"We want to learn as much from them as they learn from us," says Bernie Harrison, maternal and child health co-ordinator at the City of Greater Dandenong, where residents come from more than 150 different parts of the world and about two-thirds speak more than one language.

Harrison hopes the Starting out Strong report, released by the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, and the Municipal Association of Victoria in October, will guide continued modernisation of maternal and child health services, build the capacity of the workforce and better target resources with a focus on early intervention.

Last year's state budget committed additional funding to create a maternal and child health  principal nurse position to provide government with expert advice on policy development and service design; boost professional development opportunities for nurses; and start an innovation fund to encourage services to come up with new ideas and ways to work together.

Harrison says making maternal and child health services more innovative and flexible across the state is critical at a time when the birth rate is rising, family diversity is increasing and more parents are working.

It is also needed to address barriers to access among groups with low levels of participation in the services now on offer.

Dandenong already runs groups for new parents in community languages and co-locates most of its nurses with other early childhood services, including the Bunurong Health Service at the Dandenong and District Aborigines Co-operative.

Care is taken to explain - usually with the help of a Victorian Interpreting and Translating Service interpreter - the relevance of the maternal and child health service to newly arrived families. Home visits are offered regardless of the child's age.

Professional learning is promoted through staff discussions and involvement with external research organisations. The council is a partner in the Bridging the Gap program, led by the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute and designed to improve maternal and child health outcomes among refugee  families. It is a trial site for the right@home sustained visiting program for vulnerable families led by the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth.

A Cooking for Your Baby program run by a council parenting officer and Deakin University research on the importance of good nutrition in early life have provided the foundation for a new Little Steps program, which provides information on healthy eating and play and the importance of making mealtimes a positive and enjoyable family experience.

Harrison, who has worked in mainstream and enhanced maternal and child health services at Kingston, Port Phillip, Stonnington and Frankston councils, says culturally complex environments such as Dandenong require a high level of co-operation and co-ordination between maternal and child health professionals and other council service providers and close links between council staff and community groups.

"In maternal and child health, we have to be aware that we can't support families alone. We need to work within a community services framework that engages other services, including childcare, playgroups, kindergartens, family and youth services," she says.