Meeting child, family and community needs in the early years; Current research projects and initiatives at CCCH / MCRI

The current system of services and social supports is failing to meet the needs of the most vulnerable children, families and communities in our society. We have not succeeded in making sustained improvements to many of the major social problems. A number of research projects and initiatives currently being undertaken at our Centre are seeking to address to address this situation by re-envisioning the early years environment from the perspective of families, and reconfiguring the way we engage with families and communities. One line of work involves working with place-based initiatives, as well as with local government and with service agencies seeking to engage more effectively with families. A related line of work focuses on child and family centres and hubs, and includes identifying the key features of effective hubs, and the development of self-reflection and quality improvement tools for child and family centres. Other CCCH initiatives focus on the relationship aspects of services, ways of engaging authentically with families, and co-designing and co-delivering services with community members. Still other initiatives explore how to gather meaningful data that can inform local decision-making, and how to address some of the major social determinants (such as income) that shape family functioning and wellbeing.