There is no one way to undertake child and family partnerships and this toolkit cannot capture all the approaches or possibilities available to organisations.
These case studies seek to demonstrate some of the different ways in which organisations have undertaken child and family partnerships.
Case study: Establishing authentic child and family collaboration partnerships in Wesley Mission Queensland
This case study examines a partnership between Emerging Minds and Wesley Mission Queensland (WMQ) that supported WMQ to incorporate the lived experiences of children and families in the development of a new 0-12 years mental health service (Wesley Kids).
Case study: Family participation in co-design and co-delivery
This case study reviews Emerging Minds’ use of family participation to advance the practices of co-design and co-delivery. It illustrates the value of family participation, explores the process, and highlights key learnings to ensure it is safe and beneficial for family partners, the organisation, and attendees.
Video: Flying solo
Jess discusses how, when she was 16, she developed and implemented a program for young people moving out of home for the first time, with the support of her worker, Annabel.
Report: Putting families and children at the centre of recovery
In 2013, the Children of Parents with a Mental Illness (COPMI) national initiative facilitated a TheMHS forum called ‘Putting Families and Children at the Centre of Recovery’. The forum was conceptualised, developed and implemented by a committee of family partners, with the support of COPMI staff.
Short article: A young person’s reflection on doing child and family partnership work
A child and family partner reflects on their work as part of the COPMI (Children of Parents with a Mental Illness) national initiative.
Practice paper: Supporting children and families: How does co-design invite us to think differently?
This paper focuses on a series of reflective questions that invite practitioners to think differently about their work with children and families, especially those living in complex environments. The authors – a lived experience consultant, a practitioner, and a researcher – take readers behind-the-scenes of co-designing the paper itself, whilst exploring some of the most challenging dilemmas facing practitioners in the field.
Q&A: Development of a tip sheet: A case study in co-design
Katherine had an idea to develop a tip sheet for child and family partners collaborating with Emerging Minds. This is an interview with her about the co-design process from conception to finalisation.
Podcasts: Co-design: Disrupting business as usual (part 1 and part 2)
How can the voices of people with lived experience be authentically incorporated into resource and service design? These podcasts explore the practice of co-design and how it has been used to inform the creation of Emerging Minds resources.
Fact sheets: Lessons in co-design from the Lived Experience Network
This series of fact sheets explores the key elements of co-design in more detail, using the South Australian Government’s Department of Human Services’ Lived Experience Network as a case study. They contain video interviews and reflection activities to help further your knowledge and confidence in the area of co-design.
Case study: StigmaBeat: Working with rural young people to reduce mental health stigma
This page provides a brief overview of the StigmaBeat project, which used a co-design approach to create short films to identify and challenge mental health stigma from the perspective of young people who have experienced it. It includes images from the co-design workshops and a link to read the full journal article.