$350m investment backs support for children and families
Aboriginal children and families in NSW will soon benefit from greater access to Aboriginal Family Preservation, a new model of intensive support for Aboriginal families.
The State government is to invest $350 million over five years in Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisations (ACCOs) to deliver evidence-based support to reduce risks to children and keep families safely together.
“The Government is delivering record investment to support Aboriginal Controlled Community Organisations to help deliver positive outcomes for Aboriginal families and communities,” Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, David Harris said.
“Our investment is about supporting the long-term sustainability of the Aboriginal community services sector and turning Closing the Gap commitments into action to improve lives.”
Minister for Aboriginal Affairs David Harris.
Family Preservation services offer intensive support to families in an effort to prevent children from entering foster care by strengthening families, building parenting skills and creating safe home environments.
Government commitment
This new program was developed in partnership with AbSec and co-designed with Aboriginal families, communities, and ACCOs. The eight-week tender process was also supported by AbSec, who were funded to provide access to specialist tender-writing support to 35 established, emerging, and new ACCOs, reflecting strong interest and engagement across the sector.
These reforms are part of the NSW Government’s commitment to Closing the Gap on the over-representation of Aboriginal children in out-of-home care.
The government’s broader Family Preservation reform is backed by a $900 million investment over five years, including the historic 40 per cent dedicated to ACCO service delivery.
The government’s reforms aim to improve the quality of intensive supports available to families at risk of child protection intervention, and for the first time in NSW, will allocate family preservation packages to areas based on need.
