Family rehab program with parenting 101 lessons allows couple to get back their girls
AFTER their children were removed from their home, Hayley Orchard and Brad Menzies decided to take part in a new and intensive family rehab program in a last-ditch attempt to get their family back on track. And it’s working.
NSW
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SIENNA Menzies can’t bear to be apart from her Mum.
“She doesn’t like me to leave for too long at all and that’s even to go shopping,” Hayley Orchard said of her 10-year-old daughter.
“She rings and says ‘Mum, where are you? I’m worried, I’m panicking’.”
The Year 5 pupil’s separation anxiety isn’t surprising.
Sienna and her eight-year-old sister Lily were removed from their home at Lake Macquarie, two hours north of Sydney, by Family and Community Services (FACS) last year.
Their parents, both well-known to authorities, were at risk of losing their daughters for good.
The FACS case file for Ms Orchard and her partner Brad Menzies contained a long history of drug addiction, mental health issues, domestic violence, excessive discipline and poor supervision.
Their children, who often roamed the streets in their housing commission estate, were also in trouble with the law.
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When Sienna was aged just seven, she stole a mobility scooter and drove it along a highway, and last year both girls prank-called triple-0 asking for an ambulance.
It was a chaotic existence, their future bleak, but now there’s hope in all of their lives.
Ms Orchard and Mr Menzies are one of the first couples in NSW to complete a new and intensive family rehab program.
The treatment — Multi Systemic Therapy for Child Abuse and Neglect (MST-CAN) — is based on a successful US model and consists of 24/7 care and support, providing “parenting 101” type lessons.
“It was tough and a long, hard road but in the end it has paid off,” Ms Orchard, 32, said.
“We are a lot stronger and it has brought me and Brad a lot closer.”
The couple started the MST-CAN program in September as a last-ditch attempt to get their girls back.
“It’s either the kids stay in care or we just had to pull our heads in and do the right thing,” Ms Orchard said.
Between May and September last year, Sienna was in six foster homes. She ran away from all of them, only to return home to her parents.
Lily had seven foster placements before she was reunited with her family just before Christmas.
MST-CAN therapist Cathy Boylan said Ms Orchard and Mr Menzies were committed to turning their lives around.
“We’re in the home four to five times a week. They have an on-call number that they can ring 24 hours a day if they need us,” Ms Boylan, a former FACS worker, said.
“I know, particularly for Hayley and Brad, they embraced that. They were like ‘we want the help’.”
Ms Orchard, who was a ward of the state as a child, has battled speed and cannabis addiction over the past decade. She also had the first of her four children when she was just 12 years old (her eldest two kids live with their grandparents).
Mr Menzies, 43, was diagnosed with schizophrenia and found it difficult to cope with Sienna’s Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
Since September last year, Ms Orchard has been drug-free, helped by a substance abuse program, and confirmed by urine testing.
It was tough and a long, hard road but in the end it has paid off
Mr Menzies has met regularly with a psychiatrist, had his medication reviewed and completed anger management.
They also both completed courses on domestic violence, family problem solving and communication and behaviour management. Mr Menzies said his treatment has made a huge difference.
“I don’t go off as much and I don’t sleep as much,” he said.
Ms Orchard said she felt much “stronger” and confident as a parent.
“They’ve come a long way,” Ms Boylan said.
“They’ve changed everything about their life, things that were so ingrained in them. They’ve overcome those struggles and really gone ‘this is what we want — we want our kids in our care and we will do anything’.”
Now, 16 months after they thought they might never get their girls back, Ms Orchard and Mr Menzies have gained full parental rights with a 12-month supervision order.
They have also set strict daily routines for their daughters.
Sienna has been elected to her school’s Student Representative Council and Lily recently went on an excursion to Taronga Zoo.
NSW Family and Community Services Minister Pru Goward said the results from the program gives a “great sense of hope”.