MSWPG 7212 Berry Street Project: Child & Family Training Initiative

This project outlines a training program initiated by Berry Street, Victoria's largest independent child and family services organization, to address the increasing mental health issues among children and young people. The project aims to provide training to parents and guardians on how to support children struggling with anxiety and depression, understand the symptoms of mental health issues, and create awareness about various mental health problems children may face. The training program is designed to be interactive, allowing parents to share their experiences and learn effective strategies for handling vulnerable children. The project logic model, internal and external stakeholders, resource implications, and project timeline are also discussed, highlighting the importance of this initiative in improving child care and reducing mental health issues in the community. Desklib provides access to this and other solved assignments for students.

Running Head: SOCIAL WORK
Social Work: Training Project by Berry Street
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Table of Contents
1. Existing Need...................................................................................................................2
2. Aim of the Project............................................................................................................3
3. Project Logic Model........................................................................................................5
4. Internal and External Stakeholders..................................................................................8
4.1. Internal Stakeholders................................................................................................8
4.2. External Stakeholders...............................................................................................9
5. Project Team..................................................................................................................10
6. Project Resource Implications.......................................................................................14
7. Project Timeline.............................................................................................................15
References..........................................................................................................................18
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1. Existing Need
It is important to secure the childhood of the children as childhood is an important stage
for growth and development of child. Berry Street is an institution that takes proper care for the
abandoned babies and their mother who have no shelter or support Berry Street is Victoria’s
largest independent child and family services organization (Welcome to Berry Street, 2018). A
training project in planned by the organization for imparting the much needed training about a
child’s mental and physical health to the parents and families who are willing to participate in the
same. The Berry Street childhood Institute aims in enhancing the outcomes for young people and
children. The training program that has been designed will help in easier understanding of the
needs of young people and children (Berry Street Childhood Institute, 2018). It has been
observed that the mental health issues among the children and young people have considerably
increased over the years. Berry Street Website helps the young people and families from the
devastating effects of violence, neglect and child abuse (Perou et al. 2013). A similar training
program is arranged by Berry Street in which training will be imparted on the process of
ensuring a healthy childhood. Initiatives for similar training programs and processes are needed
to be taken in order to ensure the parents and the family members of a child take proper care of
the child and do the needful in eliminating the issues that can negatively impact growth of a child
(Barkley, 2013). Furthermore, the training event will help in increasing the audience reach of
Berry Street.
Berry Street childhood Home has been working for improving the process of childcare
over the years (Olfson et al. 2014). Training and guidance from this organization will help in
fighting anxiety and depressions that are faced by young adults. Since Berry Street Home
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provides care for those children who face problems such as mental anxiety and abuse, that
training program will be effective for the new as well as old parents (Lebowitz et al., 2014).
Berry Street works for development of children and women’s right in Victoria and therefore it
needs a greater audience’s reach, which can be achieved by this program. With this training
program the officials of Berry Street will be able to provide effective medical facilities to the
vulnerable kids. Thus, it is observed that the current project is needed for greater good (Stokes &
Turnbull, 2016). People needs to understand the importance of a healthy childhood and for that
accurate knowledge about how to deal with vulnerable children is needed to be gained. This
project is expected to help a number of children and therefore it is needed.
The aim of the report is to discuss the purpose of the project and gives an idea of project
logic model (Merrell, 2013). The internal and the external stakeholders associated with the
project are discussed in the report. The report further highlights the resource implications of the
project and the expected schedule within which, the said project will be implemented.
2. Aim of the Project
It is important for the families of a child to understand the vulnerabilities of mental
anxiety of a disturbed child. The project aims in providing training to the families and guardians
of children who might have a troubled or vulnerable past. A mentally disturbed or a vulnerable
child might needs a complete support from their friends and families. This training program that
is lead by Berry Street aims in recovering young people, children and families in recovering from
the devastating effects of violence, abuse and neglect (McHugh et al., 2013). The main focus of
this training program is to ensure that each and every child gets a good childhood and for that
their family members need to understand the process of handling a child who might need an
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extra care (Fazel et al. 2014). Troubled childhood can affect the entire life of a child and
therefore maximum participation in this training is anticipated.
