| Mofflyn (previously Methodist Home for Children) |
| Years of Operation | 1923 – current, though in very different forms. It would appear that the old Methodist Home for Children had effectively ceased dormitory style residential care by around 1953, when the Cottage Campus model succeeded it. By 1985, most of the campus cottages had closed, though a short-term cottage continued operating on the old Sussex Street site until 1991. However, apart from that unit, Mofflyn’s residential services were scattered throughout the metropolitan area.
Mofflyn is no longer involved in residential child care. |
| Role Of Facility | Mofflyn had its roots in the Methodist Girls’ Home in Victoria Park and the Tom Allen Memorial Home for Boys, known as the Werribee Farm School, near Katanning [see entries].
In 1984, Mofflyn operated a range of services: “These include the campus cottages [Mofflyn, see below], community-based group homes [Meribah, Allandale Boys’ Cottage, Bourkedale, and Yokine Cottage, see entries], hostel for youth [Quarry Street Fremantle, see entry], hostel for Aboriginal students [Cooinda Mt Lawley, see entry], a group home for intellectually handicapped children with serious behavioural problems [Collins, later Carine, House, see entry] and a preventive care/home support programme.” (Report on the Activities of the Consultative Committee in 1983/84, Consultative Committee on Residential Child Care, November 1984).
By 1989, the agency was “targeting families experiencing long-term family and network crises’ and “providing a range of flexible services including client home-based, centrebased and respite services, a variety of residential care services and a ‘volunteers for families’ programme.” (Report on the Activities of the Consultative Committee on Residential Child Care in 1988/89, February 1990).
In 1994 Mofflyn’s Home Based Services and Partners in Parenting Service were funded to provide “home based care services for children and families” and “Out of Home Care Services for children and families in the metropolitan area.”
Purpose:
“To provide home based services, and to provide Out of Home Care services where parent-child relations are harmful and indicate that without change a child may have to enter out of home care.”
Key Service Objectives:
“To provide case management functions, counselling and support for up to 80 families a year, in their own home, where the children of focus are 0-12 years old to prevent premature removal of children; and to enable parents to more confidently meet their children’s needs.
To provide accommodation for up to 3 months for 5 children in the Children’s Reunification Unit, the goal of which is to reunite children with their families.
Where reunification is possible, provide a 3 month outreach follow up / support service; where it is not possible, identify alternative long term options.
To integrate the Home Based and the Partners in Parenting services, to provide families with a range of services to support their children” (Out of Home, Preventative and Alternative Care Services Review, “Terms of Reference”, Family and Children’s Services, 1995). |
| Sponsoring Agency | Methodist Church / Uniting Church of Australia / Uniting Church Child and Family Care Services / Mofflyn
In 1982, Departmental administrative files show the Administrative Body for the Mofflyn Group Children’s Homes as the Uniting Church. |
Other facilities in
Signposts that are
related to the
Sponsoring Agency | See the entry “Uniting Church” in the earlier section of Signposts, “Non-Government Agencies and their Subsidiary Institutions”. |
| Address(es) | Sussex Street, Victoria Park as the main campus; cottages throughout the metropolitan area; and a Farm School at Werribee, near Katanning. |
| Aliases | Mofflyn (from 1961)
Methodist Home for Infants
Sussex Street Home |
| Brief History | The Cottage Campus provided general long-term residential care from 1953 to 1985, with a Short Term Unit operating there until 1991. A more detailed chronology of major events, admissions and discharges is included in the Table which follows.
In 1979, the WELSTAT (welfare statistics) Collection identified Wesley, Dowerin, Guild, Meckering, and Werribee as ‘clustered group homes’ (ie. “a family group home whose grounds adjoin those of another family group home, or other residential child care establishment, operated by the same enterprise”) that was operated by an agency other than the Department.
Werribee Girls’ Cottage in 1979 was a cottage for girls of post-secondary school age.
In February 1983, Dowerin Cottage became a specialised cottage, piloting a program for 6 “seriously disturbed” children transferred from the McCall Centre.
In 1984 the service underwent a major reorganisation.
In 1985, the four campus cottages at Victoria Park were closed “in response to the relatively low rate of admission for placement and the agency’s concern that the accommodation was not adequate to the model of residential care which they require, i.e. adequate space and privacy for each resident, male and female caretakers, with optimal community involvement.” One cottage was subsequently re-opened in order to meet the continued demand for short-term, emergency placement in “response to the need (also reported by other residential agencies) that families who are being worked with on a preventive basis often need access to a short term placement for their child to defuse a crisis and restabilise family functioning.” (Report on the Activities of the Consultative Committee in 1984/85, Consultative Committee on Residential Child Care November 1985).
By 1985, the “Family Support Arm of Mofflyn’s Services has developed considerably with the appointment of a second ½ time social worker during 1984. Currently all newly referred cases are assessed by a family support worker to determine what services the family requires. By this means a significant number of children can be helped other than by residential placement.” (Report on the Activities of the Consultative Committee in 1984/85, Consultative Committee on Residential Child Care November 1985).
