FAMILY SUPPORT SERVICES

We are working to strengthen Koori families and develop healthy and supportive family units.

Integrated Family Services 

Integrated Family Services (IFS) provides specific targets to be delivered to Aboriginal Families, and such provides a comprehensive range of services and approaches including:

Identification of pathways and key transition points that focus on earlier intervention and diversion to prevent families’ progression into the statutory child protection system a strengths-based approach and comprehensive needs and risk assessment capacity to provide intensive, multidisciplinary responses. 

Aboriginal Family Preservation

The Aboriginal Family Preservation Program services work intensively with families over a period of up to 12 weeks, who have been referred by Child Protection with the aim of family preservation or reunification.

The program provides an intensive, short-term service aimed at strengthening the ability of families to protect and care for their children, thereby preventing the need for placement in out-of-home care.

Where it has been necessary for a child or young person to be placed away from the family home, the program works to facilitate reunification. 

Aboriginal Stronger Families

Stronger Families provides an integrated placement prevention and family reunification service, providing intensive case work support to vulnerable children and families for up to 12 months, together with specialist therapeutic care and early parenting and specialist infant support. 

Services work with parents to address underlying issues that may lead to, or that have resulted in the need for their child to be placed in out-of-home care, and to build capacity of parents to safely care for their children.