Engaging marginalised and vulnerable families has many challenges. Research shows that those who are most in need of support are the least likely to access it. Vulnerable families have to balance competing needs, and sometimes ‘survival’ needs take priority over attendance at a service.
Vulnerable children and their families in the Frankston and Mornington Peninsula municipalities face many challenges that impact on their early years education;
- Access to services – Due to high demand, access to public health and support services can often involve long waiting periods for both assessment and service delivery, inflexible appointment times, lack cultural awareness, and may not be close to home.
- Expense – The cost of support services is often too great when families are struggling with the most basic of needs to provide food to their children.
- Homelessness – In 2020-21, 1,229 people experiencing homelessness presented for specialist homelessness services in the Frankston Council area and 888 people from Mornington Peninsula Shire. Families that are accessing local kindergarten programs are experiencing homelessness.
- Transport – There are significant gaps in the provision of transport across Frankston and the Mornington Peninsula. Families experience difficulty accessing support and early intervention services as they do not have access to a vehicle and/or public transport.
- Mental Health – The Victorian Mental Health Reform Strategy 2009 – 2019 highlights that 14% of children and young people aged 4-17 years are affected by mental illness, and children living with parents and carers with unmanaged mental health concerns can be at higher risk of disadvantage.
- Family Violence – In 2020-21, Victoria Police report that 2724 (the highest rate in local government metro area) family incidents occurred in the Frankston Area. In 999 of these cases, children were present.
- Unemployment – Areas of Frankston and Mornington Peninsula experience high rates of unemployment. Most recent published census data in 2016 reported Frankston’ North unemployment rate of 13.3%, and Hastings at 8.2%, in comparison to the Greater Melbourne unemployment rate at the time of 6.8%.
- Literacy – Parents and carers with low literacy levels have additional barriers and challenges when seeking the support services needed.
- Financial Hardship – Studies have shown that experiencing financial hardship is strongly associated with poor physical health, mental health and cognitive skills.
- Covid-19 – The full impact of Covid-19 on vulnerable families is yet to be known, but current research is showing that disadvantage is amplified due to reduced access to services, community supports, financial instability, increased unemployment