Berry Street Web Docs Annual Report 2012 | Page 18

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It is the job of our skilled staff
to ensure that the child gets
what he/she needs to recover,
the kinship carer is supported
and contact with the birth
family is managed as
constructively as possible.

Family Violence
Demand on our Family Violence service in the Northern
region grew by 69% since last year, with Police referrals
up from 130 a month in 2009 to 313 a month. There is
now much greater recognition by governments and
the community that violence is never acceptable, that it
always harms children and that family violence is the most
significant health problem for women aged 15-44.
Our dedicated Family Violence team had contact with
and/or supported 7,948 women and 388 children through:
5067 calls to women last year; a referral and follow up
service for the Police when they have attended a family
violence incident; case management for a small number
of high priority women; outreach to courts; private rental
assistance; and crisis after hours support.
With the increase in demand, more and more of our
limited resources are going into managing the intake
and Police referrals. While important, without additional
resourcing, our ability to provide more intensive support
will be increasingly limited.

Some of the highlights included:
»» L ed by Craig Cowie (our Regional Director in the
North), maintaining strong partnerships with Aboriginal
organisations, including seconding staff.
»» We are pleased to be one of only two Victorian pilots
testing an interagency response for those women most
at risk. Based on a very successful model in the UK, the

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B E R R Y S T R E E T A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 2 / / Services

Risk Assessment Management Panel bring together
representatives from the Police, Child Protection,
Maternal and Child Health Hume, Northern Hospital,
Broadmeadows Housing Services, Re Gen, Corrections,
VACCA, Elizabeth Hoffman House, Child FIRST and
Family Services Alliance, Centrelink, Men’s Active
Referral Service and Vincent Care, to share information
and planning to maximize the opportunity to keep
women and children safe from their violent partners
»» Securing $75,000 from the Commonwealth
Government to develop resources promoting
awareness of the needs of children who have
experienced family violence
»» Obtaining funds to engage staff in early years services
in Broadmeadows to identify and understand the
impact of family violence on children and on the
mother’s relationship with her child
Case Study:
Georgia was determined that she would be a better
mother to her two small children than she had
experienced – being removed from her family and
spending much of her childhood in foster care. She finally
decided to leave her violent partner and put the needs of
her children first. With support from our skilled staff in the
North, Georgia thrived as a single parent, focusing on her
children’s needs for stability, nurturing and love. Georgia
enrolled in a fulltime cooking course – and hopes to

become a chef – obtained her driver’s license and a small
car. There is no need for Child Protection to be involved
anymore and Georgia knows she can always contact us if
she needs support in the future.

Foster and Kinship Care
When children are removed through the Children’s Court
because they have suffered significant harm, the first
choice is always to find extended family to care for them.
We know how important it is to keep children connected
to family, culture and their community, including school
and clubs.
Through our Kinship Care programs in Gippsland and
Hume, we supported 308 children and young people
and 120 kinship carers. Taking on responsibility for a
grandchild or niece/nephew is a big decision. It is often
tinged with great sadness, usually involves complex
family relationships and always has financial implications.
It is the job of our skilled staff to ensure that the child
gets what he/she needs to recover, the kinship carer is
supported and contact with the birth family is managed as
constructively as possible.
If there aren’t any relatives able or willing to take on the
child, foster care is usually the next best option. These
amazing volunteer foster carers share their homes with
other people’s children, all of whom have suffered serious
distress, neglect or abuse.

Foster care is one of our core programs. In 2011/12, 196
committed foster care households cared for 258 children
and you ng people. While we are immensely grateful to
these selfless foster carers, the 25% reduction in foster
carer households from last year is symptomatic of the
crisis Victoria faces around foster care.
This is why we are developing a new professional model
of foster care, without which foster care will cease to
be an option within the next five years. An essential
component of this new model is building in a therapeutic
approach. Through our experience of the Circle
Therapeutic Foster Care program in Hume, we know the
benefits of this additional investment. Of the 45 children
who have been cared for through this program, all but two
have returned home safely and stayed home.
Case Study:
Alex and Martin, aged 12 and 13, had spent many years in
residential care when they were referred to our special
foster care program in the North. Finding someone prepared
to take on both boys was going to be a challenge. However,
we identified that Ian (one of the residential care workers
who knew the boys) could provide a home. Ian left work to
focus solely on the boys. As he said, his life is now “totally
different – but in a good way. It’s the best decision I have
ever made”. Ian is supported by our therapeutic program,
Take Two, and has regular respite and the boys have thrived,
playing sport and seeing their family regularly.

‘Foster care was my
light’ - photo taken by
young person in foster
care, displayed through
the “As Eye See It”
Exhibition.