The Pathways to Prevention Project: The First Five Years, 1999-2004

Pathways to Prevention is a universal, 'early intervention', developmental prevention project. It is based on the assumption that mobilising social resources to support children, families and their communities before problems emerge is more effective and cheaper than intervening when problems have become entrenched. The key is to work early in the developmental pathway, which does not necessarily mean early in life. For the period covered in this report the project focused on the transition to school in one of the most disadvantaged urban areas in Queensland. It combined child-focused programs delivered through state preschools ( the Preschool Intervention Program, or PIP ) with services for families (the Family Independence Program, or FIP ), within a community development framework. The project is an ongoing partnership between Mission Australia and the Key Centre for Ethics, Law, Justice and Governance at Griffith University.