Best Start

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Best Start Project Sites

Existing sites - Maribyrnong

Five Neighbourhoods in City of Maribyrnong chosen to participate in Best Start:

  • Braybrook
  • Angliss Precinct (within Footscray)
  • Gordon Street Precinct (within West Footscray)
  • Maidstone
  • Yarraville

Neighbourhood Groups and Early Years Service Provider Groups established in four neighbourhoods comprising local government representatives, parents, school staff, maternal child health nurses, preschool and long day care staff as well as community leaders. These groups aim to identify local issues and tailor local action.

  • Current local action implemented by two women, engaged as community leaders:
  • A three-year-old activity group in Braybrook and
  • A playgroup in the Gordon St precinct to convene at local primary school classroom.

Current local action implemented by service providers include:

  • Flexible Enhanced Home Visiting service arrangements that enable continuity of care by nurses for mothers who attend day stay programs outside the municipality.
  • An audit of women's "stories" by maternal child health nurses to identify difficulties in transition from ante-natal/maternity services to maternal child health services. Feedback will assist in planning future antenatal and postnatal care.
  • Applications for increased services for occasional care and before and after school care.

Proposed local action that will address access issues include:

  • Culturally specific parent groups for parents from different cultural backgrounds eg. Horn of Africa or Vietnam.
  • A "walking bus" for children to ensure that they can arrive to school safely and on time and to reduce rates of absenteeism.
  • Breakfast programs at school to assist with nutrition and ensure that children are ready for the school day.

LGA Profile

Population

  • The 2004 total population of Maribyrnong Local Government Area (LGA) was 62,054.
  • The Department of Sustainability and Environment projects the 2020 population of Maribyrnong LGA will reach 74,344.
  • There are 6,617 children aged 0 to 8, comprising 10.7% of Maribyrnong’s total population. This compares with 11.3% for Victoria as a whole.
  • There are approximately 286 people of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin in Maribyrnong, making up approximately 0.5% of the area’s population.

Socio-Economic

  • The Australian Bureau of Statistics’ 2001 Index of Relative Socio-Economic Disadvantage (IRSED) for Maribyrnong was 915.4. A lower score indicates a higher level of disadvantage. This compares with the State IRSED of 1016.
  • Maribyrnong was ranked 2 out of the 78 LGAs in Victoria on the IRSED. A rank of 1 was assigned to the most disadvantaged LGA.
  • Based on the 3rd Quarter of 2005, the unemployment rate in Maribyrnong was 8.7%, compared to 5.5% for Victoria as a whole.

Language/Cultural Background

  • 39.7% of Maribyrnong’s population were born overseas, compared to 23.3% of Victoria as a whole.
  • Of those born overseas, 18.0% speak only English and 52.3% speak English “well” or “very well”.
  • 28.0% of those born overseas speak English “not well” or “not at all”, this compares to 13.6% of all Victorians born overseas.

Families

  • There are approximately 5,615 families with children aged 15 and under in Maribyrnong.
  • 72.7% of the 5,615 families are couple families, compared with 80.6% of all families with children aged 15 and under in Victoria.
  • 27.3% of the 5,615 families are one-parent families, compared with 19.4% of all families with children aged 15 and under in Victoria.

Immunisation

  • Based on the 3rd Quarter of 2005, 92.0% of children in the 12 to 15 month age cohort in Maribyrnong were fully immunised. This compares to 92.0% of children in this age cohort across Victoria.
  • Based on the 3rd Quarter of 2005, 94.1% of children in the 24 to 27 month age cohort in Maribyrnong were fully immunised. This compares to 92.5% of children in this age cohort across Victoria.

Child Health

  • From July 2003 to June 2005 there were 303.9 Hospital Separations per 1000 of all children aged 0 to 8 in Maribyrnong.
  • This compares with a rate of 229.5 Hospital Separations per 1000 children aged 0 to 8 across Victoria for the same period.

Teen Pregnancy

  • There were 21.6 births per thousand females aged 15 to 19 in Maribyrnong during 2003 and 2004.
  • This compares to 19.0 births per thousand females aged 15 to 19 across Victoria for the same period.

Contact Information

Family Services and Community Projects
Maribyrnong City Council
Napier Street
Footscray 3011

Phone: (03) 9688 0200