Mount Isa), and welcome Alison Dowdle into our team.

Although the changes to our service delivery model, policies and procedures, and closure of waiting lists definitely resulted in a more challenging year for BUSHkids, it is clear the outcome will be positive for staff, communities and future clients alike.

I am looking forward to the full transition to the new BUSHkids MoC, and clarity of our role through the proposed community consultations.

BUSHkids Warwick and the local area appears to have remained steady over the past year, with the exception of the floods in January disrupting the beginning of Term 1, 2013.

2012/2013 was another busy year for the OT caseload in Warwick.

The transition to the new MoC saw the prioritisation of older children for assessment, and intervention resulted in the implementation of a number of joint-discipline groups (e.g. Speech Pathology / OT; and OT / Psychology groups).

Over the past year the OT School Skills group continued and was run in selected local schools (Central State School, Scots PCG, St Mary’s and Freestone). Linda (FHSW) co-facilitated a number of groups.

Client goals relating to sensory processing and self-regulation appear to have increased over the past year, with many children completing the ‘ALERT program for Self Regulation (How does your engine run?)’.

Our team has continued to attend regular community networking

meetings. In regards to OT, I have continued to attend the Paediatric OT Special Interest group at the Toowoomba Hospital (bi-monthly), and have instigated a Warwick/Stanthorpe Paediatric OT Peer Learning group in our local area (quarterly).

There continues to be a lack of private OT services available in the local community. This need for other options to access OT services has become more apparent with BUSHkids’ change in age range from 13 down to six years.

Fundraisers this year have included the annual BUSHkids Golf Day, and a Trivia night (coordinated by Rebecca Wright).

Centre staff ran the annual Jumpers and Jazz workshops with current clients and their siblings to create the decorations for our designated tree in the main street. Lots of fun had by all again this year!

Ongoing discussions with head office and BUSHkids Council over the past two years have covered the unsuitability of our current premises, in regards to space and safety concerns.

26

WARWICKPotential options have included investigation of an alternative premises, review of redevelopment of the BUSHkids property and construction of an outdoor area at the current premises.

FHSW reflections – Linda Cholawinskyj

The year started out ‘business as usual ‘and moved into a time of preparation for the new Model of Care with many opportunities for discussion and feedback. Currently we are experiencing the roll-out of the new model.

Summer once again saw flooding occur in the region with our staff unable to access the centre for a day or so. Most families remained positive during this time and continued on as best they could.

Fun Friends, PALS and Triple P programs continue to be in demand and are regularly provided to the community and in the centre for families with a growing interest in the stress management programs.

I recently did Triple P with a young mother and her support person and it was great to have them call back to the centre to let me know how things were going for them since completing the program.

Centacare had an open day which gave us a better understanding of the services they provide. It was also a good opportunity to network with other service providers.

Red Cross had a celebration of their services which again provided a good opportunity to network with them and members of the other

services that attended.

Our BUSHkids trivia night was a fun and successful fundraiser.

Jumpers and Jazz is an annual event in which BUSHkids Warwick is always involved.

This year’s theme was ‘Mamma Mia’ and many craft workshops were held at the centre to

make the decorations for ‘our’ BUSHkids tree.

Warwick centre and head office are continuing to discuss options for the space issues at the centre. The centre has had an upgrade of desktop computers, and the big screen is great to work with. Our internet service has become more reliable and quicker.

Speech Pathologist reflections – Alison Dowdle

I started in January this year during a time of change, and didn’t know what quite to expect. However, this entire year has demonstrated to me that I have been welcomed by the small, rural community of Warwick with both hands.

I can safely say that being a Speech Pathologist and delivering clinical services to childrenin a rural setting is both fun and rewarding!

Throughout this year, I have marvelled at the distances families will travel for our services – from surrounding towns and townships such as Goondiwindi, Pittsworth, Killarney and Allora. This confirms we are a valuable service in the community.

Location was especially an issue at the beginning of the year, when flooded roads stopped families (and clinicians!) attending the clinic. Since then, Warwick has rebuilt itself with pride.

I have seen a range of school-aged and before-school-aged children, delivering services in speech, language, fluency, and social skills.

I have participated in many groups, including: SibWorks, Talkabout: Assertiveness and Self-awareness, and three literacy and fine motor groups. In these groups I have worked alongside the whole BUSHkids team.

