In 2022 three Child and Family Health and Wellbeing Locals were announced as part of the Recommendations of the Victorian Royal Commission into the Mental Health System, with another 60 planned to be implemented across Victoria in the coming years. These Locals represent a joint commitment of the Victorian and Commonwealth Governments to improve multidisciplinary care for infants, children and families. It was thought that concerted efforts to intervene in the earlier years from 0-11 years may have downstream preventive mental health effects. Given the well-established links between adversity and future mental health trajectories, the Locals may provide a community level response for this.

To support the development of the Southern Melbourne region Local, The ALIVE National Centre for Mental Health Research Translation partnered with Monash Health to co-design the model of care. The co-design process ensured that families and or caregivers, people with lived-experience, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and culturally and linguistically diverse communities, were centred in the design of the model of care. Through the co-design process, we heard about the importance of being child–centred and family focused and the need for flexibility, tailoring and safety of the child. The importance of strengths-based approaches was highlighted, noting the potential for stigma and shame to be a major barrier to seeking help.

The final model of care reflects over 235 peoples’ contributions which makes it one of the largest co-design processes conducted for the design of a mental health and wellbeing Local to our knowledge. This presentation will share the co-design journey, methods and what children and families believed to be most important. Key considerations for co-design process will be presented along with tips for how to genuinely reflect the values and goals for service delivery led by local communities.