Childhood is one of the most important stages of a child’s life. Berry Street is Victoria’s
largest independent child and family services organization that works for rebuilding the life of
young and mentally disturbed children (Lyon et al., 2014). The training program will brief the
parents and the family members of children about the rules, legislature and framed policies
associated with the handling of issues related to the mental health of children (Olfson, Druss &
Marcu, 2015). Thus an initiative and training is needed as it is seen that the number of children
or students suffering from anxiety and depression increases (Flett & Hewitt, 2013). In order to
find a solution to the issues and interactive training session to be lead by Berry Street is arranged.
The identified aims of the project are as follows-
1. To provide trainings to the parents and guardians who are in need for helping their children get
pass of anxiety and depression. The training program will guide the parents on how to deal with
the children who are suffering from mental anxiety.
2. Knowledge about the symptoms of mental health issues and the ways of handling the
problems are further discussed in the report.
3. The training program aims in spreading awareness to parents and family members about the
different mental health problems that a child can face.
4. The training program further aims at reducing the health issues by increasing the awareness
among the people.
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5. The training program will mostly be interactive where the parents or the family members will
share their problems and the issues that they face while handling a depressed child. The process
of identifying a depressed child will further be discussed in the training program.
The training program is arranged with an aim of reducing the cases of mental anxiety and
depression in the city. Addressing these issues is essential since problems faced in childhood can
affect the entire life of a child (Boydell et al., 2014). The project is expected to be helpful for the
parents as well as the children. This is because identification of early symptoms of mental
anxiety is essential to provide much needed help to young people. In the following section, the
project logic model of this project is discussed.
3. Project Logic Model
A logic model can be described as a visual diagram illustrating the different stages of a
project. Logic models communicate to an organizations project programs, activities and goals.
The logic model for the training project undertaken by Berry Street is illustrated in the following
part.
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Program Objective: To develop and implement a training program for addressing the issues such as depression and anxiety faced by children.
Problem
Statement
Input Output Activities Output
Participation
Short Term
outcomes
Medium Term
Outcomes
Long Term
Outcomes
The project
intends to
address certain
issues faced by
the children
that include
addressing
depression and
anxiety.
In order to face the
issue, a training
program is planned.
The training program
will be lead by Berry
Street and will
mainly target the
parents and families
who have one of
more children.
The other major
inputs of the project
are-
1. Project funding
2. Choosing
appropriate project
premises.
3. Employing skilled
trainers
4. Preparation of
appropriate training
materials
5. Involving
maximum sponsors
and child care firms
for the project.
1. Identification of
the problems that
gives rise to mental
health issues of a
child.
2. An interactive
problem solving
session associated
with the issues and
anxieties faced by
children is expected.
3. Training the
parents on how to
deal with children
who are suffering
from anxiety and
depression.
4. Generation of
awareness among the
parent and families
having children.
5. Arranging further
workshops for
parents and children
6. Proposal of
arranging similar
programs in future.
1. It is expected that
the families and
parents who
encounters problems
in handling their
children suffering
from depression and
anxiety will
participate
2. Berry street will
be providing
trainings to the
parents
3. Parent and
children counseling
session can be
arranged.
4. Government of
Australia
5. The Sponsors and
funding
organizations
6. Social care staffs.
7. Professional
Counselors.
1. Planning and
ground researches
will be completed
2. The training
materials will be
designed and
developed
3. The project plan
will be drafted.
4. The program
will be initiated in
one of the chosen
location
5. Invitations in
form of
advertisements will
be set out
6. Expected
participants will be
given an idea of the
subject of training
and the training
schedule
1. The parents will
be able to have a
better knowledge
about the
symptoms of a
disturbed
childhood.
2. The parents
will be able to
handle such kids
with a better care
3. Awareness
among the parents
will be generated.
4. The training
materials will be
circulated among
the interested
families.
5. Awareness
about the causes of
mental anxiety and
depression in
children will be
created
6. Berry Street will
complete their first
training program
6. Parents can
consider to arrange
training sessions
for their children
who are showing
the symptoms of
mental anxiety and
depression.
1. The number of
children suffering
from anxiety and
depression has
lowered
2. Children feel free
to discuss any matter
with their parents to
solve it
3. The demand for
arranging similar
programs in future
increases.
4. More sponsors for
similar project can
be obtained.