We are also planning two Ready, Steady, Prep groups, and a Talkabout: Social Skills group for term 4.

There is small success and bigger success, but most of all, there is change every day.

One boy showed me just how delightful working with children can be.

After a term of working on a few speech sounds, in particular the sound /sh/, he came in one day and said how he was now finding the /sh/ sound everywhere: at home, at school, even in our sign outside: BUSHkids!

It made me even more enthusiastic about helping to bring about such a change.

There have been many community events that our team have attended, including trivia nights, as well as ‘Rocky Horror’ themed fundraisers, and participation in the Jumpers and Jazz Festival in July.

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Centre wish lists : the top 3The entire team has attended various professional networking gatherings this year, including a mental health professionals’ seminar discussing ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder), and some lovely morning teas held by Red Cross and BEST employment services.

We also hosted a trivia night fund-raiser with donations to BUSHkids. This was a very well-supported event, with many families and community members volunteering and donating to help with raffle prizes and the flow of the evening.

Also, I have had the opportunity to attend various professional development seminars throughout the year. This included Hanen: It Takes Two to Talk (an expressive language program), and SOS Feeding Approach (a sensory-based behavioural approach to fussy eaters).

I have enjoyed liaising with all the businesses which support our annual Golf Day.

The Warwick centre’s size has always been an issue in providing a clinical service, as I have found for myself (mostly during the running of groups). We are always on the lookout for a more spacious centre!

I have deeply enjoyed working with my new team and the local community. I hope 2014 offers just as much!

In previous years, our hard-working Centre teams have often included a handful of ‘wish list’ items in their reports, addressing specific items which would be valuable in their delivery of services. BUSHkids thanks all our readers and donors for their responses to date: you really have made a tangible difference. This year, we’ve taken a more holistic approach and asked each team for their ‘top 3’ items, with an approximate cost for each. If you can assist, please call our Toowong head office on 3870 7288.

Bundaberg

1 Miller Function and Participation Scales (MFunPS) $400

2 Sensory Processing Measure - pre-school $255

3 Fun Friends and 123 Magic workbooks $15 and $10 each

Dalby

1 Alphabet bean bags (upper case one side, lower case on other side) $50

2 Adjustable high chairs for SOS feeding groups $130 each

3 Blacksheep Press Resources (speech and language)

$20 – $100 each

Emerald

1 Play house (portable) $150


3 Toys for motor and language development age 3 and under $150

Inglewood

1 Portable DVD player for outreach $100

2 Portable table for outdoor Family Fun Days $70

3 Craft supplies & facepaints for Family Fun Days $50

Mount Isa

1 TV with ‘Smart TV camera’ for sessions to be viewed from observation room $400 & $120


3 Toys for motor and language development (age 3 and under) $150

Warwick

1 Toys for motor and language development for children aged up to 3 years $150


3 Gross motor equipment for children aged up to 4 years (air pillow, hot dog & roll inflatable) $95 & $279

INSIGHT

28

Program decoderWhat do all those weird abbreviations, acronyms and other terms mean? Here’s a handy quick-reference guide:

It’s not often we have the chance to show you one of the BUSHkids team members ‘in action’ but we have been given special permission by the family in this case – and by our Dalby OT Jane Harling who, as you can see, is making great progress encouraging proper eating behaviours, and a willingness to try new foods, in her young client.

123 Magic 1-2-3 Magic & Emotion Coaching Program – aims to teach parents how to deal with their children’s difficult behaviour.

Circle of Security (COS-P)

A relationship-based early intervention program to enhance attachment security between parents and children.

CSRWG Clinical Services Redevelopment Working Group

Do as I do A program designed to help parents help their children by providing them with a positive parental model of anxiety management.

EIPP Early Intervention and Prevention PathwayFriends for Life A program to assist+ children aged 8-11 in coping with anxiety, fear and sadness.

Fun Friends A program for the treatment and prevention of childhood anxiety in 4-7 year olds.

Get Set for Prep Starting school can be an exciting bit stressful time for parents and children – this program goes through some simple steps to help make your child’s time at prep more enjoyable and relaxed.

Hanen: It takes two to talk

A program designed specifically for parents of young children (0-5 years) who have been identified as having a language delay.

