The Healthy Trajectories team at the University of Melbourne are excited to share that they are a key partner in a consortium that secured $6.9million in funding from the the Department of Social Services to deliver a peer support program, called ENVISAGE across all states and territories in Australia.

ENVISAGE stands for ENabling VISions And Growing Expectations, and was co-designed with Australian and Canadian parents, carers, service providers and researchers, and includes a dedicated co-designed First Peoples program. Our international research shows that the ENVISAGE program empowered parent/caregivers’ to take strengths-based approaches to their situation. It increased parent/caregivers’ confidence in parenting children with a disability and provided them with tools to support connection, collaboration, and wellbeing.

ENVISAGE will be delivered by a consortium of established service-provider partners and networks providing interprofessional early childhood expertise from medicine, allied health, psychology, early intervention specialists, cultural mentors, peer, and community leaders across Australia. Our service provider partnerships will assist in identification of local service needs and priorities and enable delivery across all states and territories including regional and remote areas. The program can be delivered both online and in person.

We are very grateful to the Consortium members and our named subcontractors (listed below) who supported the grant and committed to working with us in the delivery of ENVISAGE. To have an opportunity to provide this service and support to families across Australia is extraordinary and we greatly value everyone’s contribution.

Consortium Members include:

• Australian Catholic University
• The University of Melbourne
• CanChild, McMaster University
• Murdoch Children’s Research Institute
• Perth Children’s Hospital
• The Royal Children’s Hospital
• Institute for Urban Indigenous Health
• Children’s Health Queensland Hospital and Health Service
• Kids Plus Foundation

Subcontractors (current, more to come onboard as we expand our reach throughout Australia)

• Kids Are Kids! Therapy and Education Centre Inc
• Hallmark Occupational Therapy
• Lifestart Co-operative Inc
• Novita Services
• Kindred Community Ltd.
• Association for Children with a Disability