Family Focus

Family Focus Family Focus supports families through Family Intervention, Supported Family Visits, Carer Education, Life Story Therapy, Outreach & Mentoring

Sam Stitt has worked with children for some 25 years with a background in Early Childhood Education and over 15 years experience working in the child protection/ welfare system. She has a Certificate in Child Welfare Practice, Grad Cert in Developmental Trauma and is trained in Life Story Therapy. Her experience has been primarily working with children in the out of home care sector, homeless yout

h and birth families through family intervention 'in home' support. Family Focus is a small private practice providing support for families in the child protection system through 4 main areas. Family Intervention ('In home' support)

Sometimes parents struggle to keep on top of parenting, meeting the needs of their children and themselves, manage the home and ensure safety. Family Focus comes to the client, to their home, or a safe place to work alongside families or individuals on goals which may be part of their formal 'case plan' or personal goals they can't seem to manage on their own. Practical, realistic, strength's based support if offered to the client so that they are very much a part of the process of 'change', included in decision making and identifying what it is that they may need to work through to be able to get back on track. . In many cases this may include reflecting on their own childhood. For young people transitioning from the care system and into independence, they may need extra support to get them to where they want to be and 'hope' they will be 'ok'. Family Focus supports young people who are looking for a safe place to live, education or employment, re-connection with family and independent skills like cooking, budgeting, looking after their health and wellbeing. Family Focus is of the belief that Family Intervention needs to be practical, uncomplicated and transparent so that families engage in the process of change. Supported Family Contact

Where there may still be some risk during family time that means it needs observation/feedback or perhaps just someone to co-ordinate siblings living separately and provide some structure and guidance to the parent to ensure the family’s time is maximized. Family Focus works flexibly around families commitments and time frames so that bringing families together, even for a short period, is meaningful, engaging and fun! Carer Support & Education

Whether foster parents or family carers need additional supports outside of their support agency or an independent person to assess what support the family may need. This may be the need after a concern has been raised in relation to their care. Sam has developed a set of two workshops on the topic of Reunification. The aim of these 3 hour workshops is to expose foster and kin carers to the process of Reunification and gain a better understanding of how they can play a vital role in the plan for children to return home. (further info on the workshops is available) Workshops can be run either in groups or one on one. Life Story Therapy

Working alongside Gov and Non Gov Departments and with families to work with children (and at times, parents) to retrace their history, perhaps their period of time in care (past homes/ placements) and collate a ‘story’ of their life. This work may be as simple as researching a child’s ‘birth story’ by talking to a parent to gain an insight into their early life and collecting photos and memories. It may also stem from a child wishing to know about why he is in care and how he came to be. Life Story is generally part of a case plan for a child who may be at the stage where they are in need of information about their history to work through their trauma. Family Focus may be able to do the time consuming ‘ground work’ that case workers can’t afford to put aside in their busy schedules. Sam has been trained and mentored by UK practitioner Richard Rose from Child Trauma Intervention Services, and Megan Bayliss, local social worker and Life Story advocate.

**Family Focus also employs Youth Mentors who work with single or small groups of children. Their role is to support children and young people grow and learn, feel safe and supported. Their engagement with clients may be to focus on a specific need or challenge, practice social skills in varying environments, assist with 'in school' support by working alongside Educators, provide opportunities for outdoor adventure, exercise and engage in team activities. Please contact Sam directly to request a Schedule of Fees or have a chat about yourself or a potential client in need. Quotes are available upon request. Supporting youth and families in the child protection system.......

The cutest possums finding goodies in the fridge after our ‘One Bite At a Time’ session this week 🍎❤️Happy Friday !!!   ...
06/06/2025

The cutest possums finding goodies in the fridge after our ‘One Bite At a Time’ session this week 🍎❤️
Happy Friday !!!

When you order new fancy signage and must have ticked the GIANT box 🤣🤣😳😳🍎Oh well can’t miss us !!!
05/06/2025

When you order new fancy signage and must have ticked the GIANT box 🤣🤣😳😳🍎Oh well can’t miss us !!!

Session 2 was colourful and choc full of ideas  using a simple hot chook 🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓We did the maths on what our meal...
25/05/2025

Session 2 was colourful and choc full of ideas using a simple hot chook 🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓
We did the maths on what our meals would cost, what ingredients we have in our pantry & worked in pairs to create 4 delicious recipes and over 30 meals !!!! YUM 😋

One Bite at a Time KICKING OFF another 10 week program this week with beautiful new faces. Our program for women and gir...
16/05/2025

One Bite at a Time KICKING OFF another 10 week program this week with beautiful new faces. Our program for women and girls isn’t just about food. It’s self confidence, team work, independent skills, we budget, learn about staying healthy but most importantly we learn more about ourselves & who we are. 🍎❤️🍣
*aprons courtesy of Century Cranes
Cairns Safer Streets for your support.

Happy Mother’s Day to all of the mums we support & have walked alongside. Your stories of strength, resilience, determin...
11/05/2025

Happy Mother’s Day to all of the mums we support & have walked alongside. Your stories of strength, resilience, determination & love for your kids is inspiring and the reason we do the work we do!!

