Chris-Maree Sultmann is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of Encompass Family & Community Pty Ltd. From completing a Bachelor of Social Work with First Class Honours to spending 12 years in the Child Safety department and now sharing her invaluable experience with countless service organisations as a consultant, Chris-Maree is a career helper.
Chris-Maree’s pivotal transition to consultancy was prompted by changes she noticed in the services sector after returning to work following the birth of her first child.
“I had done my fair share of training and resource building in Child Protection. And while I was away, the sector had really started to move and there were a lot of initiatives happening.”
“A few of my mentors and colleagues had left the department and, being in a different stage of life as a new mother, I decided that it was a good time to shift my focus and start supporting people on the front line through a consultancy role.”
With her co-founder Anne Elliott, Chris-Maree started Encompass, recognising the improvements in service delivery that could come with upskilling and strategic reflection.
“Encompass is a small and expert group of people who have been practitioners in the front line, moved into management, leadership, policy, and program work and now have come together in the consultancy sector.”
Chris-Maree’ expertise has been welcomed wholeheartedly by YFS.
“YFS’ staff and leadership consistently want to know more, they want to be more, and they want to do more.”
“We work to support YFS’ leadership and front-line staff so they can support children, families and the whole of the community as well as they can.”
“I’m so glad that YFS and Encompass are partnering together. I think everyone in the community service sector has limited time and limited resources, and sometimes there is a temptation to not prioritise organizational strength and capability, because you’re just so busy getting the job done. YFS hasn’t done that.”
For Chris-Maree, YFS’ recognition of the importance of investing in the quality and excellence of service delivery is particularly special.
“One of the things that makes YFS unique is that it’s been really conscious of the need for service integration. As we grow, we don’t need to become isolated and siloed. We have the capacity to wrap around the community, to wrap around families, wrap around individuals. YFS knows that prioritising internal processes between teams and across the organisation is essential to make that integration happen effectively.”
This dedication to integration is not simply an organisational goal, but a response to the needs of the Logan community. Chris-Maree explained that YFS’ biggest strengths are its community foundations and focus.
“YFS grew out of this community. Its origin story is simply of local people identifying the community’s unmet needs.”
“YFS is of the community, it’s for the community, and it’s with the community. As an organisation, it has this unparalleled deep knowledge of who this community is, what this community needs, and is dedicated to listening to how that has changed over time.”
And YFS’ integration model is precisely a product of this community knowledge.
“YFS is making a real effort to join up the service system for children, families and people out in the community who would otherwise really struggle to do that for themselves.”
Chris-Maree also acknowledges that YFS’ 40 years of delivering services has played an integral role in the characteristic resilience of the local community.
“YFS has fostered resilience by demonstrating that the people of Logan are a community that is worth caring about.”
“YFS has provided and grown a range of high-quality programs and has remained active about confronting disadvantage.”
“The community has a deep trust in the organisation because of how YFS staff consistently put in the work for people. They actively demonstrate that ‘we’re here, we’re walking alongside you, we’re not going to go away, and we will find a way through’.”
Chris-Maree and the team at Encompass are inspired by this persistence and dedication.
“Working with YFS, we’re always met with an enthusiastic response, and we have some really challenging, interesting and thoughtful conversations. The work that Encompass are doing to try and build resources, capacity, and support within service providers…we get a lot of inspiration and resilience out of that ourselves.”
For Chris-Maree, YFS is epitomised by its community focus and commitment to improvement and excellence.
“With rapid growth and expansion, organisations and people within them can oftentimes lose their way. I think YFS has done a remarkable job of holding on to its founding ethos of existing for this community – to confront disadvantage and walk alongside those in need.”