HES Health Education Sessions

How Does Your Engine Run

An innovative Alert Program with clearly defined steps for teaching self-regulation awareness. Supporting children, teachers, parents and therapists to choose appropriate strategies to change or maintain states of alertness.

MAIP Multidisciplinary Assessment and Intervention Pathway

PAL Phonological Awareness for Literacy Program for children with phonological awareness/processing difficul-ties associated with difficulties in decoding (reading) and encoding (spelling) words.

PALSPlaying And Learning to Socialise – A social skills program for ages 3 to 6 years, teaching children about greeting others, listening, sharing, taking turns, dealing with feelings of fear, sadness and anger and solving problems.

PEACH Community Education, Advocacy, Health Promotion Program

PPP Positive Parenting Program – proven parenting solutions that help solve current parenting problems and prevents future problems before they arise

Ready, Steady, Prep! The program focuses on the essential skills needed for kids to succeed in the school curriculum.

SAS Secret Agent Society – A revolutionary social skills program for 8-12 year olds with high-functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders.

SBARSituation – Background – Assessment – Recommendation – An easy to remember mechanism that can be used to frame conversations, enabling to clarify what information should be communicated between members of the team and how.

SEBP Social, Emotional and Behavioural PathwaySibworks A therapeutic support program aimed at siblings of children with special needs aged 8-12 years.

SOS Sequential Oral Sensory – Approach to Feeding program – A transdisciplinary program for assessing and treating children with feeding difficulties

SPOT Prep Readiness Speech Pathologist & Occupational Therapist – jointly-run Prep readiness groups

Stop think do Social problem solving method for children to use for resolving conflicts. Adults can also use to manage children’s behaviour. Includes anxiety, ADHD and Aspergers Syndrome.

Talkabout A comprehensive social communications skills program designed for children with social communication skills difficulties. Carefully structured with user-friendly home practice ideas.

Telehealth The delivery of health-related services and information via telecommunications technologies, ranging from telephones and email to robotic surgery performed at a distance.

29

TREASURER’S REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2013Dear Members and Friends Set out below is a Statement of Assets & Liabilities and some

Notes relating to the Accounts.

STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES AT 30 JUNE 2013

ASSETS

FIXED ASSETSManagement and Therapy

Land & Buildings 3,169,084 928,195 296,000 507,652 270,600 717,417 449,221 –

Motor Vehicles 90,684 25,370 12,281 11,101 12,374 13,774 11,563 4,221

Plant & Equipment 275,211 80,099 40,605 34,061 27,338 60,598 29,985 2,524

FIXED ASSETS USEDFOR THERAPY PURPOSES

3,534,980 1,033,664 348,887 552,813 310,314 791,789 490,769 6,745

Land & Buildings UsedFor Rental Purposes

734,576 530,761 – – – – 203,814 –

TOTAL FIXED ASSETS 4,269,556 1,564,426 348,887 552,813 310,314 791,789 694,584 6,745

CURRENT & INVESTMENT ASSETS

Cash on Hand and at Bank 5,469,005 5,469,005 – – – – – –

Prepayments and Deposits 68,826 68,826 – – – – – –

Debtors 121,516 121,516 – – – – – –

Accrued Income 81,493 81,493 – – – – – –

Interest Bearing Securities 1,117,171 1,117,171 – – – – – –

Shares in Companies 5,465,078 5,465,078 – – – – – –

TOTAL CURRENT & INVESTMENT ASSETS

12,323,089 12,323,089 – – – – – –

TOTAL ASSETS 16,592,645 13,887,515 348,887 552,813 310,314 791,789 694,584 6,745

LESS LIABILITIES

Tax Office 18,847 18,847 – – – – – –

Other Creditors & Accruals 71,782 71,782 – – – – – –

Employees Entitlements 170,413 170,413 – – – – – –

TOTAL LIABILITIES 261,042 261,042

NET ASSETS 16,331,603 13,626,473 348,887 552,813 310,314 791,789 694,584 6,745

1. Assets comprise:

Cash at Bank 5,469,005

Investments 6,582,249

Debtors 271,835

Real Estate 3,903,660

Motor Vehicles 90,684

Plant and Equipment 275,211

16,592,645

and our liabilities:

Sundry Creditors 90,629

Employees Entitlements 170,413

261,042

NET ASSETS 16,331,603

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS2. Land is shown at Valuer General rate assessment values. 3. Buildings, Vehicles and Equipment are shown at cost less depreciation. 4. Investments are shown at Stock Exchange Values at 30 June 2013. 5. Items of Plant purchased for $300.00 or less are written off but are recorded in our Asset Register. 6. Special mention needs to be made of our Council members for their very diligent efforts. 7. BUSHkids is extremely grateful for the continued financial support of the Queensland Government. 8. We also thank our valued friends who support us by gifts and bequests; without your support we could not survive.

