Centre for Excellence in Child & Family Welfare

Foster carers - your voice matters! Share your experience of the accreditation process in our 10 minute survey and help identify key strengths, challenges and opportunities for change. The Centre, on behalf of the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH), is reviewing the foster care accreditation process—and we want to hear from you! Take our survey today! https://loom.ly/Hjpb8cg

PODCAST: Suzanne and Vanessa reflect on some of the complexities of protecting your children while also seeking support when being subject to domestic abuse. This podcast from the UK explores the experiences and needs of women who have had children removed from their care. Listen https://loom.ly/fbBaC1c Want to share your experience? The Centre’s Lived Experience Design Project and Voices of Parents programs are working with birth parents and government to guide services and policy. Find out more on our website https://loom.ly/I76VyVU #VoiceOfParents #LivedExperience

The Centre has made a submission to the Tasmanian Joint Sessional Committee Inquiry, reflecting our experience working with the Department for Education, Children and Young People, our member organisations, and insights from participating in Royal Commissions and Inquiries, both federally and in other jurisdictions. Key elements of our submission include strengthening prevention, uplifting care reforms, and partnership with Tasmanian Aboriginal Communities working with children and families — but you can head to our website to find out more: https://loom.ly/3rjVbMo #InquirySubmission #DECYP

We're thrilled to be part of Tasmania's new Uplifting Care Independent Expert Panel! Our CEO, Deb Tsorbaris, has been appointed to the Panel, that will guide the development and implementation of the strategy and initiatives for the Tasmanian service system for children and young people in care, providing advice to the Department for Education, Children and Young People. The Panel is comprised of sector experts and young Tasmanians with out-of-home care experience, and is being chaired by Professor Leah Bromfield, the former Commissioner for the Commission of Inquiry. Want to know more? Head to our website: https://loom.ly/tKD7eNY #OutOfHomeCare #DECYP

Did you know that 9208 Victorian children were in out-of-home care in Victoria in June last year? We've broken down all the key findings from the 2023-24 Report on Government Services, including Victorian Child Protection data. Have a flick through some quick stats below, or read our full summary on our website: https://loom.ly/rHBjAuk #ChildProtection #Victoria #ReportOnGovServices

Our new eLearning module 'YPVITH - Supporting young people in contact with police and the Victorian legal system' aims to help practitioners enhance their knowledge and confidence in working with young people using violence at home. The 30-45 minute workshop addresses topics such as planning and using family-centred, strength-based and holistic approaches, to support carers and families in identifying the early stages of the emergence of violence and violent behaviour in children and young people. Want to know more? Head to our website: https://loom.ly/fWEKh7Q #YPVITH #AVITH #CapacityBuilding

Yesterday, the Centre provided verbal evidence to the Joint Sessional Committee, Commission of Inquiry (COI) Recommendations Scrutiny Committee. This was an important opportunity to introduce the Centre as the peak body for Tasmania’s children and families to a cross-party group of dedicated MPs, all committed to ensuring that the inquiry’s recommendations lead to real and lasting change for Tasmania’s children, young people, families, and carers. A few years ago, Tasmanian organisations working with children and families asked the Centre to be their peak body, recognising that the upcoming COI would demand a strong voice for Tasmanian children to act as a critical friend during its implementation. The challenges of implementing the inquiry’s recommendations are significant, and we must stay the course. This momentum cannot be lost. Real change will take an extraordinary effort from the Tasmanian Government, our members, and a resourced peak body. The Centre, alongside our members, is committed to making this happen—because Tasmania’s children, young people, families, and carers deserve nothing less. Read our submission here https://loom.ly/3rjVbMo

Data from the Report on Government Services 2023-24 is here, providing an analysis of child protection services across Australia. It's a comprehensive report with loads to digest, so, what do you actually need to know? Have a flick through our key stats from Tasmanian Child Protection data, or read our full summary here: https://loom.ly/rHBjAuk #ChildProtection #Tasmania #ReportOnGovServices

"Children have told us they feel invisible in the systems where they seek help. That they are responded to merely as an extension of their protective parent, often mum, as opposed to being recognised as a victim-survivor in their own right," said Kate Fitz-Gibbon and Liana Buchanan in the Herald Sun today. "There is a need to develop and integrate a trauma-informed and age-appropriate whole-of-system response for child victims, including in early childhood and school settings, specialist family violence and welfare services, young mental health services, youth justice, and across the health system. Critically, there is a need to address the complete lack of housing options for children and young people experiencing and escaping family violence." Read more at https://loom.ly/Q3RnXy0

I had the opportunity to share UMFC’s 'Say' to our Federal politicians during their election campaign, in a conversation on ABC Goulburn Murray Breakfast with Sandra Moon. It was a beautiful morning in Junction Square, Wodonga, with many community members out for a coffee or a walk. UMFC is dedicated to ensuring the rights of children and young people are honoured and actively supported. We support the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, advocating for all children to live happy, safe, and healthy lives. Our ask for the Federal Government with the upcoming election is to make children a national priority in Cabinet – they are not a stated cabinet priority at present, like, for example women. We need National leadership to ensure the rights of the child and the UN Convention are upheld throughout our Nation and in every State. To that end we need a Federal Minister for Children. UMFC is concerned about the cost of living and its impact on the families we support – this includes the impact on children. Often children share their parents’ financial concerns and this can impact on their mental health. We have families seeking assistance from our financial counsellors including families we wouldn’t normally see. We encourage parents to shield children from the burden of financial distress and reach out to services such as financial counselling when needed. We need to improve support for foster carers – there are more foster carers leaving the system than coming in. No doubt cost of living pressures is a factor, including a higher percentage of foster care families with both parents work, making it difficult to care for a baby, for example. We welcome carers over the age of 21, which includes people who are single, same sex relationship, retired etc. To that end, we are supporting a national campaign led by our peak body @familiesaustralia seeking National leadership to transform the foster care system. Home based foster care is a critical need for some children who need a safe and loving home environment to thrive and achieve positive life outcomes. We are asking the Federal Government to improve access to medical and therapeutic support for foster care children; enable foster carers to claim foster child related expenses through their tax return; support parenting-type leave for foster carers, such as maternity leave. While many services for children are funded by States, we need Federal leadership. The Scottish Government who have formed ‘The Promise’ to children in care that they will be safe and loved. We need our Federal government to make a promise to our children and young people. We need to get it right for every child! UMFC CEO, Felicity Williams   #rightsofthechild #unconventiononrightsofthechild #futureoffostercare #umfc #uppermurrayfamilycare #ourvisionthateverychildandyoungpersoniscaredfor