The Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare (the Centre), the peak body for child and family services in Victoria, is thrilled to welcome the $77.5mil package for Victorian children and families experiencing vulnerability announced today by Minister Luke Donnellan.
As the COVID-19 pandemic sweeps across Victoria, it brings with it disruptions to the environments children and families need not only survive but also thrive. Restrictions on movement, school closures, limited contact with wider family, community and culture, as well as financial hardship has placed new stressors on families, parents and carers and reduces the protective environments for children.
The package will be provided to the child and family services sector over the next two years to address the enormous strain the coronavirus pandemic has placed on families as well as frontline workers.
CEO of the Centre Deb Tsorbaris was thrilled to see the package announced, “This will provide support to Victorian families experiencing vulnerability. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, our sector has been working tirelessly to ensure that children and their families have the support they need. This package makes sure they can get it. ”
“The Centre congratulates Minster Donnellan on delivering this robust support package to children and families in need of support throughout the COVID-19 outbreak. We were thrilled to be able to work with the Government to deliver this on behalf of the child and family services sector”, she said.
The package will deliver;
- $77.5mil will be provided to the child and family services sector over the next two years.
- $46mil for family services to deliver a new model of care – specialist family service teams with staff from service providers and child protection practitioners will deliver intensive and integrated support to families.
- $15 million will support residential care service providers to form mobile response teams that will bolster staff where needed and proactively respond to the needs of every young person.
- $11 million will provide extra financial support for carers and a one-off payment of $600 to all foster and kinship carers per child in their care to help cover the additional costs of full-time caring at home.
- An additional $2.3mil pool of funding is being created for foster and kinship carers.
- Under the Home Stretch program, which the Centre was a co-chair of, all young people in care turning 18 before December 2020 the option to remain in their foster or kinship placement or transition to independent living.
Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare
The Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare (the Centre) is the peak body for child and family services in Victoria. Representing more than 150 community service organisations, students and individuals.
The Centre advocates for the rights of children and young people to be heard, to be safe, to access education and to remain connected to family, community and culture.
Our vision is to see a community that is fair, equitable and creates opportunities for children and their families to live happy and healthy lives.
