Kinship Care

Supporting families and carers

The Kinship Care program provides information, specialised support, and support groups to help kinship care families.

This program supports families and carers who provide care for children who are unable to remain living with their parents due to child protection intervention.

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Access a range of supports

The Kinship Care team provide information and advice to families and carers in a kinship arrangement regarding financial matters, children’s care requirements and available community supports.

Supports offered within the Kinship Care program include:

• Bethany’s Kinship Care Support Group
  Bethany’s support group provides carers the opportunity to build social networks while sharing stories, challenges and successes with other people in a similar situation, in an informal setting.
  This group aims to assist carers to build connections while managing the demands of being a kinship carer.
• Family services
  Kinship family services provide brief, occasional and short-term family support working alongside the kinship carer and the extended family to address and respond to the needs of both the child and carer.
• Kinship Placement Support Services
  This service is available to kinship families currently involved with the child protection system and who have a statutory order in place.
  CatholicCare Victoria provides support during the first six months of a statutory placement to engage with the kinship family and their extended family to work towards the placement becoming self-managing and limiting the need for ongoing professional involvement.
  Ongoing Case Management support is offered for as long as it is needed to ensure the childrens’ safety, stability and development.

How do I access this service?

Referrals into the Kinship Care program must come from The Department of Human Services Child Protection team only.

To contact the Mildura Department of Human Services Child Protection team please call (03) 5022 3111.

Fees

There is no charge to access this service.

This service is funded by the Victorian State Government Department of Families, Fairness and Housing.

More information

Client Rights and ResponsibilitiesChild Safety at CatholicCare