The STARS for Kids Program

About this webinar: The earliest years of a child’s life shape everything that follows. What if we could get it right from the start? This webinar will provide an overview of two innovative programs under the Strengths-based, tiered, accessible, resources and supports (STARS) for Kids program: the STARS for Kids tiered care model and the Integrated Kids Hubs model. It will also present findings from the iterative codesign of the STARS for Kids program, highlighting how collaborative development and service integration can improve child development, parental wellbeing, and family psychosocial support.

About the Speakers:

1. Valsamma Eapen is a Scientia Professor and Chair of Infant, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at UNSW Sydney, Head of the Academic Unit of Child Psychiatry South West Sydney (AUCS). She leads the Clinical Theme on “Early Life Determinants of Health (ELDoH)” under SPHERE. She has over 25 years clinical and research experience and her interests centre on issues of early development and neurodevelopmental disorders including Tourette Syndrome and autism.
2. Sue Woolfenden is the Director of Community Paediatrics at SLHD, and Professor of Community Paediatrics at the University of Sydney. In her clinical, service development and research roles she aims to address child health and health care inequities in Australia and globally through innovative integrated health-social service models including Hubs and care navigation. She is the co-chair of the Sydney Health Partners Child and Adolescent Clinical Academic Group and the Sydney Institute for Women, Children and their Families at SLHD.
3. Ms Maite Diez is a Psychologist and Research Assistant at the University of Sydney. Her research and clinical work focus on promoting child and family wellbeing, with a particular interest in positive and adverse childhood experiences (PCEs and ACEs), and enhancing access to culturally safe, trauma-informed care. Maite has experience as both a Clinical Psychologist and Researcher in Chile, where she worked on projects exploring PCEs, ACEs, parenting, and the use of children's storybooks to support socioemotional development in early childhood.

Date: Wednesday 24 September 2025

Time: 12:30-1:30 pm

Please register here.