Every night in Gippsland there are hundreds of children in need of a safe home. A disproportionate number of these children are Aboriginal.
At GEGAC, we are driven by the belief that all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children should have a safe, supportive and culturally appropriate home.
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Our Extended Community Care Services
Wangun Lidj (Aboriginal Children in Aboriginal Care)
GEGAC’s Wangun Lidj Aboriginal Children in Aboriginal Care (ACAC) program ensures the care and protection of Aboriginal children is led by Aboriginal people, in partnership with the community.
It allows for the transfer to GEGAC of responsibility and decision making for selected Aboriginal children on Child Protection orders.
ACAC is authorised under section 18 of the Children, Youth & Families Act.
To learn more about Wangun Lidj visit gegac.org.au/wangun-lidj/
Kinship Case Contracting
GEGAC is contracted by the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing to provide day-to-day case management for Aboriginal children residing in Statutory Kinship Placements.
The role of a Kinship Case Contracting worker is to meet the child’s safety, stability and developmental needs, while ensuring the child’s right to their Culture and community is supported.
The program caters to the needs of Aboriginal children/young people who are living in out of home care.
Kinship Case Contracting advocates for the child and works with the child’s entire Care Team, including the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing, to achieve the best outcomes for child in care and the people who care for them.
For more information
Access to the service is through referral from Department of Families Fairness and Housing.
To learn more, call our Extended Community Care Services team on 5150 0712 and ask to speak to someone about Kinship Case Contracting.
Koorie Kare (Home Based Care)
Koorie Kare (Home Based Care) program is responsible for completing regular assessment to identify the strengths within the given placements and to identify where any further supports need to be put in place to support both carers and children.
The Koorie Kare program is for all children who reside in out of Home Care on a statutory order.
Koorie Kare assists Foster Carers to manage ongoing and emerging concerns for the child.
The role of the Case Manager is to meet the child’s safety, stability and developmental needs, while ensuring the child’s right to their Culture and community is supported.
Koorie Kare advocates for the child and works with the child’s entire Care Team, including the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing, to achieve the best outcomes for child in care and the people who care for them.
Koorie Kare supports provide practical support and/or material aid to support the stability and continuation of the placement.
For more information
Referral is through the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing.
To learn more, call our Extended Community Care Services team on 5150 0712 and ask to speak to someone about the Koorie Kare (Home Based Care) program.
Cultural Support Planning
The Cultural Support Plan (CSP) program aims to strengthen a child’s cultural identity while implementing supports that help to enable connection to family, community and culture.
All Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children who are involved in the Out of Home Care system are eligible for a cultural support plan.
The development of a meaningful Cultural Support Plan helps to establish and maintain a child’s identity.
The allocated Cultural Support Plan worker will liaise with family, child protection services, agency staff and any other person relevant to the child and their journey.
They will attend the child’s care team and provide advice on how to support the child in a cultural appropriate way.
The worker will support the development of an informative and meaningful Cultural Support Plan, and they will seek endorsement of the plan from the CEO.
To learn more
Access to this service is through referral from the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing, or the child’s contracted case manager.
To learn more, call our Extended Community Care Services team on 5150 0712 and ask to speak to someone about Cultural Support Planning.
Kinship First Supports
Our Kinship First Supports program is responsible for completing comprehensive kinship assessments to identify the strengths within kinship placements and to identify where any further supports need to be put in place to support both kinship carers and children.
Access to Kinship First Supports program is only available through the Department of Health and Human Services for children subject to Children’s Court Orders with placements expected to be required for more than 3 months duration.
Kinship First Supports
- Will assist the Kinship Carer to adjust to their new role and provide support to manage any emerging issues.
- Will assist the child to settle into their new placement and respond to the child’s individual developmental needs by facilitating a Care Team.
- Can provide practical support and/or material aid to support commencement of the placement.
- Will assist carers to promote connection to culture for Aboriginal children.
More information
To learn more, call our Extended Community Care Services team on 5150 0712 and ask to speak to someone about Kinship First Supports.
Aboriginal Family Led Decision Making
GEGAC’s Aboriginal Family Led Decision Making Convener works with government agencies to ensure a culturally safe and respectful process for Aboriginal children and families dealing with Child Protection.
For more information or to speak with our Aboriginal Family Led Decision Making Convener call (03) 5150 0712 or email ExtendedCommunityCare@gegac.org.au
Targeted Care Packages
The Targeted Care Package (TCP) program supports families and carers to provide the child or young person a home-like environment that provides stability, safety and a healthy lifestyle through an individualised package.
The program is for Aboriginal children/young people who are living in residential care or who are at risk of entering residential care.
A key worker is allocated to each child/family that receives a package.
The key worker will work closely with the family/caregivers to facilitate changes that support the achievement of the child’s case plan.
The key worker will carry out duties that will support the child, placement and family in accordance with the case plan and individualised plan these include but are not limited to:
- facilitating care team meetings
- transport to medical appointments
- providing intense support to ensure goals are met
For more information
Referral is through Department of Families Fairness and Housing.
To learn more, call GEGA.