About Parenting Xchange

The purpose of the project is to foster social networks among new mothers in the Peachey Belt area, thus improving the quality and extent of their social networks, and to improve access to information technology for those normally excluded from its benefits due to social and economic disadvantage.

It is now increasingly recognised that investments in parenting and early life have beneficial effects not only on health and wellbeing in adult life, but also on the future functioning of a community (McCain & Mustard, 1999; Wadsworth, 1999).

The Parenting Xchange will support new mothers living in the Peachy Belt area who have the following raised risk factors present:

no employed parent in the household
isolation of the mother from mainstream participation in schooling, training, work and other community institutions
parents who are new to the neighbourhood with limited social networks
sole parents

Project Partners

The Parenting Xchange is a partnership between:

1. The City of Playford

The City of Playford is the recently amalgamated City of Elizabeth and City of Munno Para. Playford considers it has a major role as a supporter, coordinator and partnership builder of local social and community programs. For example, Council is the host employer for a new Family Links Worker (FLW) who has recently begun work in the area to assist young families access information, health services, and child care services. The FLW forms part of a network of linked projects to 'value add' to existing and new programs in the area.

The Playford Council hosts the Playford Partnership, a formal chartered agreement between the Commonwealth Government, State Government, and Local Government sectors to work collaboratively in the Peachy Belt urban regeneration area to facilitate the development of social capital and community sustainability. Represented on the Partnership are the Commonwealth Department Family and Community Services, State Department of Human Services, State Department of Education, Training and Employment, local government - Playford Council, and the non-government sector represented by Mission Australia and Anglicare.

2. Para West Adult Re-entry School, Davoren Park

Para West Adult Re-entry School provides education and training services to adult re-entry students from across the northern Adelaide area. In addition to providing students with a second opportunity to complete secondary education the Para West Adult Campus offers outreach programs to the community and has strong links with local vocational training programs.

The Parenting Xchange will compliment two existing outreach programs, the Young Mums' program and Peachy Outreach. The Young Mums program, operated in partnership with Anglicare, offers informal parenting support whilst enabling young mothers to maintain a link with education. Peachy Outreach is a community computing program for parents of children in the local primary schools. The Para West Adult Campus is also the only school in SA to operate a childcare centre.

3. The Women's and Children's Hospital, Adelaide

The WCH is the major public maternity hospital in South Australia, and a primary provider of women's and children's health services across the state. It will provide the project with expertise in infant health and development, and maternal health, and contribute 50 'recycled' computers to the project. The WCH is likely to be the auspicing agency for the DHS integrated parenting programs and thus there is the opportunity to link this project with existing community based parenting programs.

The WCH was a key agency in identifying the child health needs in the Northern Metropolitan Region through the Strengthening Linkages for Children in the North (1998) project. This identified the promotion of parenting skills as a priority area of need.

4. Infoxchange Australia

Infoxchange Australia is a not-for-profit social enterprise company focusing on community development using Information Technology as the primary tool to create positive social change.

Infoxchange Australia provides services in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia.

Infoxchange Australia's mission is Technology for Social Justice. It offers services to the not-for-profit sector that stretch from computer recycling and Internet Service Provision to database and online information/content management to web site design and hosting to a wide curriculum of computer training. Over the last decade it has become focused on the delivery of a wide range of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) solutions for community building purposes. It has become an active player in developing public, private and non-government partnerships to this end, and has an impressive track record in successfully using IT means for social justice outcomes. The emphasis is with interactivity and two-way communication flow.

Infoxchange Australia's outstanding achievements have been recognised internationally for the second year. In 2000 it was a joint winner in the Public Service and Democracy category of the annual Stockholm Challenge Award. The jury declared the entry as a first class example of how Information Technology might be used in a new and innovative way. Infoxchange Australia also received the rare distinction of being a finalist again in the 2001 Challenge for its development of the exciting Reach for the Clouds community building project that addresses the social issue of the digital divide and empowerment, providing sustainable employment and educational opportunities for the long-term unemployed while also addressing environmental issues through recycling of discarded computer hardware.

Infoxchange Australia's team combines experienced human service workers and ICT technicians who together have successfully developed a stream of
community building activities. Experienced community service practitioners manage the organisation and a wide variety of sector based project management skills exist across the organisation.

Infoxchange Australia has a strong history of supporting sector based networks and communities of interest. It's ICT systems allow people to build networks, subscribe to topics of interest and participate freely in the exchange of information with others. Infoxchange Australia has become a leader in the development of low cost and simple to use information systems that enjoy wide usage by community sector organisations, community workers and communities of interest. http://www.infoxchange.net.au