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Assumptions
Certain assumptions are considered for this project-
1. Berry Street has shown their willingness in participating to this training
program.
2. Investments from project sponsors have been obtained.
3. The targeted audiences for this training program will be interested in
taking part in this project.
4. The project will be completed within a set schedule.
5. All the stakeholders will show their complete engagement and
participation.
External Factors
There are certain external factors that are needed to be addressed in this
project, which are as follows-
1. There can be certain changes in government policies that can hamper the
normal project implementation.
2. Continuous resource availability is needed to be maintained.
3. The extent to which the parents and the family members will provide
support to the training program cannot be determined.
4. Proper Management of the entire training program
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Running Head: SOCIAL WORK
4. Internal and External Stakeholders
The stakeholders of a project play a huge role in successful execution of a project. The
execution of this training program will require efficient stakeholders’ engagement. Success of
the project largely depends on the performance of project team and along with that, involvement
and contribution of the stakeholders in the project is equally important (Spielberger, 2013). The
internal and external stakeholders associated with the project are represented in the following
sections.
4.1. Internal Stakeholders
The internal stakeholders associated with the project include the people who are
committed to serving the organization (Eskerod & Jepsen, 2016). The internal stakeholders
associated with the project are as follows.
1. Berry Street: The organization that will lead the training program is an important
stakeholder of the project. Berry Street is an important project stakeholder since the success of
the project completely depends on the interactive training session that aims in improving the
mental health issues that children and young adults might be facing.
2. Councilors: The councilors will also be a part of this training project who will be
helping out the parents in solving the problems they face.
3. Project Sponsors: The sponsors of this project are another important stakeholder of
this project. Without their funding, successful implementation of the project would not be
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4. Expected Audiences (Parents): Without the support of this stakeholder, the success of
this project is not possible. Therefore, this stakeholder holds a very important place in project’s
success.
4.2. External Stakeholders
The external stakeholders of a project are those entities which are not within the business
itself but are highly affected by the performance, consumers, regulators and the investors of the
project (Eskerod & Huemann, 2013). The external stakeholders associated with this project are
as follows-
1. Australian Government: The training initiative that has been taken has a complete
support of Australian Government. There support is needed as the training will be targeting the
masses.
2. Mental Health professionals: The training materials will be designed on direction and
consultation of this stakeholder.
3. Advertising Agency: The audience reach of this project largely depends on the
successful advertising of the project. Thus the advertising agency who will take the charge of
spreading the word is considered as an important external stakeholder of the project.
The above discussed points give an idea of the most important stakeholders associated
with the project and their role in implementation of this project. Stakeholders’ engagement to
the project is quite crucial and therefore, it is important to keep them informed about the status
and the project progress (Wilde, 2013). For that, it is essential to develop a communication plan
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that will be followed by the project team to communicate the status of the project to both the
internal and external stakeholders.
5. Project Team
Project team plays an important role in successful implementation of the project. The
skill and efficiency of the project team determines the success of the project. It is important to
wisely choose a project team who will be able to implement the project according to the set
specifications (Kallapiran, et al., 2015). The training project is based on sensitive issues and
therefore a planned approach of its implementation is essential (Kerzner & Kerzner, 2017). The
roles and responsibilities of the key team members in implementation of the project is
represented in the following table-
Project Stage Role Responsibility
Stage I of the Training Project
1. Requirements gathering and
Planning
1. Project Manager An initial research will be
conducted about the process of
project implementation and the
requirement specifications of the
project.
1. Project Team After accurate requirement
gathering, the project team will
prepare the draft project plan
(Burke, 2013).). The draft project
plan will be approved by Berry
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Street.
3. The Training Team: After successful Approval of the
project plan, the training
materials are needed to be
developed. The training team will
consult the mental health
professionals and the counselors
prior to the design and
development of training
materials.
Appropriate designing of the
training materials is needed in
order to ensure that the purpose
of the project is fulfilled.
The main aim of the project is to
generate awareness among the
masses on how to deal with
children suffering from mental
anxiety and depression.
Apart from that, it is essential to
find a suitable venue for the
project. This will be done in the
initiation phase as well.
Project Advertising 1. Advertising Agency 1. Spread of words is essential in
order to make the training
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