On behalf of the Chairman and the Council

A J McLean B.Bus. GDPA CATreasurer

TOTA

LBUNDABERG

MOUNT ISA

WARWICK

BRISBANE

DALBY

EMERALD

INGLE

WOOD

30

The attached special purpose financial statements of Royal Queensland Bush Children’s Health Scheme for year ended 30 June 2013 are in our opinion, properly drawn up so as to present fairly the financial position of the Royal Queensland Bush Children’s Health Scheme as at 30 June 2013 and the result of its operations for the year then ended and are in accordance with the provisions of the constitution. Signed in accordance with resolution of the council.

N J Bartels A J McLean Chairman Honorary Treasurer Dated at Brisbane this 27th day of September, 2013

OPERATING STATEMENT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2013 Notes 2013 2012

Operating Surplus (Loss) before Income Tax 2 (19,909) (227,118)

Income Tax Expense - -

Operating Surplus (Loss) after Income Tax (19,909) (227,118)

Retained Surplus at the beginning of financial year 14,905,554 15,132,672

Retained Surplus at the end of the financial year 14,885,645 14,905,554

The above Operating Statement is to be read in conjunction with the attached Notes.

ASSETS AND LIABILITIES AS AT 30 JUNE 2013 Notes 2013 2012

CURRENT ASSETS $ $

Cash 10(a) 5,469,005 5,669,713

Receivables 3 203,009 208,642

Prepayments 68,826 44,668Investments 4 6,582,249 5,452,303TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS 12,323,089 11,375,326

NON-CURRENT ASSETS

Property, Plant, Equipment and Vehicles 5 4,269,556 4,332,112

TOTAL NON-CURRENT ASSETS 4,269,556 4,332,112

TOTAL ASSETS 16,592,645 15,707,438

CURRENT LIABILITIES

Creditors and Accrued Expenses 56,239 64,484

Grants Received in Advance 34,390 35,946

Provision for Employee Entitlements 144,873 133,544

TOTAL CURRENT LIABILITIES 235,502 233,974

NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES

Provision for Employee Entitlements 25,540 15,283

TOTAL NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES 25,540 15,283

TOTAL LIABILITIES 261,042 249,257

NET ASSETS 16,331,603 15,458,181

ACCUMULATED FUNDS

Retained Surplus 14,885,645 14,905,554

Asset Revaluation Reserve 6 1,445,958 552,627

TOTAL ACCUMULATED FUNDS 16,331,603 15,458,181

The accompanying notes form part of these financial statements.

STATEMENT BY THE COUNCIL

31

INCOME 2013 2012Government Grants 1,221,883 1,204,250Dividends Received 389,371 405,599

Interest Income 330,041 394,801Profit-Sale Fixed Assets/Investments 13,523 3,676

Rent Received 36,630 37,485Estates and Legacies 110,646 121,794

Donations 190,916 112,139Fundraising 23,656 6,312

Other Grants 147,540 117,600Insurance Claim - 43,006Sundry Income 10,983 2,174

TOTAL INCOME 2,475,189 2,448,836

EXPENDITUREEmployment Expenses

Employee Entitlement Provision 21,586 6,402 Superannuation 144,910 148,604

Wages 1,623,069 1,679,766 WorkCover 42,995 42,792

Staff Recruitment 3,025 29,309 Staff Training 62,923 68,713

Other Staff Expenses 9,143 19,234 Fringe Benefits Tax 4,780 2,874

Total Employment Expenses 1,912,431 1,997,694Other Admin Expenses

Advertising 550 7,802Audit Fees 4,000 3,750

Bank Charges 1,910 1,686Commissions – Rentals 1,335 2,178

Cleaning 29,369 29,456Computer Expenses 13,779 12,610

Conferences Expenses 25,887 30,933Credit Card Expenses 130 99

Depreciation 162,846 190,276Electricity 20,855 28,774

Entertainment 1,242 1,743Fire and Security 2,271 2,713Freight Expenses 1,752 3,699

