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Partners

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Evolve Interagency Services

• About Evolve
• What does Evolve offer?
• Where are the services located?
• Further information

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About Evolve

Evolve Interagency Services (Evolve) provides therapeutic and behaviour support services for children and young people on custody or guardianship child protection orders to the chief executive of Department of Communities (Child Safety, Youth and Families) and in out-of-home care who have severe and complex behavioural and psychological issues and/or disability behaviour support needs.

Research indicates that children and young people who enter the child protection system are more likely to experience varying degrees of emotional and behavioural problems than children who do not. Factors that can positively impact on a child's development are:

• competent parenting
• a warm relationship with a carer
• a better network of informal relationships
• better educational experience.

The service is a collaboration between Queensland Government departments responsible for delivery of child protection services to meet the requirements of children in care who have complex and extreme needs. It is a partnership between:

• Department of Communities (Child Safety, Youth and Families)
• Department of Communities (Disability, HACC and Community Mental Health Services)
• Queensland Health
• Department of Education and Training.

The therapeutic and behaviour support services are provided by:

• Queensland Health’s Evolve Therapeutic Services, which provides a mental health therapeutic response through a multidisciplinary clinical team.
• Department of Communities (Disability, HACC and Community Mental Health Services) Evolve Behaviour Support Services which provides positive behaviour support services through a multidisciplinary team of psychologists, speech and language pathologist and occupational therapists.
• Evolve Therapeutic Services and Evolve Behaviour Support Services work in collaboration with school guidance officers and our child safety officers.

What does Evolve offer?

Children and young people with challenging behaviour and/or significant emotional needs as a result of past trauma and abuse are at risk of, or have already experienced increased breakdown in their placement with carers, disruptions in schooling and lack of continuity in their relationships with peers, carers and other significant people in their lives. A referral to Evolve is aimed at assisting children to reduce the intensity and frequency of problem behaviours in order to:

• improve their functioning and provide opportunities to achieve stability with their out-of-home care placements
• increase involvement in schooling
• improve community engagement and activities designed to facilitate their wellbeing.

As part of the service, each child receives an initial comprehensive assessment of biological, psychosocial, and cultural factors and a functional assessment (for children with a disability).

An Evolve plan is implemented and monitored by the Evolve team, together with the key people in the child's life, such as child safety officers, carers, family, Recognised Entity, non-government organisations and school officers.

The services provided to a child may be medium to long term intervention.

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Where are the services located?

• Far North Queensland (Cairns, Edmonton, Atherton, Innisfail)
• North Queensland (Townsville, Aitkenvale, Thuringowa)
• Central Queensland (Rockhampton, Gladstone, Emerald, Mackay, Bowen)
• North Coast (Maroochydore, Caloundra, Gympie, Kingaroy, Murgon)
• Brisbane (Alderley, Caboolture, Redcliffe, Pine Rivers, Chermside, Fortitude Valley)
• South East (Logan, Loganlea, Woodridge, Browns Plains, Beenleigh, Beaudesert)

The expansion of the Evolve service will include the following areas:

• Brisbane (Mt Gravatt, Stones Corner, Wynnum, Redlands, Inala, Forest Lake)
• South West (Ipswich, Goodna, Toowoomba)

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Further information

For further information about Evolve, contact:

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Last updated

26 October 2009