Home Start supporting families in UK is 35 years.

Check against delivery

Ladies and Gentlemen!First, let me express my sincere gratitude for having received this invitation. On behalf of the Norwegian Ministry of Children and Equality I wish Home-Start a happy anniversary. I will also express our delight by the fact that the project was initiated 35 ago Margareth Harrison. She is present today, and I congratulate her particularly. It must be fantastic to experience that so many families – in so many countries – appreciate and are strengthened by the help and support they receive from a Home-Start volunteer.

I would also like to welcome Home-Start Australia to take part in our celebration I hope you all enjoy your stay in Norway.

Unfortunately, the Minister of Children and Equality could not attend today’s celebrations. She has requested to I convey the sentiment that anniversaries are important to a sense of solidarity and commitment. Such occasions also provide an excellent opportunity to bring together family contacts, coordinators and others involved in the Home-Start Family Contacts Norway. Both the Minister and me are impressed by the efforts to assist families who are in difficult circumstances – at the national and local levels. The volunteers are the basic pillars of the work undertaken.

A retrospective glance at Home-Start
I will start with a brief glance at Home-Start Norway’s history as perceived from the perspective of the Ministry of Children and Equality.
The Ministry first gained knowledge of Home-Start in the early1990s. In 1996 we received three applications for financial support to establish branches in the municipalities of Bærum, Tønsberg and Trondheim. Evaluations of these three branches commenced at approximately the same time.

After receiving an application for financing of national coordination and follow-up of Home-Start in 2000, the Ministry approved the application: We did that because 10 local branches had already been established at the time and that several municipalities and organisations were planning to initiate the project. The result of the evaluation concluded that families were unable to get similar preventive and supportive measures in the public domain. These results, along with findings that families were satisfied what Home-Start could offer, further underpinned our decision to provide (financial) support.

Home-Start’s target groups – what’s so special about Home-Start
All families can risk finding themselves in demanding and difficult circumstances. In such situations they may not necessarily be able to count upon a network of family and friends to support and relieve them. The Ministry regularly receives letters from desperate parents. Children in particular are at risk when a family is having a hard time. Families should not be left on their own in times of crisis - when undergoing a difficult phase or when encountering situations which they are unable to cope with on their own.

Home-Start provide support to among others to families who speak minority languages, families with chronically ill or disabled children, and families struggling with mental health issues. You contribute to the prevention of major family crises, prevent the breakdown of families with minors and prevent children from being exposed to less than adequate care

I believe that what makes Home-Start’s contribution so valuable is your focus on equality, participation, and the utilisation of family resources. You give parents a voice, a sense of self-worth, and may even assist them in regaining their joy of living, which in turn can influence interplay within the family, ultimately aiding the children.

The Government’s focus on preventive efforts for children and young people
This conference focuses on voluntary preventive efforts and aiding parents of pre-school children.There is no doubt that preventive efforts need to be strengthened and that early intervention must be a prime focus. A longitudinal study of clients of Norwegian child welfare services during the period 1990-2005 (NOVA 3/2008) shows that previous recipients of child welfare services have worse living conditions than their same-age counterparts in the overall population. Among other things they have less education, lower income, are more frequently dependent on social welfare benefits and many are unemployed. This study shows that these clients from the outset are at a considerable disadvantage when compared to other Norwegian children.

There is furthermore no any doubt that public authorities carry the main responsibility for good preventive and family support measures. However, the authorities cannot always replace the efforts made by individuals committed to other human beings. This is an area in which voluntary alternatives can supplement services supplied by the authorities.

The existing Child Welfare Act emphasis prevention to a great extent. However, before they can act child welfare services must identify children in need. This is important to make these services able to intervene early in relation to children and families at risk, and to prevent problems from developing and being exacerbated. Furthermore, the various services involved must cooperate so that child services can intervene as early as possible and in order to prevent children from being sent from one helping profession to another, and avoiding a situation where no one say that we are in charge.

Where are we headed?
There are probably many present here today who are interested in the way ahead for Home-Start Family Contact Norway.The way ahead needs to be based on knowledge that Home-Start is a useful, preventive measure for families with minors.
To ensure that 1) the support and aid provided is as good as we believe it to be, and 2) that systematic documentation is provided as a basis for deciding upon what to do in the future, the Ministry supports an evaluation of Home-Start. At present it is Diakonhjemmet University College which is charting how users, family contacts and coordinators experience and assess the assistance provided by Home-Start. This evaluation will also assess the impact of the assistance on the child within the family. The evaluation will conclude in December 2008.

I hope and trust that the evaluation will confirm that the work being done is good, and that it will lead to the start-up of more Home-Start branches in Norway which can meet different families with various needs.

I hope that the evaluation will be useful also for the international Home-Start network, and that our experiences can benefit families in other countries.
As regards of projects aimed at families with chronically ill and disabled children – these are not a part of the evaluation done by Diakonhjemmet University College. This is due to the fact that a representative sample could not be found. However, from the findings of a Masters thesis in social work and a report from the Hemil Centre at the University of Bergen we have learned that the families benefit greatly from and are pleased with the service. The long term aim is that the experiences gained from the project will be of benefit to all Home-Start branches.

Provided that the Norwegian Parliament provides the necessary financial means we are prepared to continue our support for the project in 2009.

Before I end I would like to give you one challenge: When I overlook this audience I see a lot of brilliant, dedicated women: Don't forget that families also consist of men; You need to have male volunteers , and more important you need to address husbands, partners and fathers in a way they feel comfortable with.

Concluding remarks
As we have done previously, I would like to urge you to keep up the good work – your efforts are both important and meaningful. I wish you good luck with your ongoing work and a happy anniversary.