Insurance 29,860 24,422Investment Write Off - 42,026

Land Tax 5,366 5,332Meeting Expenses 2,121 674

Motor Vehicle Expenses 22,755 27,045Network Disposable Expense 94,541 68,718

Pest Control 3,392 2,889Postage, Printing & Stationery 19,459 20,602

Rates 39,051 41,002Repairs & Maintenance 30,369 55,252

Resources & Therapy Supplies 16,031 24,572Submission Preparation 5,000 4,841

Subscriptions 245 361Sundry Expenses 653 3,343

Telephone & Communications 28,633 32,638Toolkit Preparation 11,448 -

Travel – Admin 7,817 8,824Total Other Admin Expenses 582,667 678,260

TOTAL EXPENDITURE 2,495,098 2,675,954

OPERATING SURPLUS (LOSS) BEFORE INCOME TAX (19,909) (227,118)

INCOME & EXPENDITURE FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2013

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Notes 2013 2012

Inflows (Outflows)

Inflows (Outflows)

Cash Flows from Operating ActivitiesReceipts from Subsidies, Donations and Rent 1,701,451 1,632,455Payments to Suppliers and Employees (2,298,188) (2,558,231) Dividends Received 389,371 405,599Interest Received 330,041 394,801NET CASH USED IN OPERATING ACTIVITIES 10(b) 122,675 (125,376)

Cash Flows from Investing ActivitiesPaymentsProperty, Plant and Equipment (132,740) (251,724)

Investments (1,252,818) (3,025,841)

Proceeds Property, Plant and Equipment 320 55,500Investments 1,061,855 2,496,885NET CASH USED IN INVESTING ACTIVITIES (323,383) (725,180)Net increase/(decrease) in cash held (200,708) (850,556)

Cash at beginning of the financial year 10(a) 5,669,713 6,520,269Cash at end of the financial year 10(a) 5,469,005 5,669,713The above Statement of Cash Flows is to be read in conjunction with the attached Notes

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2013

1 – SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTANT POLICIESThis financial report is a special purpose financial report prepared in order to satisfy the financial reporting requirements of the Scheme’s constitution and relevant legislation. The council has determined that the entity is not a reporting entity. The financial report has been prepared on an accruals basis and is based on historic costs and does not take into account changing money values or, unless where specifically stated, current valuations of non-current assets. The following significant accounting policies, which are consistent with the previous period unless otherwise stated, have been adopted in the preparation of this financial report.Income TaxNo income tax liability exists, as the Scheme is exempt from income tax in accordance with Section 50-5 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997.Property, Plant and EquipmentPlant and equipment is depreciated so that the assets are written off over their estimated useful lives using reducing or straight line methods as appropriate. Land is carried at council valuation which is in accordance with the State Valuation Service annual valuation as at 30 June 2013. Buildings, Motor Vehicles & Plant and Equipment are carried at cost less any accumulated depreciation and impairment losses.Employee EntitlementsProvision is made for the entity’s liability for employee benefits arising from services rendered by employees to the end of the report-ing period. Employee benefits have been measured at the amounts expected to be paid when the liability is settled. Provision for Long Service Leave is made after five years’ service. ProvisionsProvisions are recognised when the entity has a legal or constructive obligation, as a result of past events, for which it is probable that an outflow of economic benefits will result and that outflow can be reliably measured. Provisions are measured at the best estimate of the amounts required to settle the obligation at the end of the reporting period.Goods and Services TaxRevenues, expenses and assets are recognised net of the amount of goods and services tax (GST). The net amount of GST recoverable from, or payable to, the taxation authority is included as part of payables.Revenue and Other IncomeDuring the year, significant revenue was obtained from government grants. At the date of this report, the council has no reason to believe that this funding will not continue. Interest revenue is recognised using the effective interest rate method which for floating rate financial assets is the rate inherent in the instrument. Dividend revenue is recognised when the right to receive a dividend has been established. Grant and donation income is recognised when the entity obtains control over the funds which is generally at the time of receipt. All revenue is stated net of the amount of goods and services tax.InvestmentsInvestments held are initially recognised at cost, which includes transaction costs. They are subsequently measured at fair value which is equivalent to their market bid price at the end of the reporting period. Movements in fair value are recognised through an asset revaluation reserve.

STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2013

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2013 2012

2 – OPERATING SURPLUS

Operating Surplus (Loss) before Income Tax has been determined after:

(i) Crediting as Revenue

Dividends 389,371 405,599

Interest 330,041 394,801

Net gain (loss) on disposal of other non-current assets 13,523 3,676

(ii) Charging as Expense

Depreciation 162,846 190,276

Provision for employee entitlements 21,586 6,402

3 – RECEIVABLES

Interest Receivable 81,493 97,941

Sundry Debtors 121,516 110,701

203,009 208,642

4 – INVESTMENTS

Shares - at Market Value 5,465,078 4,890,917

Interest Bearing Securities - at Market Value 1,117,170 561,385

Investment in Perpetuity 1 1

6,582,249 5,452,303

5 – PROPERTY, PLANT, EQUIPMENT AND VEHICLES

Land at cost – –

Land at Council’s valuation (ie SVS values) – 30.06.13 2,631,500 2,631,500

2,631,500 2,631,500

Buildings at Cost 2,131,121 2,131,121

Disposals at cost – –

2,131,121 2,131,121

Less Accumulated Depreciation and Amortisation 858,961 805,954

1,272,160 1,325,167

Plant and Equipment at cost 905,801 1,033,365

Less Accumulated Depreciation 630,589 787,468

275,212 245,897

Motor Vehicles at cost 176,094 176,094

Less Accumulated Depreciation 85,410 46,546

90,684 129,548

4,269,556 4,332,112

6 – ASSET REVALUATION RESERVE

Balance at 1 July 2012 552,627 825,004

Add Revaluation of Investments sold during year 20,502 66,212

Add Revaluation of Land during year - 25,000

Add Revaluation of Investments at 30 June 2013 872,829 (363,589)

Balance at 30 June 2013 1,445,958 552,627

7 – REMUNERATION OF COUNCILLORS

No Councillor of Royal Queensland Bush Children’s Health Scheme received or is due to receive any remuneration for the year ended 30 June 2013.

NOTES TO AND FORMING PART OF THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2013

34

2013 2012

8 – REMUNERATION OF AUDITORS

Auditing the Financial Statements 4,000 3,750

9 – CONTINGENT ASSETS & LIABILITIES

A WorkCover claim was lodged against the organisation by an ex-employee in 2011. The claim is still ongoing.

10 – STATEMENT OF CASHFLOWS

a) Reconciliation of Cash

For the purposes of the Statement of Cash Flows, cash includes cash on hand and in banks and investments in money market instruments, net of outstanding bank overdrafts. Cash at the end of the financial year as shown in the Statement of Cash Flows is reconciled to the related items in the balance sheet as follows:

Cash on Hand 1,050 850

Cash at Bank – Current Account 14,702 9,541

– Short Term Call 5,453,253 5,659,322

5,469,005 5,669,713

b) Reconciliation of Operating Surplus (Loss) after Income Tax to Net Cash used by Operating Activities

Operating Surplus / (Loss) (19,909) (227,118)

Depreciation 162,846 190,276

Employee Entitlements 21,586 6,402

Profit (Loss) on Sale of Property, Plant & Equipment and Investments (13,523) (3,676)

Investment Write Off – (100,000)

Changes in Assets and Liabilities

Decrease (increase) in prepayments (24,158) (16,708)

Decrease (increase) in receivables 5,633 15,188

Decrease (increase) in GST-input tax credits (7,910) (3,342)

Increase (decrease) in creditors and accrued expenses (1,673) 12,239

Increase (decrease) in GST payable (217) 1,363

Net cash used in operating activities 122,675 (125,376)

11 – CAPITAL EXPENDITURE COMMITMENTS

There are no major capital expenditure commitments at 30 June, 2013.

12 – SUBSEQUENT EVENTS

Nothing has occurred since 30 June 2013 which would have a material effect on these financial statements.