Expressions of Interest!!  We love to ensure our group is not too big and overwhelming, so please make contact if yourse...
30/04/2025

Expressions of Interest!! We love to ensure our group is not too big and overwhelming, so please make contact if yourself, your daughter, niece, mum or client would love to join us so we can accomodate you as best we can. 🍎🍎🍎🍎🍎

Our recent program participants were asked to describe ‘One Bite At a Time’ in 1 word. Here’s what they had to say…. 🍎Aw...
25/04/2025

Our recent program participants were asked to describe ‘One Bite At a Time’ in 1 word. Here’s what they had to say….

🍎Awesome
🍎Learning
🍎Tasty
🍎Unity
🍎Hungry
🍎Skills
🍎Helpful
🍎Inspiring
🍎Belonging
🍎Together

We’ve had a little break but stay tuned for more program dates coming soon!! Sam & Elsa

PROUD ??? What an understatement!! Two reasons to be proud as we wrapped up another 10week program last week AND catered...
14/04/2025

PROUD ??? What an understatement!! Two reasons to be proud as we wrapped up another 10week program last week AND catered for a Youth Week event!! We witnessed every participant make change whether they attended 2, 4 or 10 sessions. Stay tuned for FB updates on our next round or contact [email protected]🍎🍏🍎🍏
Making Change …. ‘One Bite At a Time’

‘One Bite at a Time’s 6th session ‘Magic Mince’ AND How to read labels Boy did we cram a lot in this week!! Some delicio...
14/03/2025

‘One Bite at a Time’s 6th session ‘Magic Mince’ AND How to read labels Boy did we cram a lot in this week!! Some delicious sausage rolls, hand made pork dumplings and Korean Beef meals YUMMO. Making CHANGE …one bite at a time 🍎Aprons thanks to Century Cranes 🙌

‘One Bite at a Time’ had a full house this week Celebrating International Women’s Day we treated ourselves to top notch ...
07/03/2025

‘One Bite at a Time’ had a full house this week Celebrating International Women’s Day we treated ourselves to top notch cookie baking and yummy iced coffees whilst exploring what ‘sources of support’ looks like for each of us. We are blown away by the confidence and independent skills building every week
🍪🍪🍪🍪❤️

Address

PO Box 244
Cairns, QLD
4870

Telephone

+61417647443

Website

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Our Story

Sam Stitt has a background in Early Childhood Education and 13 years experience working in the child protection/ welfare system. She has a Certificate in Child Welfare Practice a Graduate Cert. in Developmental Trauma and is a trained Life Story Work Therapist. Her experience has been primarily working with children in out of home care but also extends to support for natural families through Family Intervention Programs. Family Focus is a small business providing support for families in the child protection system through 4 main areas. Family Intervention Working alongside the Department of Child Safety to meet the case plan goals related to child protection concerns. This may occur when the Child Protection Order has been applied for (reunification is the goal) or perhaps when children remain in the home under Intervention with Parental Agreement. Practical, realistic, strength's based support if offered to the client so that they are very much a part of the process of 'change', decision making and identifying what it is that they may need to work through to be able to be the 'best parent' they can be. In many cases this may include reflecting on their own childhood or early trauma. Family Focus is of the belief that Family Intervention needs to be practical, uncomplicated and transparent so that families engage in the process of change. Supported Family Visits Where there may still be some risk during family contact that means it needs observation/feedback or perhaps just someone to co-ordinate siblings living separately and provide some structure and guidance to the parent to ensure the family’s time is maximized. Family Focus works flexibly around families commitments and time frames so that bringing families together, even for a short period, is meaningful, engaging and fun! Carer Support & Education Whether foster or family carers need additional supports outside of their support agency or an independent person to assess what support the family may need. This may be the need after a concern has been raised in relation to children in their care. Sam has developed a set of two workshops on the topic of Reunification. The aim of these 3 hour workshops is to expose foster carers to the process of Reunification and gain a better understanding of how they can play a vital role in its success. (further info on the workshops is available) Workshops can be run either in groups or one on one. Life Story Work Working alongside Gov and Non Gov Departments and with families to work with children to retrace their history, perhaps their period of time in care (past homes/ placements) and collate a ‘story’ of their life. This work may be as simple as researching a child’s ‘birth story’ by talking to a parent to gain an insight into their early life and collecting photos and memories. It may also stem from a child wishing to know about why he is in care, his identity and understanding of who they are. Life Story work is a therapeutic process in its own right. It can allow the child, with out undue pressure to express feelings about the events of their childhood and stories about their family. Family Focus may be able to do the time consuming ‘ground work’ that case workers can’t afford to put aside in their busy schedules. Sam has been trained and mentored by UK practitioner Richard Rose from Child Trauma Intervention Services, and Megan Bayliss, local social worker and Life Story advocate. It is important to note that this process takes time (up to 18 months) and requires the child to have support around them. Other Services offered

Family Focus employs casual youth mentor’s who are available to work with single or small groups of children/siblings. Youth Mentors are positive role models for children and young people and it is their role to provide support, guidance and care through positive interactions and activities. A youth mentor’s role not limited to the following..Engage young people in physical, creative and active activities/play. Assist children to engage in school. Explore a child’s interests and strengths. Support children to have connection with culture and community. They are people the child can talk to about their worries. Promote positive relationships with siblings & their family unit.May transport children to activities/family/visits/school

Youth Mentors hold a current BLUE CARD and drivers licence as well as use their own vehicle for transporting children.

Please contact Sam to request a Schedule of Fees. Quotes are available upon request. Supporting families in the child protection system.......