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NINTI ONE PROJECTS
QUALITY SERVICES SUPPORT
PANEL: STRONGER COMMUNITIES
FOR CHILDREN
Ninti One is contributing to the Commonwealth
Government’s Stronger Communities for
Children (SCfC) programme.
Stronger Communities for Children, aims to
give Indigenous children and young people in
the Northern Territory the best possible start
in life through safer families and communities,
nurturing educational environments, positive
participation opportunities and cultural events
so that children and young people grow up
strong, healthy and confident.
An important element of SCfC is local ownership
so that communities are involved in determining
services are necessary to address local needs.
Our role is to manage a process called the
Quality Services Support Panel or QSSP,
which brings together specialist support for
service providers that deliver SCfC and assist
with establishing a Local Community Board in
each community. The SCfC model appreciates
that each community is different, with different
needs, different visions and service gaps to fill.
In our role, Ninti One is focussing on
strengthening local decision-making so that
services respond to community priorities and
progress can be monitored against a range
of indicators. We are working with partner
organisations based in the ten communities
across the Northern Territory.
It has been interesting to hear initial
reactions to the project from communities in
communities where we are beginning to work.
A resident in one community proclaimed that
finally government has got it right. We are
really happy now community has a big say.
That’s the way it should have been from the
start’. People in another community were
happy with the flexibility of focus for funding.
‘We’re used to programs that tell us what
money must go to, whether we like it or not’.