NOTES TO AND FORMING PART OF THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2013

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ROYAL QUEENSLAND BUSH CHILDREN’S HEALTH SCHEME

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE COUNCIL OFROYAL QUEENSLAND BUSH CHILDREN’S HEALTH SCHEME

Report on the Financial Report

We have audited the accompanying financial report, being a special purpose financial report, of Royal Queensland Bush Children’s Health Scheme, which comprises the assets and liabilities statement as at 30 June 2013, the income and expenditure statement for the year then ended, notes comprising a summary of significant accounting policies and other explanatory information and the statement by the council.

Council’s Responsibility for the Financial Report

The council of the entity is responsible for the preparation of the financial report and has determined that the basis of preparation described in Note 1 is appropriate to meet the requirements of Royal Queensland Bush Children’s Health Scheme and is appropriate to meet the needs of the council. The council’s responsibility also includes such internal control as the council determines is necessary to enable the preparation of a financial report that is free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

Auditor’s Responsibility

Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the financial report based on our audit. We have conducted our audit in accordance with Australian Auditing Standards. Those Auditing Standards require that we comply with the relevant ethical requirements relating to audit engagements and plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance whether the financial report is free from material misstatement.

An audit involves performing procedures to obtain audit evidence about the amounts and disclosures in the financial report. The procedures selected depend on the auditor’s judgement, including the assessment of the risks of material misstatement of the financial report, whether due to fraud or error. In making those risk assessments, the auditor considers internal control relevant to the entity’s preparation of the financial report that gives a true and fair view in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the entity’s internal control. An audit also includes evaluating the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates made by the council, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial report.

We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our audit opinion.

Auditor’s Opinion

In our opinion, the financial report of Royal Queensland Bush Children’s Health Scheme presents fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of Royal Queensland Bush Children’s Health Scheme as at 30 June 2013 and its financial performance for the year then ended in accordance with the accounting policies described in Note 1 to the financial statements.

Basis of Accounting and Restriction on Distribution

Without modifying our opinion, we draw attention to Note 1 to the financial report, which describes the basis of accounting. The financial report has been prepared to assist Royal Queensland Bush Children’s Health Scheme to meet the require-ments of its constitution and relevant legislation. As a result, the financial report may not be suitable for another purpose.

MORRIS & BATZLOFFNorm Hoare96 Lytton Road, East Brisbane

Dated this 27th day of September 2013

36

NEW AND EXISTING PARTNERSHIPS

Our core program funding is provided by Queensland Health and Education Queensland and we continue to be grateful to the state government for its support of our founders’ vision.

Enthusiastic supporters THIESS have continued to support our Dalby Centre as partners through their QCLNG Works Project, for the life of the project in the Dalby area. Over the year they have run their own fundraising events including a very successful Golf Day and donations from their soft drinks machines continue to pour in!

The Band of the 1st Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery, have been continued supporters of BUSHkids for many years, this year they have again run their musical workshop tour this time around the schools of Bundaberg and culminating the week with a fundraising concert at the Montcrieff Centre.

Perpetual has granted funding for the development of a multidisciplinary assessment and intervention program for isolated children with complex support needs in the Warwick area and we are very grateful for this support.

Xstrata Mount Isa Mines provided us with a generous sponsorship to assist with the operation of our Mount Isa Centre.

Black Toyota Dalby continue to support our Dalby Centre, this year organising a fundraising Cocktail Evening with the Melbourne Cup Tour visiting Dalby.

The North Queensland Toyota Cowboys are constant supporters of BUSHkids and in particular our Mount Isa Centre.

Warwick Golf Club and Condamine Sports Club are great supporters for our annual fundraising Warwick Golf Day, helping to make the day run smoothly for us and the golfers.

Pharmacy First kindly donated a DEAP Kit to our Mount Isa and Emerald Centres. The kit will assist our Speech Pathologist and the teams greatly. It is time and cost effective and provides a quick, accurate, and comprehensive overview of the child’s articulation, phonological processes, and oral motor skills.

TROHPIQ (Towards Rural and Outback Health Professionals in Queensland) is an organisation run by students, primarily through the University Of Queensland School Of Medicine, aiming to improve health care in rural and remote Queensland, and their charity ball for BUSHkids marked the beginning of a partnership at various levels for both organisations.

Mark Buckley Photography kindly volunteered time, talent and staff to create a comprehensive record of our magnificent Loaves & Fishes event

We continue to be well-supported by the folks at Masthead Design & Creative and PurePrint with their commitment to supporting all aspects of the communications needs of BUSHkids, their inspired work, great service and high-quality production values.

