Developing a plan for families: listening to the community

For each area, three or four of the main suggestions made by families that would strengthen families and their links with communities and improve the family friendliness of services, according to families and children, were identified from the coding.

To strengthen individual families

• Value family relationships
• Promote male help-seeking & meet these service needs
• Prevent family breakdown
• Stimulate early childhood learning in the home
• Services to help in a crisis
• Develop partnerships between school and family
• Value the importance of fathers
• Make the most of technology in children’s learning
• Preparation for fatherhood

"It doesn’t matter how you define a family, what matters is good relationships"

- Northam forum

To strengthen links between family & community

• Be neighbourly
• Make it easier to get around
• Create lively supportive communities
• Address issues of job insecurity
• Respond to young people’s needs
• Make it easier to balance work and family
• Safer home environments
• Child care at work
• Improve community facilities

"Sense of community is a connection of like minded people… Community gives a sense of belonging." -

Fremantle forum

More family-friendly services

• Family friendly approach
• Better planning
• Provide more information about services
• Improved communication
• Improve access to services
• Provide services locally
• Adopt a cross government approach

"We feel that a whole-of-government approach is essential if Western Australian families are to feel more secure in their relationships, their work, their homes and their communities." -

Mail response, Beechboro

Young people’s views were practical, positive and often went to the heart of the issue. For example, 15-year-olds in a south-west town said:

"What strengthens families is commitment, having a family pet, laughter and having fun, watching a sunrise together, having morals and rules to obey but not too strict, gossiping with your parents, teaching them modern day stuff."

"Kids need to know that they are loved in a family."

Though our report comprises the views of Western Australian families, it is likely that they are similar to the opinions of many others in reflecting family aspirations.

Families were also asked what they saw as the most important issues facing families into the new millennium. Although there was a wide diversity of responses to this question, the most commonly raised issues are listed.