A Youth House in Quarry Street, Fremantle [see entry, "Fremantle Community Youth Services"] which was funded under the Youth Supported Accommodation Assistance Programme [SAAP – see Volume 3] was opened during the 1985/86 year as a successor to the Terrace House [see entry] and Kingsway [see entry] programs and Mofflyn also assumed management of the Yokine Hostel [see entry, Yokine Cottage].
By 1986, the old Mofflyn Campus in Sussex Street housed the agency’s Administration offices, the Family Centre Programme and the Short-Term Unit. All other cottage programs that used to operate from Sussex Street had closed, and were conducted from suburban cottages. Departmental records suggest that it was the old Superintendent’s Residence that was used to house the short term unit.
In 1987 the CCRCC mapped the developments in residential services at the type of programs that were provided for children in the care ofthe agency:
1. Major Developments in the Residential Models of Care
o In-service training for Cottage Parents
o Professional staff development
o Co-parenting model
o Respite and emergency care
o Range of Programs Provided
o Individual community involvement programs
o Tutoring program
(Report on the Activities of the Consultative Committee in 1986/87, Consultative Committee on Residential Child Care November 1987).
“The planned move of all residential services off the Victoria Park campus has been completed and they are now located in various metropolitan areas providing a considerable geographic spread to this agency’s facilities.” (Report on the Activities of the Consultative Committee on Residential Child Care in 1987/88, November 1988).
In 1989, in order to “support the localisation of Mofflyn’s services the professional staff [would] be relocated into two small inter-disciplinary teams based north and south of the river.” (Report on the Activities of the Consultative Committee on Residential Child Care in 1988/89, February 1990).
In 1990, due to “inadequate accommodation and insufficient staff resources to support four residential units”, the Gosnells and North Perth units were closed. “The Marangaroo Unit was established in response to a perceived need for localised respite services in the northern suburbs.” In addition, “changes to Mofflyn’s administrative structure meant that services were initially delivered by northern and southern team staff and these were later separated into residential and preventive service teams each with a separate manager.” (Report on the Activities of the Consultative Committee on Residential Child Care in 1989/90, February 1991).
Departmental administration files report that Mofflyn continued to operate four residential units in 1992.
A limited chronology of major admissions and discharges is included in Table 29.
On 1 July 2006 Mofflyn merged with a number of other agencies to become UnitingCare West. One of its former services, The Family Care Program developed in partnership with the Disability Services Commission in 1994 is known as Futures. Futures commenced in September 2004 to provide long-term foster care placements for children with disabilities who cannot remain in the care of their own families.
Futures is based on the belief that the needs of all children, including those with the disability are generally best met in a family environment. Many children have been supported through the service since 1994 including some in the care of the Department with Child Protection. While the service is primarily funded through the Disability Services Commission the Department for Child Protection jointly funds a number of placements of children who are in the CEO’s care.
The three year Service Agreement with the Department for Community Development which commenced on 1 January 2006 enables UnitingCare West to provide a reunification service Family Connections. UnitingCare West and the Department work together with families where safety issues are complex to jointly assess the family’s potential for reunification with a child or young person in the CEO’s care.
UnitingCare West carries out preliminary assessments jointly with the Department for 120-140 families in a 12 month period in the Perth metropolitan area. Following preliminary assessments UnitingCare West provides a reunification service to an average of 40 families overt two six monthly reporting periods. An average of 140 hours of reunification service is provided to each family over an average period of four months. UnitingCare West also provides a consultation service for the Department’s staff across the state. Consultation may involve telephone discussions for country cases and telephone discussions or one-off meetings for metropolitan cases. Twenty four hours of consultation per week is available to the Department, according to demand.
Children and young people in the CEO’s care and their families are referred by the Department. Priority access to the service is for children aged 12 years and younger. Older children may be included if they have younger sibling/s who are the focus of the intervention, or if there are exceptional circumstances eg, an older child with a disability.
The three year Service Agreement with the Department for Community Development which commenced on 1 January 2006 enables UnitingCare West to provide a tertiary family preservation service Building Strengths to an average of 30 families over two six monthly reporting periods in the Perth metropolitan area. An average of 110 hours of service over an average period of four months is provided to each family.
The aim is to assist families who are at imminent risk of the children entering provisional protection and care due to a high risk of harm or neglect, referred by the Department for Child Protection with priority of access to families with children under five years of age.
Service provision is to reflect, where appropriate, the cultural make-up of the families.
In addition to the entries mentioned above, the Methodist Church has its own entry in Signposts, and this should be consulted as it gives more information about the approach taken. |
| Records | Some files and admission registers are held by Mofflyn.
Departmental records may also be available for children who were placed by the Department. |
| Access | While access to records is restricted to protect the privacy of individuals, people are encouraged to enquire. |
| Contact Details | UnitingCare West
Central Office
16 Sunbury Road
VICTORIA PARK WA 6100
Postal Address:
GPO Box B74
PERTH WA 6838
Telephone: 1300 663 298 (08) 9355 9116
Facsimile: 1300 663 528
Email: admin@unitingcarewest.org.au
Web: www.unitingcarewest.org.au
Freedom of Information
Department of Communities
Locked Bag 5000, Fremantle WA 6959
Telephone: (08) 6414 3344
Country free call: 1800 176 888
Email: foi@communities.wa.gov.au
Website: www.communities.wa.gov.au |
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