Smart Multimedia continues to look after all our website requirements and we were grateful for the first-class work of Fergies during the year.

To every individual and organisation we couldn’t name here – THANK YOU from all at BUSHkids!

MASTHEADDE S IGN CREATIVE

Joshua Dodd

Jenny Franklin

The BUSHkids Annual Conference took place at Riverglenn Conference Centre in Brisbane in the week 4–8 November. The main focus of conference this year reviewed the proposed new Model of Care. Alongside were many professional development opportunities to network and team-build with staff from across the state, and a question-and-answer session with Council members.

On Monday Doug Shelton, a community Paediatrician and current Director of Gold Coast Community Child Health, revisited our rationale for our Model of Care and outlined the positive impact early intervention can have on social disadvantage. He then gave a very interesting presentation on Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, highlighting new research and developments in this preventable condition. As well, a new clinical communication strategy was introduced – SBAR – which aims to improve our clinical communication skills.

Tuesday was an opportunity for all staff to workshop our new Model of Care. This was a great chance to hear feedback and incorporate ideas from all staff. Work is now being done to incorporate this feedback and finalise these documents. The Clinical Services Manager will be visiting all regions to support the implementation of the Model of Care.

Wednesday started off with a workshop session around the concept of family-centred practice and generated some enthusiastic debate. As well, there were presentations of our new ICT systems and developing database. A Work Health and Safety consultation was conducted. The day ended with a team-building activity led by Joshua Dodd (SLP-Dalby) from which the Family Health Support Workers emerged victorious.

Thursday was an opportunity for discipline-specific professional development, followed by a question-and-answer session with Council. An enjoyable Conference Dinner was held on the Thursday night, with music performed by Emma Bell, a very talented young singer from Warwick. Tiffany (head office) and Bec (Warwick Centre) provided a Trivia Quiz, which brought out the competitiveness in many.

Friday was an opportunity for final reflections and planning for the future. Overall the conference was very productive, motivating and enjoyable.

Julian Martin, David Ham, Annette Bartels and Melissa Lujan

Emma Bell

2013 CONFERENCE

Length-of-service cards team photo

FHSW Supervisor Jane Morgan with her team

Karolyn Harcourt

Gail Huggins

Linda Cholawinskyj

Karlee Wiles

July 2012 – June 2013Number of clients receiving Total sessions* individual intervention at centre (individual and CENTRE Female Male Total groups)Bundaberg 58 111 169 1,163 Dalby 189 230 419 1,054 Emerald 32 76 108 692 Inglewood 4 0 4 63 Mount Isa 110 169 279 909 Warwick 128 172 300 1,289TOTALS 523 858 1,279 5,170

July 2011 – June 2012Number of clients receiving Total sessions* individual intervention at centre (individual and CENTRE Female Male Total groups)Bundaberg 52 134 186 1,873 Dalby 53 182 235 1,271 Emerald 26 97 123 1,639 Mount Isa 34 103 137 1,548 Warwick 32 78 110 1,528TOTALS 197 594 791 7,859 *Change reflects increase in offsite/outreach services

July 2010 – June 2011Number of clients receiving services Individual CENTRE Female Male Total SessionsBundaberg 49 127 176 950 Dalby 49 133 182 553 Emerald* 22 74 96 560 Mount Isa 38 78 116 933 Warwick 30 70 100 805TOTALS 188 482 670 3801 *Floods impacted delivery

July 2009 – June 2010Number of clients receiving services Individual CENTRE Female Male Total SessionsBundaberg 36 129 165 893 Dalby 59 156 215 560 Emerald 31 88 119 873 Mount Isa 30 82 112 818 Warwick 26 56 82 551TOTALS 182 511 693 3695

July 2008 – June 2009Number of clients receiving services Individual Centre Female Male Total SessionsBundaberg 26 122 148 761 Dalby 55 168 223 585 Emerald 40 83 123 718 Mount Isa 18 45 63 203 Warwick 34 62 96 599TOTALS 173 480 653 2866

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org - BUSHkids€¦ · Patricia Delamont Accountant (from September 2013) Kathryn Healey Service Delivery Coordinator (to October 2013) ... Gordon K & June S Harris Foundation 1,000.00