Policy & Planning

In 2004 ‘Principles and Actions for Services and People Working with Children of Parents with a Mental Illness’ was published...

The objective was to provide guidance for Australian organisations and individuals to support children of parents with a mental illness.

Since this time, a number of jurisdictions have implemented policies, guidelines and training programs to embed capacity to support children of parents with a mental illness. The following are links to relevant resources: 

National

• Principles and Actions for Services and People Working with Children of Parents with a Mental Illness
• National Mental Health Plan
  Priority Area 2, ‘Prevention and early intervention’ of the Plan includes the following action: “Expand the level and range of support for families and carers of people with mental illness and mental health problems including children of parents with a mental illness.”(pages v and 36)
• National Practice Standards for the Mental Health Workforce
  Includes the Guiding Principle ‘Mental health professionals recognise and support the rights of children with a parent with a mental health problems or mental disorder to appropriate information, care and protection.’ (page 7) and a number of workforce standards that relate to this principle (see pages 9, 11, 12, 13, 17, 18, 23, )
• RANZCP Position Statement: Children of Parents with a Mental Illness

States

• Queensland Health ‘Working with parents with mental illness: Guidelines for mental health clinicians
• NSW Children of Parents with a Mental Illness (COPMI): Framework for Mental Health Services 2010-2015
• Victoria Families where a parent has a mental illness (FaPMI): a service development strategy